Leaf Springs vs Torsion

[pat8839]

Hey Guys,
I am about to replace my axle and wanted some opinion on leaf springs vs torsion axle. I have heard that a torsion axle is great because it lasts longer but wanted thoughts from guys have that experience. Price, longevity, reliability that sort of thing...

I do put into salt water occassionally and into brackish water most of the time.

Thanks!

 

[sqbtr]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

Having quite a few of both styles on the road, torsion axles wear out and the camber changes causing extreme tire wear.

The ony leaf sprung axle probems I have had have been driver induced.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

in most cases torsion will outlast leaf springs believe it or not. leaf springs and the associated hardware will rust and need replacement, whereas a torsion axle has very little to wear out. Eventually the rubber parts are going to get hard, but that might be well outside your ownership of the trailer.

I currently have a 10 year old snowmobile trailer and a 25 year old popup camper on torsion axles, they still work fine and I've never touched either... On the other side I've got somewhere around 6 trailers on leaf springs, and have had to do some maintenance on every one of them.

As far as ride, there is absolutely no comparison between them! Torsion axles ride 100x better and are much better to pull even, less jerking from the trailer bouncing around.

 

[Hoggar]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

I have a 1967 Johnson trailer with dual Torsion axles the only thing thats
been done to them is upgrading the spindles from 1500lbs to 3500lbs so I
could get standardized bearings installed. instead of tracking down the
Oddball bearings it needed.

 

[109jb]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

I have had and still have both styles of axles and i prefer leaf springs. Both styles have parts that WILL wear out and need replacement. On torsion axle trailers the wear shows up first as uneven tire wear which I have experienced. On my leaf spring trailers the wear shows up first as squeeks and pops when busings wear out and such, but not in uneven tire wear. I can't remember ever having an uneven tire wear problem on any leaf spring trailer I have ever owned. The leafs also are more tolerant of not having a level trailer because they have the equalizers. As far as ride, 100x better with the torsion??? Come on. I admit that they do ride a bit better because they basically have some built in damping, but a leaf spring trailer can ride very well too.

I currently have a 15 year old leaf spring 12,000 lb capacity flat bed trailer I use for my skid steer, and I have a 10 year old 7.000 lb capacity tandem axle snowmobile trailer. The flat bed sees more use than the snowmobile trailer and it has only needed eye bushings once in that time period and nothing else. The tires wear perfectly even and last me about 5 years a set. The snowmobile trailer goes through a set of tires every 2 years and I carry 2 spares. The axles have been checked by a reputable trailer dealer/maintenance facility and they can find no problem with the axles. For now I just keep putting tires on it, but if I ever had to replace axles the snowmobile trailer would be getting leaf spring axles.

Just my opinion.

 

[DJ]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

"Leafs" rust out and squeak. Go with torsion.

 

[pat8839]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

-Thanks for the insight!

Anyone know the price difference? Obviously in the long run it sounds like leaf springs needs to be replaced much more often than a torsion axle does...

 

[109jb]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

-Thanks for the insight!

Anyone know the price difference? Obviously in the long run it sounds like leaf springs needs to be replaced much more often than a torsion axle does...

Not in my experience. I have only had to replace the eye bushings on leaf springs. Not the whole spring.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

The leafs also are more tolerant of not having a level trailer because they have the equalizers. As far as ride, 100x better with the torsion??? Come on. I admit that they do ride a bit better because they basically have some built in damping, but a leaf spring trailer can ride very well too.

multi-axle trailers change things, and if the original poster was asking about axles, I would probably go leaf...

But, for a single axle, its a different game. The ride IS a lot better, (100x is impossible to quantify obviously), and equalization isn't an issue. Multi-axle leaf trailers also tend to ride better than a single axle leaf for various reasons.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

multi-axle trailers change things, and if the original poster was asking about axles, I would probably go leaf...

But, for a single axle, its a different game. The ride IS a lot better, (100x is impossible to quantify obviously), and equalization isn't an issue. Multi-axle leaf trailers also tend to ride better than a single axle leaf for various reasons.

On a non boating trailer, leaf sprung should last longer, much much longer.

On a trailer that is dunked in saltwater, the longevity is about equal IMO.

And the swing away action of the torsion axle, by design, will offer a smoother ride versus the leaf spring suspension geometry.

 

[kilowatts]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

Hi Guys:
According to Roadrunner Trailers here in Vancouver, BC, Canada, they only use leaf springs. If you follow this link:
http://www.roadrunnerltd.com/intro1.html
They'll tell you why. I have one and it's as near to bullet proof as possible for a trailer. The RCMP, Coast Guard and armed forces also agree.

kilowatts

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

A leaf spring dual axle trailer can tolerate not being level. Torsion axle trailer...not so much.

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

My 23 footer has tandum torsion axles. - Never touched them in almost 10 years. I always dunk in salt water and give them s quick rinse when I return home; they look as good as new. Try that with leaf springs.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

A leaf spring dual axle trailer can tolerate not being level. Torsion axle trailer...not so much.

You know there's a cure for that ................... dropped or raised ball mount.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

I can't think of any reason leaf springs would be better than a torsion axle.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

You know there's a cure for that ................... dropped or raised ball mount.

Yes you can get it within an inch. But what happens when you have a little more load in the back of the vehicle one trip vs another? You will have more load on one axle than the other. Are you going to have a whole set of hitch drops?

 

[109jb]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

As I said before, my experience with torsion axles vs. leaf spring axles is that the torsion axles I have had need new tires sooner due to unusual tire wear.

I have never experienced the unusual tire wear like that on any of my leaf spring trailers. The unusual wear I have experienced on torsion axle trailers with single and dual axles. I no longer have the single axle torsion trailer but I currently have 1 torsion axle tandem trailer, 2 leaf spring tandem axle trailers, and 2 leaf spring single axle trailers. None of the leaf spring trailers have anything but normal tire wear and they go until worn out normally, or until I think they are just too old. I have never been able to do that with a torsion axle trailer.

The tires on the torsion axle trailers I've had always seem to wear on one side or the other or scallop, or experience some other kind of unusual wear and have to be replaced on a much more frequent schedule. I've never had a single tire go until I just thought it was too old. A friend of mine also has a tandem torsion trailer that is about 4 years old and it has unusual tire wear problems too and the tires have all been replaced at least once. I would say that trailer sees about 2000 miles a year on average.

Bottom line is that if I were buying a trailer and found 2 identical trailers except one had torsion axles and the other had leaf spring axles, I would not even have to think about it. I would buy the leaf spring axle trailer.

I don't boat in salt water and that should be mentioned.

You all can do as you like. I'm just relaying my personal experiences.

 

[Hoggar]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

Hi Guys:
According to Roadrunner Trailers here in Vancouver, BC, Canada, they only use leaf springs. If you follow this link:
http://www.roadrunnerltd.com/intro1.html
They'll tell you why. I have one and it's as near to bullet proof as possible for a trailer. The RCMP, Coast Guard and armed forces also agree.

kilowatts

So how long before something meets these standards?

At ROADRUNNER we use simple, tried and practical technology

My trailer is from 1967 and has its original Torsion axles.
I haven't had it long enough to speak to the tire wear issues
but it rides like its on rails when I tow it with a full load.
Currently boat and trailer weigh in at 4440lbs she has
some water in the flotation foam and I'm fixing that this
winter when I'm done it will be about 400 lbs lighter.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

Yes you can get it within an inch. But what happens when you have a little more load in the back of the vehicle one trip vs another? You will have more load on one axle than the other. Are you going to have a whole set of hitch drops?

I would not expect a trailered boat to significantly vary in weight from one trip to the next to require a different drawbar.

If it was a flat bed open car hauler trailer used to haul anything, then yes there could be a wide variance in cargo weight.

 

[sqbtr]

Re: Leaf Springs vs Torsion

Just to reference some numbers, I have 45 torsion axle trailers on the road daily.
I have 35 leaf sprung axle trailers.

I keep 3 torsion axles in stock, and have to restock bi-annualy.

I stock no leaf sprung axles or springs.