NEED SOME PHOTO OF DAMAGE BOATS &TRAILERS

HEY GUYS CAN YOU HELP US OUT WITH SOME PICTURES OF BOATS & TRAILERS DAMAGE CAUSE BY BROKEN LEAF SPRINGS ON THE TRAILERS.YOU CAN EMAIL IT TO RMD988@netzero.com thanks WE MAY USE THEM ON A TV
george

there is a topic on this already

Hmmmm. Sounds like some sort of lawsuit or investigative reporting for a tv show. So the end result will be lawyers making alot of money and boat and trailer prices going up to cover and changes and to pay off the lawsuits. The people involved will probably get crap.

Ralph Wiggum: Me fail English? That's unpossible!

no this is for our own use because we came out with new product for when your leaf spring breaks on the trailer.check it out on the web under www.researchmachinedevelopment.com thanks

very interesting, How much is it?

Some people need this for hauling lead around I would think.

I have some doubts about this product.

First off, I would like to point out that the little animation of the leaf spring breaking in the video shows the axle moving the opposite direction than what it would in reality. The animation shows the axle moving downward, extending the piston/cylinder instead of compressing it.

Second, the term "overconstrained" comes to mind.

A leaf spring system will have one end of the leaf spring fastened directly to the trailer frame. The other end will fasten to a joint that allows the length of the spring to grow as it compresses. This causes the axel to move in an arc, not straight up and down.

Have you ever watched the axle on a double axle trailer while it makes a tight turn, like when backing into a garage or down the launch ramp? Those leaf springs twist quite a bit. The axle moves.

Those air bag cylinders will contrain the axle to one spot. I would expect that during normal use the inner and outer sleeve will experience considerable wear and could even bind up.

I've had a trailer leaf spring break while towing. The trailer dropped down onto the axel, the axel stayed in place, because, well the other side of the leaf spring was still attached to the trailer. We towed the trailer another 60 miles into Boise Id where we found a lawn mower repair shop (it was Sunday at 3pm) and welded the spring back together. That got us the last 5 hours home, where we replaced the springs.

Doesn't seem like both sides of the leaf spring would break. I'm sure it's happened, but it doesn't seem like it'd occur very often. I would expect that if 1 in 1000 leaf springs break, that 1 in 1000 of those break both sides -- freeing the axel. (just to make numbers up for sake of argument)

I'm sticking to the lottery.

Rod,

I don't have my volume up very high at work so maybe I missed something...but it looks to me like when the leaf spring breaks, somehow the internal airbag in the device is triggered and inflates to effectively force the axle downward and keep the trailer from dropping. Essentially, the airbag is kind of neutrally inflated during normal use and only inflates when the spring breaks.

As far as the constraining thing, I don't think an axle moves THAT far in an arc, so maybe there is sufficient clearance between the inner and outer sleeves of the device such that there is no interference during normal use.

Maybe the designer can clarify....

Danny

hey danny you are right about the clearance between the two sleeves,but the idea is too raise the fender off the tire when the leaf spring breaks at 60mph because all the weight of the boat is on the tire which then tire want to stop turning,that when the axle or tire want to get wrap up under the trailer.This device has a air cartridge with firing pin which then lift the boat and fender off the tire.the device is passive when not in use and only operates when activated by a leaf spring failure.the whole idea is to preventing damage to your boat and trailer or better yet someone life.if need more information please give me a call.thanks

Hey slipknot the price is $750.00 for a set of two.These are the type of picture we are looking for.Rember the trailer safety device is made here in the USA.thanks

My original springs on the V/M trailer (which cradles my 2000 Centurion Elite-V) were single leaf. One of them broke on center of the axle 1/2 way back to LA from Laughlin. The trailer settled some when it happenned and we noticed it near Barstow. Took it slow and made it the 175 miles home with no problems.
When we got home I swapped all the springs and hardware with new multiple leaf springs for under $200.
Not only does the trailer tow and handle much better, but the redundant springs are much less likely to ever fail.

This product looks like it will work, but I feel the solution is to go with multiple leafs.

What about a solution for a flat tire?

YEA BRUCE THE MULTIPLE LEAF WORK GREAT BUT WERE DO YOU THINK THOSE LEAF SPRING ARE MADE.THEY BEING IMPORTED FROM OVER SEA,AND THATS WHY WE ARE HAVING THE PROBLEMS, AND THATS WAY WE BREAKING THE LEAF SPRINGS ON MOST TRAILER. FOR YOUR SOLUTION FOR FLAT TIRE PUT SOME OF THAT GREEN SLIME IN YOUR TIRE?

George, don't take this the wrong way.

First, CAPS LOCK SUCKS!!!

Second, your English is hard to read. "Where do you think those leaf spring[s] are made.[?] They [are] being" .....etc

Third.. .. nevermind.
Robb

George:

Is this a one size fits all, or are they made to order?

I downloaded the installation manual which confused me even more. There is a top piece that clamps to the trailer frame, but it looks like there were assumptions made about the width/height of the trailer frame. The bottom piece clamps to the axle, again assuming a standard size axle.

The fore/aft adjustment would be made on the trailer frame, the left/right adjustment made on the axle. I didn't see any way of adjusting for the situation that the axle wasn't perpindicular to the frame. I also didn't see any height or range adjustment.

If you hit bump, pothole, etc and manage to bottom out the suspension on the trailer, wouldn't that fire the cartridge and inflate the airbag?

I also don't see what keeps the top and bottom from separating if the spring does break. Springs are unlikely to break going down a nice smooth road. The spring is likely to break because you just dropped the right wheel off the road and it was bouncing like crazy. So if the spring breaks, the top and bottom compress to the point that the cartridge fires, and now you suddenly have an airbag inflating, what keeps the next bounce from just allowing the top and bottom from separating and then the axle swinging back?

How many of these are actually in use?

George, I've never had experience with a multiple leaf spring breaking. But it seems since there is much more material and flex that it FAR more likely to hold together in a situation that would snap a single leaf design.

Please answer a few questions for me (us).

Where do multiple leaf springs break?
Do you have experience with this, why ask for pics?
How can you develope a product without exposure to this?
Have you researched a coil design?

Personally, I'm doubting both the product use and marketing strategy.

Wouldn't both side of the spring need to break in order for the axle to shift?? Seems somehwhat unlikely, but I guess it happens.

Also, 1500 bucks to retrofit my trailer seems pricey. i could change all the springs on mine 5 times for that amount. Just sayin. Not that safety is no worth it.

FIRST TO ROBB SORRY ABOUT MY ENGLISH, THE LEAF SPRING IS MADE IN CHINA OR INDIA AND THAT BECAUSE WE MAKE ALMOST EVERY THING OVER SEA NOW DAYS.TO ROD THIS DEVICE IS MADE FOR A 4 INCH FRAME RAIL AND A 2 INCH AXLE BAR AT THIS TIME. THE QUESTION ABOUT LEFT OR RIGHT DOES NOT MATTER BECAUSE THIS DEVICE IS ONLY UBOLTED TO THE TRAILER FRAME RAIL AND AXLE BAR.ABOUT HITTING POTHOLE AND BOTTOM OUT YOUR SPRINGS. THERE IS A GIVEN DISTANCE BEFORE IT FIRE OFF THE CARTRIDGE AND THAT IS WHEN THE FENDER HITS WHICH IS OVER 3.5 INCH OR LESS.THERE ONLY SO MUCH SPRING FLEX BEFORE IT BREAKS AND FOR YOUR LAST THING YOU ASK ABOUT WHAT WOULD KEEP THE BOTTOM AND TOP FROM SEPARATING IS THAT THE TUBE HAS A COMBINED LENGTH OF OVER 10 INCHS.IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION PLEASE GIVE A CALL.THANKS

BRUCE AND FLUX PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL AT 408-988-1785 THANKS

bruce the first question - a leaf spring can break anywhere, but is usually the top spring that is connected to the trailer. Yes, friends of mine have broken their springs. Pictures are needed for advertising and such. I developed this product after being exposed to it when I was in a bass fishing club. Then I went on to research it and found it to a common occurance. I have researched the coil design however it can not hold the weight capacity.
Flux, both sides do not need to break to cause the axle to shift. The weight of the fender on top of the trailer trying to stop the wheel from turning can twist it under the trailer. As for the cost, I would agree that it seems pricey however, I would ask you to look at the bigger picture - the cost of repairs to your boat, trailer perhaps your vehicle and possibly other vehicles on the road.

George, I was out checking your web site. You're product is not a bad idea, but it seems a bit pricy for what it provides. What about a simple restraining device (chain?) that would prohibit the axle from twisting under the boat. This solution wouldn't have any support but would save the bottom of the boat.
Thoughts?

Seems to me that one issue george is trying to prevent is the wheel from going up into the fender well, in the event of leaf spring failure, and binding against the fender well effectively stopping the wheel's rotation and thus causeing the axel to shift. Why not just use a rubber bumper like the auto manufacturers use to prevent the axel from ever moving close enough to the frame to allow the wheel and fender to touch. Done. The would be an inexpensive solution. The other solution would be to outfit each wheel with a flux capacitor and when the wheel rotation reached a certain speed POOF it would be gone.

I agree, while it seems overly complex, it looks like a very well built product. It that 1500 lbs capacity per axle, as in 750 lbs per unit? That may be a serious limitation as well. Most boat trailer axles are 3500 lb + units, no?

What about just building a solid heavy steel box around the axle at each wheel, with an opening just barely larger than the normal range of motion? If you have a square axle, it would also prevent rotation.

The trailer in the picture is also a single axle. Most on here agree that single axle trailers are not worthy of hauling our boats around due to things like flat tires and broken springs.

George's product seems pretty well thought out and I applaud ingenuity and integrity, especially when it comes to safety devices and improving our quest to hit the water.

A bumper between the frame and axle seems like a decent idea. Or even some simple brackets that restrain the axle from rotating out of position. I would not mind having some shocks on my trailer as well to prevent hard recoveries from bumps. I guess it's always in my mind when hauling, hoping the trailer is not having any issues while going down the interstate.

bruce the idea is to not allow that tire thats turning at 60mph to get caught under the trailer because what is on top is going to flip off the trailer and its like a open wheel tire on a race car.and to kelly question about using a rubber stop like on a car is that there is not enough there to keep the axle from twisting because of the boat weight.for trace question about the axle weight is 1500 to 2000 lbs per axle mean one tire and most axle are not rated for 3500lbs?and for flux there are trailers made with shocks but the only problem is shock are not made to be submerge under water or the o ring will spilt causing it to fail.hey flux please give me a call.
george

(Message edited by georgey on August 31, 2006)

come on guys i still need the pictures I need your help thanks.