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Suspension Wear
I must have 60,000 kilometers on my 2012 Cougar 318 SAB, and most if those are highway miles at 110 kph (65 mph) travelling from eastern Canada to Florida, Texas and this winter to California. Aside from some tire wear and one blowout, the trailer has journeyed well. Now , all the aluminium trim panels have had to be reattached with fender washers as the screws wore through and the front cap is badly faded. Coming through Mobile, AL, I stopped for the night and found the rear left tire deflating. On examination the inside tread had been shaved to the canvas and the axle looked askew. The front spring hanger was horizontal instead of vertical and the spring leaves were out if alignment. Fortunately there was a truck service place just down the road and I was able to get the tire reinflated long enough to get there. The obvious fault was the balancer which had worn out. All the bolt holes we're oval and the steel liners worn out. A new balancer and tire got me home, except for the unrelated blowout in Bangor ME. I checked the balacer in the other side, and tried to lubricate it, but the hanger and spring bolts have to be removed to do that, or even to inspect it properly.
When I got home I found that the spring had twisted and the main leaf was bent so that I was unable to realign the leaves with violent hammering. I had a new spring set installed and all appears to be well for now.
This is my second experience with spring / axle troubles and I have come to the conclusion that these trailers are not designed for high mileage. I carry a lot of stuff, but I don't travel with full tanks and l don't think I'm overweight. This last trip was 15,000 km and I probably hit a few bumps, humps and lumps at highway speed, but nothing that alarmed me.
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