TT suspension questions?

Kind of like ordering your new Ram truck with the air ride instead of the leaf spring rear.

amxpress wrote:

What? Torsion axles add strength to the overall frame, not take away from it. Torsion axles are a direct bolted connection so they act as additional crossmembers.

You cannot remove a leaf spring suspension and directly bolt up a torsion axle. It requires redesigning the mounting area, especially as torsion axle heights are much lower than leaf spring suspension. Nothing was said about torsion suspension adding or taking away from the strength of a frame.

Just as you can't remove a torsion axle and bolt up a leaf spring suspension.

All they do is weld a square or rectangular tube along the bottom flange of the frame rail to accept the mounting bracket, and a couple of gusset plates. The torsion axles are available with different heights of mounting brackets and the ride height is determined by that along with the start angle selected.

It has nothing to do with weight of trailer or frame regardless. Dexter makes a torsion axle up to 12K capacity. It has more to do with being cheap (the RV manufacturers. Look at Horse trailers and car haulers to see torsion axles used extensively.

What? Torsion axles add strength to the overall frame, not take away from it. Torsion axles are a direct bolted connection so they act as additional crossmembers.

You cannot remove a leaf spring suspension and directly bolt up a torsion axle. It requires redesigning the mounting area, especially as torsion axle heights are much lower than leaf spring suspension. Nothing was said about torsion suspension adding or taking away from the strength of a frame.

Optimistic Paranoid wrote:
Many years ago - ok, many MANY years ago - I sold auto parts for a living. The Monroe and Gabriel shock absorber catalogs both showed aftermarket kits for fitting shock absorbers to leaf spring type trailer suspensions. Apparently, none of the factories consider them necessary and most - all? - trailers don't seem to come with them. Not sure what's up with that.

It was about eight years ago that Monroe threw in the towel, I guess low sales was the reason. I believe you can still get the shocks if you can find the part number. Dexter and others still sell shock kits. Higher priced RVs like Outdoors RV have shocks installed.

So what's up with that? Simply cost, the consumer sees no value in things they don't see, so shocks are just one more place to cheap out.

amxpress wrote:
Torsion suspension is usually found on lighter weight trailers, Airstream being the exception. They’re also usually lower to the ground. Leaf springs are actually an antiquated design, cheap to produce in numbers, and can be used on heavier rigs as they have been for years. They do make torsion suspension for heavy rigs, but I don’t know of any RV’s that use them.
Our first TT was a Jayco with torsion suspension. It actually towed very well. To use torsion suspension on larger heavier trailers, Lippert and Dexter would have to redesign the frame mounts which they’re not going to do as it costs money and they can’t justify the expense as leaf springs do the job now.

What? Torsion axles add strength to the overall frame, not take away from it. Torsion axles are a direct bolted connection so they act as additional crossmembers.

Many years ago - ok, many MANY years ago - I sold auto parts for a living. The Monroe and Gabriel shock absorber catalogs both showed aftermarket kits for fitting shock absorbers to leaf spring type trailer suspensions. Apparently, none of the factories consider them necessary and most - all? - trailers don't seem to come with them. Not sure what's up with that.

Depends on your use and construction. Be mindful that wide tire spacing and shackle lift on leaf spring with an "I" beam frame will fracture the frame. If you like dirt/boondocking roads. (Three similar trailers in the family clan have cracked and one tore the shackle clean off this summer).
The biggest advantage to wide spacing is better tracking on the highway but adds big stress in tighter turns.
My trailer is torsion and has done well in the same timeframe/driving.(My tire spacing is close and is a bit twitchy)
Good luck with your decision!

Springs are a bit more maintenance but are easy to service or replace components as needed. Many upgrade the components when replaced.

Torsion is a quiet and smooth riding package but does eventually wear out and requires complete unit replacement at that time.

Springs work fine for me. Floorplan is far more important.

Whether torsion or leaf is better is a matter of opinion. The torsion is a more independently articulating suspension. Is that better on a trailer? Is it worth the extra money? You have to decide that for yourself.

YouTube has videos from Dexter explaining how the torsion is built and why they believe it is better. Keep in mind, anything can be made to look better for sales.

My opinion is, I want leaf springs. Tried and true, easy to repair or replace, and easy to understand.

Regarding spacing of axles, greater spacing helps balance the load across the axles, which basically means it is more forgiving of how the trailer is loaded, and possibly less apt to sway if loading is less than ideal. The downside as you surmised is added scrubing of tires in a turn, added side load on axle hangers. Like most things, it is a compromise.

Some things are still around simply because they do the job at a certain price point. That's why you still see leaf springs on new trucks: they do the job and don't cost a fortune. Being antiquated doesn't mean they don't work well.