Need help with trailer springs

[babyboomerboy]

I am finishing up my 250 gallon reverse flow smoker and I am having a problem with the trailer sitting right. I put the tank off to one side and the trailer leans on that side. We are getting ready to take it to a set of scales and weigh it so we will know how heavy it is. My question is, if the whole thing weighs say 2000 lbs., do we buy 2500 lb leaf springs or 3200 lb or what. What rated spring will allow the trailer to sit straight? We don't want overkill with the springs so the trailer will ride properly. I hope I have explained this so maybe some of you guys can help answer this. Thank you. Also, I am putting together a complete build file I will share with everyone once we get the project finished. Thanks again 

 

[Dutch]

Hey 3B, glad to hear that you are close to finishing your build.  I have a friend that built him a trailer rig for catering; because he knew that he was going to have a lot of weight in that thing, he went with a tandem axle and the stiffest leaf springs he could find plus coils spring over his shock absorbers.  When all was said and done he still ended up with a tilt to left. (He had placed his fresh water tanks right under his reach-in box, stove, grill and fryer and the waste water tanks under the service counter/storage area.) The tanks was enclosed between the frame members and he could afford the expense of tearing out his floor and relocating his tanks for optimal balance.

What he ended up doing is replacing the original shocks with air shocks; this allowed him to level out his unit left to right.  Once enough water transfered from the f/w tanks to the w/w tanks he would adjust both shocks so the trailer was once again level.

Hopes this gives you some ideas~

 

[hdsmoke]

Yeah, your going to have a hard time to get it level with all the weight on one side.  adjusting shocks is one answer...ie airbags or something with preload settings...or counterweight on the other side. 

 

[babyboomerboy]

When they say that the leaf springs are rated at 3200 pounds, is that 1600 pounds per spring or 3200 pounds each?