Leaf Spring or Coil Spring/Shock

Im looking for experienced opinion on what is adequate for a small 14 camper trailer or van to handle dirt road corrugations.
Im looking to buy such a beast for gold detecting trips. I typically trip around the Vic Golden Triangle where tracks are mild, but would like to get to WA and or FNQ.
I wont be climbing mountains or going severe off road. However I see corrugations as something I will experience if I get to the North or West.
This is what I understand from Google research, but please correct me if Ive got this wrong.
Leaf springs slide over each other and the friction provides bounce dampening.
Coil springs need a dampener/shock absorber to dampen the springiness.
Corrugations work coil spring dampeners very hard and the generated heat can cause fade or failure. Ive been told by a van dealer that a work around is to rest the vehicle to avoid this problem. I dont know how practical this is. I appreciate factors that affect this are corrugation drive duration, quality of shocks, one or two shocks per spring and ambient temperature. Due to size, weight and entry level budget the camper/vans Im looking at only have one shock per spring or leaf springs. Tare is about 1000 to 1100kg and with load 1500 to 1600kg.
I appreciate independent coil/shock suspension is better for severe off road. However if Im not going to do that would leaf spring be better for my use? Or would spring and one shock be adequate. If I went this second option I think it would be wise to carry a spare shock, or even a pair, along with a spare set of bearings.
Thanks for your help.
Regards Dignit aka Andy

I think I paid $130 For a caravan pair about a year ago.
Don't buy leaf springs that only have one eye/shackle + lazy slipper at the other end!
Welding the first (front shackles)in place is simple.
Weld outer and inner edges only.
The 2nd shackle needs to be welded within a preload point.
As once you put the weight on the springs, the shackles linkage angle will change dramatically.
Loading the spring with a Jack will help you work out the geometry better.
I've seen many shackles weld in the wrong position.
Air shocks might give you more ride height options....
And best run with independent valves.

The Avan single axle I have is a torsion bar suspension.
Brilliant for towing on rough roads.
On very extended trips, Best to carry a set of outer bearing collars.
Fairly easy to replace if you have to.
Oh, And the obligatory shocks and bearings.

Oops, $130 for a pair of shocks !
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=31008
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=29054
Currently drawing up my steel/alloy trailer now I have my tig
But now tempted to run with 25mm cool room sandwich boards for wall and roof etc.
Proper full box chassis is the go for strength.
I continuose length either side.
Getting the draw bar, that can be run all the way to the rear .
This also gives you and excellent joint strip , allowing for the floor sheet to be folded up giving you your without joints.. ( Water tight and less likely to rust)

We run independent coil system on our trailer, think it's Al-Ko but might be Cruisemaster, absolutely brilliant and Aussie made. If you go independent stay away from Chinese made, seen to many broken on Aussie tracks, also the axle machining is appalling, seal faces are like sand paper, had to sleeve ours on our first camper, the seals were gone after 250km, MDC didn't want to know!

Another thing to consider with good independent is you can adjust the wheel alignment, rigid you can't.

Independent has an improved ride, doesn't have to be challenging off road, just find some corrugations, independent will handle them much better.

When you're looking at the camper, take a really good look at the welding, you'll spot the Chinese stuff very quickly, also watch out for hitch loads, many of the camper trailers are seriously heavy on the hitch. Our MDC Cape York was up to 300+kg until I did a massive amount of fabrication for load shifting. The axle is too far back so everything you add is in front of the axle with no ability to place behind to counter balance.

Our new camper fully loaded just hits 240kg on the hitch, it's an Exodus 16, they do a 12 and a 14 as well so worth checking on the second hand market.

I would be leaning to shock and coil with the weight you intend to carry but this is personal preference. I always carry a spare set of bearings and a complete hub on the longer trips just in case. I would also take a spare shock if I had shocks on my camper. :Y:

Andy,its easy to over complicate your thinking when choosing the right suspension setup for a camper. I towed a 1400 kg. (gtm.) 8 leaf spring, 50 mm. solid axle, no shocker campertrailer through the Simpson desert and on to the tip of Cape York. I had absolutely no issues at all across all types of terrain.... because I drove to the conditions and monitored my tyre pressures and speeds.
As long as you buy a quality Aussie built setup, be it solid axle leaf spring ( with or without shockers ), independant coil spring and shockers, or independent torson (Alko) and you drive with common sense, then you should be confident of reliability.
As has been mentioned, steer clear of the cheap knock offs.
Quality tyres are your best friends. ower:

Agree with OzzieAu.
I have leaf springs on my camper trailer and we have taken it off road in some pretty rough terrain in WA and the Palmer River..
I just took it easy and drove to the the conditions. Personally I recon a good set of leaf springs for $260-300 is probably all you really need for a small camper trailer..




What you do need if you are doing a lot of off road driving ,is a good towing hitch.


Not Cheap but well worth the price erfect:
http://www.tregtrailers.com.au/poly-block-couplings/

Thanks guys.
I appreciate your input.
Mudgee Hunter ..... I went through those links you provided. :Y:
Tharadj ........ I had to Google torsion suspension but now know what this is. :Y:
Dihusky ....... Chinese made is what is concerning me. All the forward fold camper trailers I'm looking at are Chinese made parts and asembled in Australia. I'm leaning towards the Ezytrail make and Stirling Z Mk2 model. It has a HDG 100x50x4mm Drawbar which goes all the way through front to back which will be very robust. It has everything I need. It will get all my camping stuff out of the back of the car and make life a lot easier.
The Ezytrail factory is 5 minutes from work. Ive had a quick look at their factory and they certainly have a lot of vans being assembled. They have very good customer service reports. If I end up getting one I think I'll just order a spare shock and wheel bearings.
As to hitch load, being so small the TBW spec is 130kg, but Ezytrail say in reality its more like 110kg. :Y:

Shakergt, OzzieAu and Nucopia thanks for your suggestions and experience.
I'm pleased to hear leaf springs do the job if you drive to conditions. I'm a pretty cautious fella so will have no issue with doing that. :Y:
Thanks again everyone. I'm learning a lot with this COVID-19 lockdown research. Due to being in Melbourne I can't get out for a while yet so its the perfect opportunity to research before I buy.
Any other experience or opinions welcome.
Cheers Dignit

Dignit
The Stirling Z Mk2 looks like the ducks guts mate erfect:

nucopia said:

Dignit
The Stirling Z Mk2 look like the ducks guts mate erfect:

Click to expand...

They are almost a mirror image of the Mars Spirit Lifestyle. The Mars has only a 100x50x3 drawbar which is probably adequate but Id rather go the Ezytrail 100x50x4 drawbar.
The Mars does have gusseted windows all round where the Ezytrail has them only at the ends. Its a trade off, but think structural comes before niceties.
Other than those two main things youd think they come out if the same factory. Quite possibly they do.
Cheers

Mate $14,990 is a pretty decent price for the features both campers are offering ..

nucopia said:

Mate $14,990 is a pretty decent price for the features both campers are offering ..

Click to expand...

Yeah ..... thats what I reckon.

Ezytrail have been around for a while now, so that's a big plus, see if you can find a users forum or FB group, they'll fill in the gaps.

With soft tops a good exercise is how long to set up. Classic exercise: You arrived on site, it's cold and bucketing, how long does it take to pitch and put a warming brew on?

Don't worry about unhitching, just get the top up and the kettle boiling so you're warm and in a dry environment.

As an example, our first camper took 2 people about 2 hrs, it had an outdoor kitchen so the outer canopy had to be pitched before we could start a hot cuppa. It didn't take too many trips before we sold it. Our current camper takes about 10 minutes and we're under cover doing most of the outer canopy. A lot of vendors don't like you trying this, it's a great culling exercise