Leaf springs or torsion axles on a new trailer?

[coachlaw]

About to have to get a new boat trailer. What are the pros and cons of leaf springs vs a torsion axle setup?

[FlatoutFishin]

Torsion, because its the year 2017!

[Ibtsoom]

Torsion, because its the year 2017!

Actually I heard there's a dude in East Texas that makes covered wagon style wooden axles with spoke wheels - that might be more his speed.

[Jerkyourcroaker]

Sandy is Amish at heart.

[FlatoutFishin]

Sandy is Amish at heart.

Actually I heard there's a dude in East Texas that makes covered wagon style wooden axles with spoke wheels - that might be more his speed.

LMAO

[WestEndAngler]

I have leaf springs on my 18' aluminum boat and like them. Torsion rusted quickly on our waverunner trailer. Kenny recently made a switch maybe get his input on how he likes/ liked them.

[dbarham]

LMAO

Me too!!

[coachlaw]

If only I could afford a team of horses . . . .

I wouldn't call leaf springs outdated. Plenty of new trailers have them. I was just looking to compare. My 1996 trailer is losing it's galvanizing. I've saved up about half of what I need for a new one, so I thought I'd ask for input. Interested to hear what Kenny says.

[kenny]

I like the torsion axle. Trailers last me about 5 years. They always fail where the axle plate bolts to the trailer I-beam. The plate bolts tore through the I-beam on one side of a galvanized McClain with leaf-springs. The mounting plates on my 5 year old Coastline aluminum trailer became wavy and were turning into a rock garden from the contact of dissimilar metals, so I replaced the torsion axle with a new torsion axle. Coastline puts a 1" aluminum bar between the plate and the I-beam which saves the trailer from damage but the plate still was failing. When we replaced it I put some hard plastic pieces between the mounting plate and the aluminum plate. We'll see how that works.

So it doesn't happen again, I also have a new regime for washing the trailer. I use an oscillating sprinkler and heavy duty corrosionX every couple of months.

[coachlaw]

Thank you Kenny.

On another note, what do y'all think about sealed Vault axles? I put one on my present trailer 3-4 years ago and it's nice not to have to worry about greasing the bearings. All seems to be well with it, but if anyone else has an opinion on them, please sing out.

[kenny]

They're Ok until they fail, then you're on the side of the road.

[TxPescador]

Something to think about if you go with a galvanized trailer is rubbing the whole trailer down with wheel bearing grease. I've got a trailer from sportsman for my Elpescador in 1999 that is still going strong with only having to replace the springs once. The grease repels the water, can make for a mess if you have to make a repair but worth it. I wipe down everything axles, springs, bolts.

[coachlaw]

I priced galvanized and it was only $300 less. So I'm going to go with aluminum. I never buy anything new for myself, well not since 2004. I've been putting away some money for this. Next I start saving for an outboard. I should have enough by 2051.