Are TTT's Tiggers too? Help Please

[angib]

But when you put aluminum with steel don't you create problems with that?

Galvanic corrosion requires that the two metals are in an electrolyte, a conductive liquid - just like the lead and lead sulphate in your battery that are in an electrolyte of sulphuric acid.

So Lynn's trailer would not be an ideal design...... if it was going to be left immersed in seawater. Now I'm taking a wild guess here, but I expect that it isn't Lynn's plan to leave the trailer in seawater, so there's no problem.

To be less flippant, heavy seawater spray can be nearly as bad as seawater, so this wouldn't be an ideal design, say, to store in seafront storage or to tow continually over salted roads. I'm guessing those aren't in Lynn's plans either.

Andrew

[Lynn Coleman]

But when you put aluminum with steel don't you create problems with that?

Galvanic corrosion requires that the two metals are in an electrolyte, a conductive liquid - just like the lead and lead sulphate in your battery that are in an electrolyte of sulphuric acid.

So Lynn's trailer would not be an ideal design...... if it was going to be left immersed in seawater. Now I'm taking a wild guess here, but I expect that it isn't Lynn's plan to leave the trailer in seawater, so there's no problem.

To be less flippant, heavy seawater spray can be nearly as bad as seawater, so this wouldn't be an ideal design, say, to store in seafront storage or to tow continually over salted roads. I'm guessing those aren't in Lynn's plans either.

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for piping in here. Yeah, I'm not planning on trying to float the Inkwell with trailer, or without for that matter.

The steel is painted on both sides, hubby saw that when they were fixing the brackett and shackles.

As for being near salt water...well, I do plan on traveling in the Keys and along the eastern shoreline. However, I don't foresee my spending nights on the beach. Paul and I decide we're going to inspect, repaint, whatever we need to do with those springs every year, probably twice. Once in the spring and once in the fall.

Again I want to thank everyone for the tremendous help they've been, not only with this problem but with others we've encountered along the way. I'm certain I'll be calling on everyone's expertise again as we work to complete the Inkwell.

Lynn

[caseydog]

But when you put aluminum with steel don't you create problems with that?

Galvanic corrosion requires that the two metals are in an electrolyte, a conductive liquid - just like the lead and lead sulphate in your battery that are in an electrolyte of sulphuric acid.

So Lynn's trailer would not be an ideal design...... if it was going to be left immersed in seawater. Now I'm taking a wild guess here, but I expect that it isn't Lynn's plan to leave the trailer in seawater, so there's no problem.

To be less flippant, heavy seawater spray can be nearly as bad as seawater, so this wouldn't be an ideal design, say, to store in seafront storage or to tow continually over salted roads. I'm guessing those aren't in Lynn's plans either.

Andrew

Funny you should say that. I used to live on the Gulf coast, and I'd be worried if I lived at the beach and stored it outside, but under normal circumstances, the two metals should be fine.

[angib]

Lynn,

If you want the 'belt and braces' approach, so that you never have to think about this, you need to insulate the two metals from each other. Painting the steel angle inside and out with a decent thickness of paint will mostly achieve that. If the steel rusts, that's just normal rusting - if galvanic corrosion occurs, it will attack only the aluminium (as that is less 'noble' than steel).

Then you're just left with the bolts. These can be insulated by using a "anti-corrosive jointing compound". This is like a sealant that isolates the two metals from each other and is applied all over the contact areas of the bolts, nuts and washers - a bit like those 'instant gasket in a tube' products. The one I've used is a zinc chromate compound called 'Duralac' but you would have to find a US equivalent - it will be obtainable from aircraft supply stores and will cost plenty. You might get it from a good boating supply store, but it's likely they would try to sell you an inferior bedding compound that doesn't have the anti-corrosive properties.

Incidentally, things like WD40 should not be used under any circumstances - they will make long term corrosion worse, because their water-attracting properties will ensure the joints stay wet.

But to be honest, I really doubt that you'll have any problem as long as you don't subject the trailer to continuous salt spray - the occasional weekend by the sea doesn't count for much.

Andrew

[Lynn Coleman]

Lynn,

If you want the 'belt and braces' approach, so that you never have to think about this, you need to insulate the two metals from each other. Painting the steel angle inside and out with a decent thickness of paint will mostly achieve that. If the steel rusts, that's just normal rusting - if galvanic corrosion occurs, it will attack only the aluminium (as that is less 'noble' than steel).

Then you're just left with the bolts. These can be insulated by using a "anti-corrosive jointing compound". This is like a sealant that isolates the two metals from each other and is applied all over the contact areas of the bolts, nuts and washers - a bit like those 'instant gasket in a tube' products. The one I've used is a zinc chromate compound called 'Duralac' but you would have to find a US equivalent - it will be obtainable from aircraft supply stores and will cost plenty. You might get it from a good boating supply store, but it's likely they would try to sell you an inferior bedding compound that doesn't have the anti-corrosive properties.

Incidentally, things like WD40 should not be used under any circumstances - they will make long term corrosion worse, because their water-attracting properties will ensure the joints stay wet.

But to be honest, I really doubt that you'll have any problem as long as you don't subject the trailer to continuous salt spray - the occasional weekend by the sea doesn't count for much.

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the additional input. I would have responded sooner but we just returned from our first trip in the Inkwell. We have a thick coat of black paint on the connections right now. We'll look into the type of material you suggested.

And to think we went with aluminum because it wouldn't rust.

Seriously though, it is lighter and we've been very happy with the strength of the construction. One of the advantages is that I can actually move it on to the ball for hauling. This is a must if I'm going to travel with the trailer alone from time to time.

The next big step is for me to learn how to back the thing up.

Lynn

[caseydog]

The next big step is for me to learn how to back the thing up.

Lynn

Just find an empty parking lot, and some objects to use as targets, and keep trying till you hit that "aha" moment when your mind grasps the art of trailer backing.

I remember clearly reaching a moment with my first boat when I stopped thinking when I backed, and just started doing it instictively. By my third boat, I could fly down a boat ramp, and back into the tightest spots.

You can do it!!!

CD

[brian_bp]

If the number-of-bolts issue is still under consideration...

I would definitely use two bolts, not because one is not strong enough (all of the load on each bracket goes through one bolt in the spring eye anyway), but because of the "rocking" issue mentioned earlier... it will eventually hammer at the bottom on the aluminum frame rail at each end of the mounting bracket.

To minimize frame holes, I would reuse the original centered hole as the front hole, even if that mean new holes in the bracket (or a new bracket... the shop is paying for it!).

And I agree one long bracket for each side would be a lot easier on the frame. This is almost a steel subframe for the aluminum main frame. A concern might be that it would hold water, which would have difficulty draining, so the bottom side could be cut away for much of the length. That's a bunch of cutting time, so it's the kind of thing people do on their own trailers, and I would not expect a shop to do it.

[brian_bp]

...Even if you "fix" the shacle, the mount on the front of the spring will be too high, making the spring higher on one end than the other -- meaning your geometry is still off.

I agree... but it seems to be standard in the trailer world to use fundamentally incorrect leaf spring geometry - the front mount is always too short to even match the shackle, and it should actually be even lower.

Nice illustration!

[Sierrajack]

Lynn,
You say that the guy who built the trailer is qualified? What do people think? Take the advice and get the suspension done correctly - wow, yikes, and wow again..

[Gage]

I don't know about everyone else but the shakle location still looks wrong to me. Now it looks like it has been located to far to the rear. Just the way I see it. I know on my cars and trailers, I have the shackle pointing to the rear about 5 degs under normal load. It allows the shackle to move freely when the spring compresses without fighting the attach point. But I'm probably wrong and there is nothing wrong with it's current location.

[Dale M.]

Just my 2 cents also.... Front spring perch (forward) looks ok... Rear one is to far forward and holds the spring and shackle to flat (first pictures)... This is main source of bad ride...

Here is scan of spring setup that local trailer supplier gives out to people who buy parts and assembles their own axles and suspension...

It shows relationships of how thing should be when assembled... This sketch is actually from manufacturer of parts and dimension only relates to their springs.

Dale

[Miriam C.]

Just my 2 cents also.... Front spring perch (forward) looks ok... Rear on is to far forward and holds the spring and shackle to flat... This is main source of bad ride...

Here is scan of spring setup that local trailer supplier gives out to people who buy parts and assembles their own axles and suspension...

It shows relationships of how thing should be be when assembled...

Dale

Lynn's looks pretty close now to the diagram.

[Lynn Coleman]

Lynn's looks pretty close now to the diagram.

HI Miriam,

Thanks, I thought so too. I am curious about Gage's comments though.

Lynn

[Phil & Ningning]

The geometry looks just fine now. Lightly loaded, it has sufficient travel for maximum potential compression. At full compression, the shackle will be just opposite of vertical from where it now rests.

[asianflava]

It may be an optical illusion due to the angle at which the picture was taken.