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Shackle (less) flip??!!

Fordum

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Next time you see a lift setup that looks dangerous, or ridiculous, consider this picture and realize it could be worse.............Much worse.
I spotted this on a boat trailer I was looking at.
Its actually hooked to both axles.
I can not imagine how it rides, or exactly how it does not pop off an axle when you hit a bump.

Shackle.jpg
 
As crusty as it is, I'd say it has been working fine for quite some time.

Martin
 
If its been launching in the Gulf, its hard to say how old it is. But while it may have been on there for a while, I'm not convinced it ever worked "fine".......
 
that design dosnt need shackles .

it basicly hold the axle in place and lets it float up/down in a small arc .

just think of it as 2 quarter elliptical setups sharing the same center mounting point.

thay still use this same design in big truck stuff . mack camel back suspensions are basicly the same . mack center mount piviots on main beam is all. ( pic )
ya prob tad stiff but how many miles are on most boat trailers ? :popcorn:

Triangle-Suspension-Systems.jpg
 
Still looks hairy. Trusting that center mount to hold the trailer weight, load weight, suspension movement, and keep it all straight going down the road.

I do see this set up on the semi trucks with materials handling trailers. (Like dirt/scrap)
 
Looks like it would work fine, a lot of stress put on the connection to the trailer, so it better be sturdy. but as far as working it would be fine. Early independent rear suspension kinda sorta
 
a lot of the old military 5 tons used this same setup.

it is a legit spring set up, albiet rough riding like a mofo!


p13.jpg
 
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I could see it being a pretty cool setup if you had 2 rear drive axles and some good movement room for the axles. Front one climbs over a rock and loses some traction and the rear axle is forced down and has great traction.
 
Yah thats actually a pretty common setup on older trailers.

Really old heavy duty trucks used it alot too.

I can think of at least one Mack and an American LeFrance my buddies Dad has that are both like that
 
I would probably not even have given it a second look, except for the spring eyes. If its still there, I may ride back by and look closer.
But when I first looked at it, it looked like the ends of the spring were just hooked over the axles and held in place by a clamp.

I suspect now that there is something that goes under the axle and into the end of the spring.
But at first glance, it looked like a regular shackle type spring turned upside down with the shackle eyes barely hooked over the square axles.

If its attached better than it looks, its probably OK, but in that case, I have to wonder about the frame attachment.
Looks a little flimsy to handle the side loading of two axles.
 
a lot of the old military 5 tons used this same setup.

it is a legit spring set up, albiet rough riding like a mofo!


p13.jpg

The 2 cresent moons on the axle shafts mean those are rockwells. :popcorn:

EDIT: old top loader style too.
 
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Looks to me like a walking beam suspension using a spring for a beam.
 
Apparently its all in how you look at it. When I saw it the other day, it appeared both to my eye and the later pics, to have an empty shackle end on the spring just hung over the axle.

I went by there today, and the sun was at a different angle, and so was I.
The result turned a strange and possibly dangerous setup into something more reasonable.

As you can see, what I thought was an empty eye, is attached to a bracket. Still rusted out and not something I would want to take on the road, but the design looks a lot better.

The owner has a for sale sign on it, but wisely did not put on a price. In addition to the rust, and the dry rot on the tires, the rest of the setup does not inspire confidence.

It is the lower half of a pontoon boat on a trailer. When I saw it from the highway, it looked like something I might grab cheap and turn into a fun toy to fish off of.

When I got close, I felt an almost overpowering urge to drive away as fast as possible before someone came along and tried to make me claim it.

I think the pontoons are fiberglass. Without getting out of the truck and tapping on them its hard to tell, and I'm afraid the thing might be contagious.
There are certainly lots of fiberglass patches on it, and an obvious add-on bilge pump setup on each side.

I'm kinda known for picking up junk and making great things out of it. But I honestly would not take this thing home if it were given to me.
In fact, you would have to pay me quite a bit to haul it away.........

However, if anyone here just feels like they just cannot live without it, its in Blountstown Fl., and I will be glad to find some contact info for you.........

Just don't ask me to hook it to my truck...........

I'm afraid it might catch something from it.....

shacklend.jpg

toon1.jpg

toon2.jpg

toon3.jpg
 

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