Ram-lin trailer issues

[Ron Cox]

My newly acquired SV211 is awesome. But the Ram-lin it sets on is not. Two major issues some of you more experienced members may shed some light on :

1. Surge coupler- mine is a Titan model 60, drum brake. It's ugly and the master cylinder is shot. I want to replace the entire coupler (not rebuild the cylinder) and think the Titan Aero series is much sleeker. Has anyone done this and do you specifically warn against it?

2. Prop/Rudder guard-mine has almost 3 whole inches of clearance. The whole trailer sets low and I drag over every dip and bump in the road. I can't change the bunk height (to raise the rudder, and subsequently the guard) without some serious engineering, so I thought I'd raise the whole trailer by altering the suspension. Only my Ramlin has some drop-axle-dampening something or other going on. I would have been more excited to see leaf springs. Does anyone have a suggestion?

The coupler is no big deal. Its a bolt on and I've found one to directly replace it. Only wanted suggestions on the model I've chosen. The suspension has me bumfuddled. And the trailer service outfit I frequent also scratched their heads (West Texas is intimate with horse trailers, not boat trailers). Any advice for a NOOB is greatly appreciated

[pj]

I've used a drop-hitch in the past to deal with prop guard clearance issues. the boat gets a slight "nose down" attitude. but, it should give you enough room to make it out of the gas station parking lot without tearing out the side walk

[skiinxs]

Ramlin Issues

If the suspension you are referring to is a torsion axle suspension (MUCH better than leaf springs in my opinion), if you want to raise it a little, loosen the big bolt clamping the swing arms to the spline, pull the swing arms off of the spline, and reinstall rotated one spline down.
Dave

[Ron Cox]

JP,

Its funny you mention the drop hitch, cause my F250 squats with the boat on it, giving that nose down effect. It drives me nuts! But you're right that it gives me a little extra room in the back.


Skiinxs,

Yup, torsion axles they are. Thank you for the lesson. I'm used to leaf springs, or air ride. I'll try the swing arm adjustment, but I'm a little concerned about swinging the front tire too far forward and rubbing the fender. I also thought about un-bolting the axles and installing a block between the trailer frame and the axles. I don't know how I feel about the structural integrity of this just yet.

Appreciate the input.

[Ceruzziracing]

Just a precaution, though I have never played with the torsion arms on my trailer. As an avid VW lover, that was the easy way to lower/raise the rear suspension on old bugs. The note of caution is that the torsion arms could be under pretty serious tension, especially with the boat on the trailer. I almost broke both hands playing with the torsion adjusters on my '62 GMC pickup-just be careful, might place a floor jack under arm (if it's even that accessible...) just my .02 of caution...