Trailer Suspension Test - Independent vs Leaf Springs

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Testing out the new DOT trailer with Independent Suspension and comparing it to a leaf sprung DOT. This OffRoad test includes mud, rocks, gravel, ruts and dirt roads. I stuck a go pro to the back of the trailer facing down towards the suspension set ups to get a clear view of what goes on while driving. The Independent handled really well on its first ever run and was quite a bit smoother and had less bounce than the leaf springs. Enjoy :)

Опубликовано:

5 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 50

@carsella11 4 года назад

Great vid. Thank you. It’s good to know I can save about $3k and just get shocks for my leaf set up.

@off-roadingexplained8417 2 года назад

Nah... That's not the only difference...

@dgarlo 7 лет назад

Very good video, and showing the 2 different suspension types in those conditions, oh love the trails

@kaitosutton 7 лет назад

Daniel Garlick thanks mate :)

@v0w1x2 7 лет назад

Thanks for showing this. As one of the people that suggested you try a trailing arm suspension Luke, I'm glad that you did. It looked like it worked better to me , a lot less sway and roll but the draw bar looks a little long to me a few times it bottomed out.

@dehsantanao1 4 года назад

So satisfying to watch! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

@xbpbat21x 6 лет назад

So....the verdict?

@Piecenotwar Год назад

Personally I think the leaf springs here did as good a job as the coil sprung, do not forget that quite a lot of suspension travel/damping is the the sidewalls of the tyres. Add some dampers to those springs for a bit more control over the movement of the leaf pack👌

@larryrobinson08 Год назад

I became interested in independent suspension, after spending 4 days driving parts of El Camino Real in Baja California Mexico. Now I’m thinking about building a small trailer to pull behind a Prius. I’m sure Axel/ leaf springs will work for me. Now that I see how much movement (violence) happens with the leaf springs, it explains the reason all three trailers in our caravan ended up breaking down with broken shackles, springs, bolts that just fell out etc.

@SyEnsability 3 года назад

Admittedly the IS is more fun to watch, and appears to have a little more travel -- though that didn't help in these tests. Those leaf springs are quite long, which is definitely the way to do it! Shocks do help with more travel (as pointed out). The video is excellent. Thank you. Not quite fair, however, . . . the vehicle with the leaf spring trailer has a better driver ;)

@falconberlina8488 2 года назад

Great video!! Enjoyed the comparison.. To me it looks like the solid axle can do 80% of what the independent setup can do. I would need to work out if I would ever need the extra 20% capability. Right now, 95% of the time I wouldnt...

@6226superhurricane 5 лет назад

if the leaf sprung trailer had shocks it wouldn't bounce on the high speed stuff.

@off-roadingexplained8417 2 года назад

Independent suspension has better traction at high speed. That's why it's in race trucks....

@jonathanrabbitt 7 месяцев назад

The axle articulation is very impressive.

@MrGermonator 7 лет назад

Excellent job boys. Love it. However, can you put up some specs on the test, eg., GVM, trailer ATM, what you had loaded (Luke said 60kg on top but that's not quite enough for the army tent on dot6), water tank, jerries, etc... the Independent Trailer Suspension (ITS) worked great, dramatically reducing the trailer sway and articulation in the scalloped ruts but how much does the ITS weigh, including the increased chassis? You need to throw a dot6 5 or 6 leaf suspension through the same tracks, loaded the same, for a proper comparison. The dot5 is a lot lighter so I suspect the difference with the ITS would be even more dramatic. Noticed how the stone guard/jockey were deeply scrubbed on those high spoon drains due to the long drawbar...might be worth rounding the external corners of the stone guard? Anyway, love your work as always. Mark

@kaitosutton 7 лет назад

Mark Emerson hey mark, sorry for the late reply. Yeah this video was only over a quick weekend trip to test the new dot out, so wasn't going to get too serious with the stats, just wanted to show how the different suspension types looked like and how they went, along with some good 4wding. So maybe later once we have more IS dots out I could make a direct comparison video with all stats added up and with the same tow vehicle. Thanks, kaito

@chadliggett7988 Год назад

Brothers, Awesome Review and filming! It would of been Cool if the Left Spring trailer would of had the Lock N Roll Articulating Hitch vs The Military Style Pintle Hitch on the other trailer! I think then It would of been a closer match! I see the video is 5 yrs old! Best Regards!

@bryanhersman4037 3 года назад

Add $100 worth of shocks to the leafs and see what's the difference. You basically are testing shocks vs no shocks.

@off-roadingexplained8417 2 года назад

That's not true. Independent suspension follows the terrain BETTER.

@Now_lets_get_this_straight Год назад

If your testing dependent vs independent suspension, then your right, both wheels should either be a leaf or coil, using either an axleI/no axle. Trying to making comparison using coiled steel and flat tensioned steel together really doesn’t answer the question about dependent/independent suspension.

@mindofown 5 месяцев назад

Brilliant, so informative

@irwinjimenez 5 лет назад

I got the impression that IFS is more stable with better ground clearance.

@fotostudio68 7 лет назад

Kaito, work a suspension like more? Independent? TNX for video!

@m2-x-n253 2 года назад

IS all the way for comfort, tht thing stablises so well.

@chilliburn1 7 лет назад

some shocks on the leaf spring setup would Make the world of difference. pull the shocks out of the rear of the 76 and feel the difference. I'm still a massive fan of leafs. trailers dont articulate so its all about smooth ride and handling. the weight is distributed more evenly along the chassis rails, easy repairs if ever, cheaper and proven. thats my opinion anyway.

@stuartkcalvin 7 лет назад

"trailers dont articulate". Huh? DOTs have an OzHitch.

@kaitosutton 7 лет назад

Stuart Calvin yeah man well he means the trailers suspension doesn't flex up, the trailer just tips to one side. Trailer suspension just soaks up the bumps

@DazzaOnGoogle 5 лет назад

Yep - shocks are underrated. I think at low speed, there wouldn't be any appreciable difference- not much wheel travel required - it all goes into rotatingthe trailer, but at speed, that's when the coils come into their own. On a larger trailer (like a dual axle job), then I'd expect the extra independent wheel articulation to be a big thing

@JamesMandy 7 лет назад

awesome!

@steveplant1799 7 лет назад

Great comparison test guys...got the same cruiser now I need the trailer!!! So big question are you going to offer it as an option? I'd take the IS option over the LS. Never did get the the "Tops'' now I need to. Cheers Steve

@stuartkcalvin 7 лет назад

stick with leaf springs, science says so.

@kaitosutton 7 лет назад

Steve Plant yeah man the IS is now available, just did a video recently on the drifta page of the alucab version, IS with twin shocks, check it out :)

@H-eq7un 2 месяца назад

What is the eye to eye length of those leaf springs?

@spartaeus 5 лет назад

No much of a difference. Leafs spring suspension is less expensive to fix. I'd like to see a comparison of walking beam axle suspension.

@jcautec 5 лет назад

cheaper to purchase too

@RathJ13 4 года назад

theres a huge difference offroad. did you not watch the same video I did? A lot less bouncing around/near tipping moments with the independent. It definitely has it's downsides, and I personally am not going to run it, but it is definitely better offroad.

@off-roadingexplained8417 2 года назад

Amazing video. And I think it's funny that independent suspension is the best for your Polaris ... Best for your trailer.... But not for your Jeep ? It makes me laugh...in situations where you don't need extreme flex (most situations) 4 wheel independent suspension is better. .

@superwag634 Год назад

All spring types need to be matched to their load. The lead springs look too stiff for the load. The independent system stresses the chassis with more point loads. Durability wise, probably the leaf springs spread the load more evenly on chassis

@TWX1138 4 месяца назад

That's what I was thinking too. Most leaf-springs for trailers are not really designed with rough conditions in mind, so as as result they're designed to be lowest cost to get the job done. That works fine on pavement or gravel but becomes a problem in rougher conditions with their physically short lengths and minimal travel. On the other hand their two points of contact to the frame at each side and their tie between them in the form of the axle itself means the the weight at each side might actually be no worse than these boxed tubing assemblies used for the swingarms. I'd like to see a trailer built with the sorts of long leaf springs used in trucks along with shock absorbers to dampen tested against the independent suspension setup. I'm guessing that it would be lighter weight than independent for the same strength, and longer leafs specifically meant for this sort of load might perform better. The caveat of course is the risk of sway, particularly at high speed. Shorter suspension travel means less opportunity for sway at higher speeds because the trailer simply can't lean over on its own suspension as far. An antisway bar might help in that circumstance but now it's another thing to have to be accounted for when going off road, so in the end it might all be a wash anyway.

@stuartkcalvin 7 лет назад

Ground clearance is a metric. The measure is the height of the axle at the wheel. Sticks don't cut it and caught you.

@kaitosutton 7 лет назад

Stuart Calvin yeah man well it was only suppose to be a quick video over a weekend, I'm no professional on suspension types.

@TinShackVideos 7 лет назад

No lockers?

@kaitosutton 7 лет назад

The 76 has twin ARB airlocks but none in the 80

@shaunarnold499 5 месяцев назад

Stop the slip lock and go mate , no drama ..

@stuartkcalvin 7 лет назад

Kaito's comment that "it looks good" [IS] and "works better on road" is naive, sorry Kaito. DOTs bush bash. IS requires spare shocks and a welder. Leaf springs just bailing wire and duct tape if things get drastic. If the shocks are too hot to touch in the Barringtons then they will not cope on the GB or TT. I inferred from all three videos that Luke is trying to talk out the IS. Just one 80l water tank. Just another inch of clearance. Most trailer wrecks I've seen have been IS and made from imported materials. One shock each side? Tiddly coils? By all means be a weekend warrior with IS but 28 day trips with leaf springs are what the DOT is built for. Apologies to all.

@kaitosutton 7 лет назад

Stuart Calvin pretty sure bailing wire and duct tape doesn't fix much. With the second shock on they don't heat too much, less than the car shocks so that's saying something and I reckon the IS looks way better.

@nabob14 5 лет назад

Actually, if you broke the spring in the IS trailer, no real consequences as the spring is not used to located the "axle" position and if you needed ground clearance, just stuff something in place of the spring... on the other hand, if the main leaf spring broke, you'd not have anything locating the axle in proper location and would make it difficult to tow. If the IS trailer had dual rate springs, would be the cats ass.

@falconberlina8488 2 года назад

@@nabob14 good points. Pros and cons to everything, isn't there!