Thread: Mounting Shock Absorbers to Trailer Rebuild

To make the shock work the best, they need to sit as vertical as possible basically.

Some trailers have shocks and they are laying right down to get them to fit in. They would not be as effective as if the were sitting vertically or close to it

Originally Posted by surfin

To make the shock work the best, they need to sit as vertical as possible basically.

Some trailers have shocks and they are laying right down to get them to fit in. They would not be as effective as if the were sitting vertically or close to it

Thanks "surfin" for that; the ones on the caravan are at about 10deg off vertical, so if we follow that model we should be okay. Cheers, crowie

PS - no surf at Toowoomba????

Originally Posted by surfin

To make the shock work the best, they need to sit as vertical as possible basically.

Some trailers have shocks and they are laying right down to get them to fit in. They would not be as effective as if the were sitting vertically or close to it

Surfin

While I think you are correct with this statement, there is probably insufficient room on a trailer to do this unless you buy short shockies. I am also assuming here that Crowie's mate will be utilising old shock absorbers of the ute or something else.

I think the shocks will have some benefit even in a less than ideal position. We have to remember that shock absorbers are poorly named as really they are dampers and the springs are the shock absorbers.


Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Surfin

While I think you are correct with this statement, there is probably insufficient room on a trailer to do this unless you buy short shockies. I am also assuming here that Crowie's mate will be utilising old shock absorbers of the ute or something else.

I think the shocks will have some benefit even in a less than ideal position. We have to remember that shock absorbers are poorly named as really they are dampers and the springs are the shock absorbers.


Regards
Paul

Thanks Paul,
The shocks would be purchased new to suit as the old ute ones are way too long/big....
We"ll be trying to source similar to that which is on the caravan.
Cheers, crowie

No Surf in Toowoomba...i wish though! That name came from when I owned a Toyota Surf

Yes I totally agree that they need to be short shocks.

I did it once with shocks off a car and they were just too long, and therefore needed to be laid over a bit to fit.

I've said it before, and I'll repeat it here again. If you're using standard short trailer springs, then shock absorbers only serve to stiffen the ride of the trailer. They will not increase the load carrying capacity of any spring or suspension system, their only job is reduce the oscillation of the suspension system as the trailer is towed along the road.
Unless you have a very soft, long travel, coil spring suspension setup on a single axle trailer, then you will not get enough suspension travel for shock absorbers to be effective anyway.

I think it's a good idea to fit them.
I have built a few trailers over the years, but this is the only one (7 x 4) I fitted shocks to during it's rebuild and it made a big difference. The trailer no longer bounces when you hit a bump, it just rides like a car more or less. I had to lay mine down slightly from memory, but could take a picture if needed. The trailer now really needs replacing or rebuilding again, it has sat in the weather with only occasional use which has killed it. The last rebuild was about 10 years ago, so got some years out of it.

My next trailer is going to be around 10 x 5 or larger dual axle and I am not sure if I will build it or just buy a new one, either way I will be fitting shocks to it as it makes that much difference in my opinion. My son is pushing me to airbag it for loading machines, but not sure about air bags.

Dave