trailer helper spring help

[rezdiver]

for a single axle trailer ( mine is a 1/4t canadian iltis trailer with leaf springs) is it possible to put a single airbag helper spring at center of axle to take a bit of load off of the leafs?

or is it mandatory to use two directly mounted at the leafsprings?

reason i ask is i have a brand new 10inch diameter air spring sitting in my garage. lately i have been hauling very heavy loads of up to 1500kg and by the time i am loaded up i am on my bumpstops, i am only travelling a very short distance but the springs are getting pretty overloaded on a continuous basis. the leafs are pretty heavy duty as they are but not meant for this kind of load.

amazing how much weight and abuse these trailers can handle.

I also have a pair of RRC front air bag springs i was thinking of mounting but they are too tall and i am racking my brain on how to mount them horizontally.

[HeadDamage]

Sell it and get a Sankey ;)

I used to use the Iltis trailers alot... I'm not sure if the frame would be up to the upgrade or not, also a center spring might make it a bit unstable. I liked my RR better when I got rid of the center load leveler and put stiffer springs on. Good luck.

[rezdiver]

Sankey? :shock: after all the work i did cutting in a tailgate into the iltis trailer...
Never, i love my trailer :D , plus it tracks perfectly behind the Iltis.

the frame seems pretty strong, i have not noticed any flex or sag with the amount of weight in it.i was going to run a C channel across the middle of the frame to spread the load all the way across from the air bag

the stability you mentioned is what i was worried about, but if the load is spread evenly between all three springs then it shouldnt be too big of an issue.
At the moment i have perfect stability riding on the bumpstops :lol:

[rezdiver]

what i was thinking of was similar to the load Leveler on the range rover classics.

[Bill E.]

I think your justified in your concern about the stability of the trailer after adding just one air spring to the center of the axle. Depending on the load your carrying and the strength of the helper spring you could induce a diving motion from side to side as the suspension compresses over uneven ground. If your going to beef it up do it to both sides IMHO.

[nakedbarra]

I am visualising a teeter totter or as we call it australia a see saw

[rezdiver]

I am visualizing a teeter totter also but my range rover never teetered.

i was thinking as long as the center spring has a lower spring rate than the outer springs then it should eliminate or reduce that issue. I am only looking at enough spring assist to give me another 1 or 2 inches fully loaded.