Shackle or Slipper

[griz066]

Looking to build a new boat trailer and was wondering what the general feeling was about Shackle or slipper springs was.

What are the advantages ,disadvantages of both.
Will be used in mainly fresh water, so the salt water rust factor is minimised.

Cheers in advance :)

[finga64]

Shackles are quieter and let the spring work easier
Slippers are cheaper, easier to install, generally keep the trailer about 2" lower then the shackles (easier to launch boat and less drag when your towing), and generally less hassle.
If your building a new trailer go for the greaseable shackles on the front whichever way you go.
Personally I like the greaseable shackles front and back.
Hope this helps #:)

[snappa]

:)

Shackles

[Boz]

Also depends on the boat, if its only a smallish lightweight boat, slippers will do the job just fine. On a larger and heavier one I would go the shackles. Both will work though so way up the differnce in cost.

[blaze]

slippers - less maintance and thats gotta be a good thing in something that you back in salt water.
Just make sure you weld on a replaceable slipper plate
cheers
blaze

[griz066]

Thanks Blaze, Boz, Finga, Snappa,

Blaze would a piece of 50x10 be all that is required for the replaceable slipper plate?
also do you grease the area where the slipper rubs against or leave it dry?

Boz boat is only a 15ft 850kg so I guess the slipper are the way to go.

Is there any advantage in galvanised over black steel

[cooky]

is a 'slipper' made of one spring? what are they?

You mention noise in springs - my hilux (only 2/3 years old) is bloody squeaky in the rear - does this mean the shackles / bushes need greasing or something?

I did ask the mechanics before last service and typically they said there was no squeek so they didn't fix it. It's got pretty bad (annoying) so this time I'll make sure it's fixed.

[blaze]

50 x 10 wear pad for slipper would be fine
cooky
spray them with a bit of lube of somesort, dont think the luxes have grease nipples, more likely to be a nylon/rubber bush, maybe even steel back bush(steel outside and inside with a rubber insert)
cheers
blaze

[finga64]

Is there any advantage in galvanised over black steel
There was a thread a week or so ago about that topic. Some real good info there for both aspects.
Cheers

[finga64]

is a 'slipper' made of one spring? #what are they?

You mention noise in springs - my hilux (only 2/3 years old) is bloody squeaky in the rear - does this mean the shackles / bushes need greasing or something?

I did ask the mechanics before last service and typically they said there was no squeek so they didn't fix it. #It's got pretty bad (annoying) so this time I'll make sure it's fixed.
Slipper springs are springs without the 'eyes' on the rear. They don't pivot like the back of the springs work on your Hilux they just slide along the wear plate that is welded on the chassis. They come as a single BIG leaf or numbers of leaves like the Hilux. The noise I'm talking about is a bump, bump of the rear of the slipper jumping up and down in the rear retainer slightly if there is not much weight on the trailer. If there is a fair bit of weight you don't usually hear the bump, bump.

The rear shackles of your Hilux should be bushes that may need attention (they only lasted about 2 years in my ute) especially if they're factory fitted. They would most likely be rubber (if they're black) if they're factory fitted. The front should be what Blaze has mentioned, the steel outer and inner liners with rubber between.
Spray a liquid lubricant (ie Inox or Silicon spray, not a petroleum based lubricant) on firstly the rear shackles to see if the squeak is in the the rear shackles and then on the front shackle.
If the squeak is in the rears they're easy to replace. After market replacements come in rubber or nylon type material and ususally come with their own grease.
The fronts are a bit harder to change, #they're usually pressed in.

Check also that all the shackle bolts are tensioned correctly. They may just be loose.

Hope this helps and makes some sense
Scott