25-1/4 inch Leaf Spring Recommendation for Travel Trailer with Tandem Axles

Question:

I have an old tandem axle travel trailer that has a broken leaf spring. I measured the springs on the side that had two non broken springs while still attached to the trailer. One spring measured 26, the other measured 27. With a broken spring on one side and 20 years of aging, how much stretching of the spring would take place? I am trying to decide if I would be good to buy four 25.25 inch length leaf springs to replace all 4 springs at once. I am not sure what weight capacity the spring needs to be. The weight of the trailer is 4800 lbs. Any expert advice? I would replace all shackles and the tandem hangers. The diameter of the axle is 3. The tags on the axle are unreadable. There is a number painted on the axle. I have been trying to replace a broken leaf spring on a tandem axle travel trailer. I got the old one off fine. I bolted the new one on and can not get the axle to line up properly with the spring. The mounting plate for the u bolts will not center with the spring. I am thinking that maybe it is an issue caused by only having one side of the trailer jacked up? I dont want to have all 4 wheels off the ground and the thing fall while Im up under it. Any ideas why I cant just put the u bolts

asked by: Greg

Expert Reply:

20 year old leaf springs on a trailer could easily stretch 3/4 of an inch. Going with a 25-1/4 inch spring like you mentioned would be great. Since your springs are 3 inch in diameter that would indicate that most likely you have a 5,200 lb axle as that's a very common rating for that size. For a 25-1/4 inch length spring we have the part # e44SR which has a 5,000 lb capacity. # e57SR which has a 4,000 lb capacity, and # e46SR which has a 6,000 lb capacity.

Suspension components can be hard to line up if you have the axles not positioned just right. Having just one side of the trailer jacked up will be enough to prevent everything from installing easily. I'd recommend using several jackstands to support the weight and protect yourself while underneath it.

expert reply by: Jameson C