Tag axles?

Artum Snowbird wrote:
So.. thanks for all that.. are tags on axles..or spindles? If on axles.. they must be on CV joints or? What is the inner connection?

So others find their tags wear out that much sooner as Bill suggests? Perhaps rotating the tires around the front and back might help?

I see some older units.. do they ever tag before using a duallie first?

The tag axle has inner and outer bearings and seals just like a steer axle on a spindle. The spindle is part of the tag axle. On most RV chassis the tag axle is a solid axle with its own air bag, (talking DP chassis). Specifically on Roadmaster chassis the tag axle is a solid axle bent in a manner that allows room for the driveshaft to clear without interference.

I have not noticed much of a difference in wear on my tag axle but I have put my steer tires on the tag when I purchased new steer tires so they already had some wear.

In most tag axle configured coaches you will have less exterior storage than a coach of a smaller size and single rear axle, unless you are comparing a 36' to a 45' of course. Our 40' tag axle coach has much less exterior storage compared to our previous 38' single rear axle coach but the overall benefits of this coach far outweigh a slight loss of storage. That is something each owner or perspective owner will have to decide for themselves whether it is acceptable or not.

Your question about using a tag before a dual wheel first? Are you asking about the tag in front of the drive axle. If so there are a few older bus chassis that had the tag axle inside a compartment mounted slightly inboard in front of the drive axle and I believe some older Eagle bus chassis from the late 60's/early 70's that had the tag mounted in front of the drive axle but that has pretty much give way to the tag behind the drive style setup.

Mike.

The old GMC Motorhomes from the 70s had single tires on each of the 2 rear axles and FWD with the Toronado drive train. Some older gassers used tags because it was the only way to handle the excess weight of some coaches. Most of these were on 16" wheels and added by the coach builder, not chassis builder.

Glad we have for CCC and stability!

The reason for being able to adjust the pressure in the tag is to "balance" the weight. Reducing the weight on the tag reduces the weight on the front axle and increases the weight on the drive axle. Depending on how your coach weighs, this feature is very helpful.....Dennis

While I respect Bill on satellite info my experience on tags is different. My tags at about 11K lbs have considerable less wear than the duals. It really it doesn't make any difference in my typical driving how much the tag scrubs - consider how often you make a a tight turn - ie several in a CG vs 100's of miles on the road.

Soon I'm going to replace my tag tires and dual tires because both are BadYear original tires installed by Monaco. The fronts with excessive BadYear river edge wear were replace last summer, with 25K miles.

Unfortunately Monaco choose to install BadYear tires and I've moved on.

Artum Snowbird wrote:
So.. thanks for all that.. are tags on axles..or spindles? If on axles.. they must be on CV joints or? What is the inner connection?

So others find their tags wear out that much sooner as Bill suggests? Perhaps rotating the tires around the front and back might help?

I see some older units.. do they ever tag before using a duallie first?

At 57,000 miles, my tag tires were not any different than the others. I did rotate the tags to the front as I got a bad alignment and the inner edges of both front tires were wearing. So, I had the tags rotated to the front to have a fresh set. No real extra wear on our tag tires.

On our coach, our tags have brakes to help the coach stop.

MM.

Forgot to mention, our tag can be adjusted by the pressure gauge in the engine compartment. I keep about 38-40 lbs of pressure which seems fine for our weight.

MM.

So.. thanks for all that.. are tags on axles..or spindles? If on axles.. they must be on CV joints or? What is the inner connection?

So others find their tags wear out that much sooner as Bill suggests? Perhaps rotating the tires around the front and back might help?

I see some older units.. do they ever tag before using a duallie first?

A tag axle is installed for no other reason than a tag axle MUST be installed. If a single axle will not support the weight of the chassis then a second axle is installed to make up the difference. The tags are not powered in any RV that I am aware of but are rather a couple of tires that simply tag along. The tag axle tires have approx. 1/2 the expected life span of the other tires since the RV pivots on the drive axle and the tag axle tires slightly drag around the turn. If you ever want to see this exhibited in a drastic manner, watch what happens when an 18 wheeler makes a turn. Watch those tires at the very back of the trailer and you will immediately understand.

Also my rig (and I suspect most DPs) does not have a solid tag axle as it would interfere with the drive train. Instead the tag is 2 independent axles.

Good information above. Besides the obvious additional cost tags take up storage space. My 36' had 2 storage lockers behind the duals. Current rig has none. Overall there is more outside storage with the current rig (it's 6' longer) and tons of storage space inside.