So I bought a new old brush chipper a few weeks back. Been working through some issues on it, one of which was to replace the leaf springs. It has an 8000lb axle on it, but the chipper weighs 9500lbs or so. I guess they figure the tounge carries a fair amount of weight too.
Anyways, I had less than 3/4 clearance between the tires and fender and it is quite obvious from the looks of the fenders that that isnt enough so I decided to replace the springs. The old ones had these brackets or braces on the eye of the spring. My only guess is that they are to help keep the eye from opening up. I'd guess Vermeer maybe had issues pushing that spring/axle combo to its limit and this was their solution. A friend of mine has a newer version of the same chipper. His is a torsion axle, but still 8000lbs.
Anybody ever seen these or know their purpose? I just thought they were kind of interesting.
By the way, the new springs really didn't gain me too much. I still can't get my hand in flat between the tire and fender...
Anyways, I had less than 3/4 clearance between the tires and fender and it is quite obvious from the looks of the fenders that that isnt enough so I decided to replace the springs. The old ones had these brackets or braces on the eye of the spring. My only guess is that they are to help keep the eye from opening up. I'd guess Vermeer maybe had issues pushing that spring/axle combo to its limit and this was their solution. A friend of mine has a newer version of the same chipper. His is a torsion axle, but still 8000lbs.
Anybody ever seen these or know their purpose? I just thought they were kind of interesting.
By the way, the new springs really didn't gain me too much. I still can't get my hand in flat between the tire and fender...