Dual axle vs triple axle

In all honesty, get the one you like best. I've never had to replace camper tires because excessive tire scrub. Its just not that common.

Telling us what you're hauling would help a lot.

Personally I'd check the GVWR and see if you really need that third axle.

I have a triple axle toyhauler with a GVWR of 18,000 lbs. If I was fully loaded I would have around 14,400 lbs. on three axles, or about 7,200 lbs. on double axles. If I were running 7,000 lb. axles with Sailun tires, which are rated at 4,000 lbs. then I would be covered for 8,000 lb. per axle.

However, I run about 3,000 lbs. under my GVWR when fully loaded. I could easily run double axles and would prefer it. If nothing else the maintenance costs are much greater with the triple axle. Consider 6 tires, 6 sets of brakes/bearings, extra expense if you do any suspension modifications. Thanks but no thanks.

discovery4us wrote:


I would also think that while having the extra axle adds to the maintenance it might also increase the time between maintenance as it takes some of the stress off of the other two axles.

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but in theory doesn't the addition of the third axle mean that the RV weight is much greater requiring the support and thus maintenance should be at about the same time.
bumpy

triple axle will have more tire scrub, two more sets of bearings, two more tires and two more of all the rest to maintain.

triple axle is likely to have a heavier carrying capacity, better ride, better weight distribution, and I think less bounce transferred to the truck.

I would also think that while having the extra axle adds to the maintenance it might also increase the time between maintenance as it takes some of the stress off of the other two axles.

I can also attest to being able to limp a three axle for a quit a ways down the road.

bluwtrman wrote:
I've narrowed my purchase options down to 2 models of one brand. Either the Momentum 350M or 376TH. There's just over a foot of length difference between the two. A big difference to me is the 350 is dual axle and the 376 is triple. Understanding there's also a weight difference, how much consideration should I give to the extra axle. I'm thinking about additional maintenance/repair as well as extra wear & tear from simply turning the trailer on 6 wheels versus 4.
What are the group's thoughts and recommendations to a newbie?

you forgot to mention having to pay for 2 extra tires at replacement time.
bumpy

Having owned triple axle trailers, but not RVs, in those weight ranges I'd take the triple axle unit every time. Yes, a little more tire scrubbing on tight turns, but how many of those will you really make. As with most RVs the tires will age out long before they wear out.

When they do age out, yes it's two more tires to buy, but those are cheap compared to six DP tires and in my opinion are a cheap safety device. We've been traveling for six months out of the year all over the States for five years. Have seen a lot of trailers of all types (especially in hot weather) with a ruined tire on the side of the road. You could limp a heavy three axle trailer a ways down the road with a flat if you had to, but I wouldn't go anywhere with a heavy two axle trailer and one bad tire.

Was at a RV show in Phoenix three months ago and was impressed that some of the mfgs were putting Sailun tires on their 5th whl trailers.

Bill

Is one a 15 inch wheel and the other 16 inch? I would go with 16 inch wheels if all other factors are equal for you. There are more LT tire options for a 16 inch wheel.

Some will say there is more wear on a triple axle when turning due to side skidding of the tires at close to 90 degree angles. I have only gotten myself into that tight of a turn one time in the last 10 years so I would not give much weight to that negative. Even a two axle will leave tire rubber on a tight enough turn.

Check the cargo capacity on either one. What do you need for cargo capacity? We needed a lot so we stayed with triple axle models. Our Spartan has a CCC just over 6k. If you only need 3k or less, then doubles might be good enough for you. It all depends on how much gear you take with you and if you need to carry water & fuel for the toys and what kind of toys you carry. We normally have about 1500# of just normal stuff (clothes, food, camping gear, etc.) then we also carry two large motorcycles (sometimes two full dressers), sometimes bicycles, water & fuel for the genny, so we decided we needed minimum 4k# worth of CCC, and preferably 4.5-5k.