Ordering new trailer, "spread axles?" what do you think

[JKloppe]

I am ordering a new trailer from Optima and spread axles are an option. It seems like they would be great while going down the highway but in town they might eat tires? Do they make a big difference?

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This is the build sheet so far

32' on the floor + 8' gooseneck

8'6" interior height

3 7200lb axles

added 2 baggage doors

20 ft awning

98" interior width

83" Between wheel wells

 

[Ragain]

The more weight on a spread, the more they will tend to bind up on small radius turns and also puts more stress on the hangers. Its funny they are calling the tri-axle a "spread". The main concern I would have is that they should use equalizer bars between each axle. My goose trailer has 12K tandem axles on a 72" spread with no equalizer bars..... BAD ENGINEERING! The trailer must be absolutely level or one axle will carry more weight than the other.

 

[Okie-Go]

If it were me I would save the money. I have pulled triple axles before, I would rather have the equalizers as already mentioned on my trailer. You can always load the trailer so it will carry the weight to make it pull-ride good. JMO

 

[icman95]

I'm not sure I understand the "spread axle" part of the picture posted. When commercial vehicles are called spread axle the axles are at least 6 feet apart. This allows an additional 4k lbs per axle per federal regulations. I would call the trailer pictured simply a tri-axle. True spread axle trailers need to have the more forward axle lifted when going around sharp curves or corners such as city driving or backing into a loading dock/driveway. This prevents the tires from being eaten up and destroyed. It is done with a switch on the dash in the tow vehicle and usually activates the air suspension on the trailer to lift the axle. I can't imagine it would be worth the effort just for recreational purposes. If you can get away with less it would probably be much easier, less trouble, and less cost for chewed up tires and suspension. Nice looking trailer, though.

 

[JKloppe]

I changed the pic for a better visual reference of what I am talking about. It is not that big of a difference but it could change how it pulls. I think it will keep a little more off the truck. The axles are 7k torsion rotated 20 degrees down for off road clearance



okie-go: are you saying triples are not worth the cost? I cant load it different if it is full. 2 rock buggies 6k or less each.



Iceman- I used the wrong terminology but the picture will clear things up. It seems like I always end up with to much weight on the truck. I could move all the axles foreword but then the back drags so easy?



Thanks for the help.

Jordan

 

[Ragain]

Those Torque-Flex axles ride smooth, but again, the trailer MUST be pulled in a level position or one axle may be loaded heavier than the one(s) at the high end of the trailer.

 

[icman95]

You said your buggies are 6k or less each. How much less? 6k lbs is more than a Cadillac weighs. If they are-say 5 or 5. 5k-then you could get away with 2 7200k axles and still be ok on weight. I know you said that you think you end up with too much weight on the truck, but you're suppose to have about 60% of the weight in the nose to prevent the back of the trailer wiggling when going down the road. The truck and hitch are probably rated for about 1000k on them directly. My trailer shop told me that the hitch itself is the limiting factor here and that they had an aftermarket one good for a total of 14k lbs rather than the factory's 10k. Perhaps just changing the hitch would be the simpler and cheaper way to go. This way you could feel comfortable about putting a bit more weight on the truck without bothering with triaxles. Other than the third axle, I'm a bit jealous of the setup you listed. It sounds great. I don't have a reason to own one like that yet, but maybe I can find one, just so I can convince my wife that I need a new toy!

 

[icman95]

Just thought of something. The new one you're looking at is gooseneck. For some reason I just assumed that your old one was bumper/ball tow, not goose or fifth. All that junk I said about the hitch would only make sense if the old one wasn't goose. If it is, then please igonore my silly ramblings.

 

[Okie-Go]

From what I can tell this is a regular triple axle trailer. It should pull ok. I don't think this could be called a spread axle. I pulled a triple axle from East Texas to New York and noticed it a little more bouncy and in a tight turn the back axle had a lot more friction turning. You are right in the statement it goes down the road fine.

 

[JKloppe]

I'm guessing the trailer will weigh 8750 will all of my stuff loaded.

The max the trucks will weigh is 12K

I need a GVW of 21k to be safe.



So which style of triples would you get?



okie-go: In the first pic the axles are further apart (spread apart) than the second one. I know it is not a true spread, but that does not matter here. I have two options and am getting imput on which one to choose.

 

[Slow Six]

I have a tri-axle flat deck with a fifth wheel hitch. This unit is fantastic to tow. Ride is real good and there is good weight capacity. I would recommend that you only go to triples if you need the weight capacity as the triple set up wears tires quite fast especially if you do a lot of turning as in a lot of city driving There are also more tires to buy when you need them.

 

[CBari]

I think it has been posted before so you might want to search on this. All of my knowledge on trailer axles tells me to stay away from tor-flex triples and always go with leaf springs with equalizers on triples. especially if you will be loaded near the max axle weights.





With tor-flexes when go over a curb or any rise in the pavement of 4 inches or greater you load all of the trailer weight on the front axles thus greatly overloading it. To the point that I have seen failures. Same thing can happen with the back axle when you drop something.



With leaf springs the equalizers help to transfer some of the weight to the other axles preventing the overload.



By the way same thing happens with tandem axles but your not tripling the weight on the axles like you do with triples.



I personally like tor-flex axles but just not with triples.



Have you looked at heavy tandem axles with 17. 5 tires and wheels. What ever you do be sure to look at disc brakes. (night and Day difference in stopping ability)