Trailer leaf spring location

[rednecknproud21]

I currently have a trailer that's is setup spring over axle and I was thinking about changing it to a axle over spring set up to lower the ride height so I don't have to back the trailer into the water as far. When I launch my boat now I have to back my truck where my back wheels are in the water. I have heard of people lengthening the tongue to help with this problem. I have a 96 Chevy half ton 4x4 that is lifted several inches with larger tires I currently use a 7in drop hitch which is the perfect amount of drop. The trailer sits perfectly level with this much drop so I know tongue height is not my problem. I was thinking if I could do the axle over spring it would lower my ride height by like 3in which should mean I shouldn't have to back in as far so hopefully my rear truck tires won't be in the water. I plan on fishing some not so busy lakes this summer that are steep and have alot of miss on them and I don't want to have to use 4 wheel drive on these ramps.

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[rednecknproud21]

I have plenty of clearance on my trailer fenders so I don't have to worry about the tires rubbing.

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[rednecknproud21]

Anyone have any input on this mod I know back in the day we used to do the opposite to lift trailers for off road use when 4wheeling.

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[user 20022]

Give it a few. Lots of good folk here will chime in.

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[Johnny]

Red - I changed my axle from lower to upper about 10 years ago.
This is on my 14' Crestliner that is bare bones so there is not much
weight to worry about bottoming out on the frame.
IMO, I would say it is very okay to do this as long as your springs are in good shape.
also make sure you have good alignment after the change.
and personally, I would suggest new 1/2" or 5/8" galvanized square end U-bolts as they now carry the entire load.
My other trailer is a '59 Gator that holds my Lone Star boat and it is springs over axle.
I will eventually change that out also as the sides on the Lone Star are pretty high.
I will do that just for the convenience of working around the boat,
not for launching or a lower ride....... both will also get new wires and LED lights this winter.

 

[rednecknproud21]

Tex - I changed my axle from lower to upper about 10 years ago.
This is on my 14' Crestliner that is bare bones so there is not much
weight to worry about bottoming out on the clamps.
I would say it is very okay to do this as long as your springs are in good shape.
also make sure you have good alignment after the change.
My other trailer is a '59 Gator that holds my Lone Star boat and it is springs over axle.
I will eventually change that out also.

Thanks for the reply I wanted to get some else's input that had done this before I pulled the trigger on it. Did it help with launching the boat easier and not having to back as far down the ramp?

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[Johnny]

the ramps for me in my area are pretty shallow.
so on some, yes, it does help to have the boat a few inches lower.
but my boats are so light, they push right off.
I am the guy you see at the ramp that is not afraid to
submerge the wheels to launch or retrieve the boat.
Regular maintenance on the hubs is the key to longivity if you often drown your wheels.
I sold my 4x4 Cherokee so now I must excercise caution in any soft sand with the 2x2 Durango.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I think Johnny means new 1/2" galvanized U-Bolts.

 

[Johnny]

- yes -

 

[CedarRiverScooter]

I have been thinking of doing this too. I don't mind getting tires wet, but have to back in so far on a local ramp that my parking brake linkage gets wet. That rusted up, so now I am much more careful. Bunks not in the water much during low river level.

Good suggestion on new hardware Johnny.

 

[Skunked again]

Did you wind up doing this?
I did this on a previous boat, helped quite a bit.

 

[rednecknproud21]

Did you wind up doing this?
I did this on a previous boat, helped quite a bit.

It has been rather cold here and I don't have a garage. So I haven't had the chance to do it. The one day it was warm enough I couldn't resist the urge to go fishing. [emoji4] But once it's war.s up I will be doing this. I will post pics when complete.

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[olefart]

I have changed a lot of these set ups to over springs, I didn't see any mention of the bolt that holds the springs together you may have to flip the bolt over to fit in the recess that is used for centering I used small c clamps to hold mine together the undo the bolt flip it around tighten it back up. simple but be aware you, may, have to do this, I have had to every time I've flipped them.