widely spaced wheels

Being as I haul trailers for the Mfgs.......................I notice a huge difference, in TT, with the wider spacing.........I.E. Passport type,as opposed to the traditional spacing , in 26--30 ft and larger trailers.................


I had an entry level TT, that I hauled from Goshen, to Eastern PA.................Base model, 30 ft in length................it fought me every mile of the way................sway, fishtail...........I felt sorry for the sucker, who would eventually own this piece of CRAP..................(I have a Crew Cab, Dually Long bed rig....so, it was not my truck that was the issue.)..........


I LOVE hauling "Passport" type of rigs...................!!!!!!..Course, Don' t take my word for it, I only haul Thousands of miles every year.........so, I don't really know ........what I am talking about....................:W

Better you should listen to the "EXPERTS" on here................:S

The wide space axle trailers will scuff the tires more. The reason the manufacturers do this is so that they have more support (over a longer area) for a trailer that may not have as heavy of a frame as it should have with the axles closer together.

Do they tow well?
If the axles are aligned properly, they will tow just fine. Think of how a triple axle trailer tows. They scuff real bad, in a tight turn, but they usually tow real well.

My preference is having the stronger frame and the axles closer together, but for some designs while trying to keep the weight down, that may not be what the manufacturer prefers.

Have you ever noticed a large semi truck trailer with the axles spread further apart? It is done for a reason, but you don't see many like that because of the scuffing issues that it creates.

Having wider spacing enahnces directional stability which runs counter to the ability to turn. In other words the trailer naturally wants to continue in a straight line, and turning causes more tread scuffing. Now whether this difference (a foot maybe) is seen at the cab - probably only when travelling in windy conditions or when a semi blows by in the opposite direction.

As for loading on the frame - the wider the spacing the better, but again, with maybe a foot difference between closely spaced and widely spaced, the difference is probably negligible. I would expect that, in general, the longitudinal bending stress in the frame would lower with the wider spaced wheels, but I would have to see how the axles are attached to be sure.

Regarding chocking - spacing makes little difference, and if there was a difference in resisting rolling while chocked, it would favour the closer spaced wheels as the chock mechanism (whatever the design) would be more compact and less prone to racking loads.

With respect to bounce - wider spacing would only improve the teeter-totter effect, but given that the RV is hitched to the truck this effect may be a more sublte improvement in motion control. There is no significant differnce when driving over smooth terrain.

My 2 cents.

the concept is with the wider spaced axles the trailer will track straightly at expressway speeds.
i believe this is a reaction to the proliferation of lightweight suv's and the sales increase of F 150 pickups .
Because an F150 is 1000 pounds lighter than an F 250 the towed rectangle is more likely to move the F150 in the wake created by semis .
the spread axle is a partial remedy for this .

To be perfectly honest I haven't noticed any difference other than my Xchocks cost twice as much as the standard ones did. I wouldn't let the axle spacing make or break a deal. I have no preference on one or the other. Turning tight has not proved to be an issue anywhere either.

My tt has the wide spaced axles. Does it tow better? I think it does especially on the interstate. There is some scubbing but only on really sharp turns. Do they scrub more than conventional spaced axles? Maybe slightly but both scrub. Is it a issue? Not really since 99.95% of the time you are driving in a straight line going down the highway.

Our TT has the wide-spaced axles and my biggest issue is scuffing the tires on hard turns.

Here're my wheel chocks:

Only concern I would have would be with wheel scuffing on turns. You'll have it to some extent on closer set axles but it increases the wider the axles are apart. Mostly it wears the outer tread and creates more stress on the sidewalls. May or may not be a problem with a TT but is on a big rig.

kknowlton wrote:
We were looking at some new TTs today and one of the models we especially like has the wheels that are spaced quite far apart (two axles). Has anyone had experience with both the usual (older) spacing and the newer spacing? If so, what is your opinion about the new spacing? We like to use the between-wheel chocks, which of course would be more difficult with the new style. The brochure touts them as preventing bounce and sway better than the old spacing. (This trailer we were looking at has leaf springs, not torsion axles.)

Not really sure of the advantage of the wide set axles. We have them on our '13 WhiteHawk and there are a number of manufacturers that seem to be using them on ultra-lite model trailers. I have read it helps with weight distribution, improves towing, etc. Maneuvering into a campsite doesn't seem any harder, tire squirm on a sharp cut doesn't look any worse to me than it did on our fifth wheel with traditional axle spacing.

You can buy extended X type chocks for the wheels that will work at CW. I just use the cheap old plastic wedge type chocks and they work fine.

I traded for a Coachmen Catalina last winter while in Fla. and what I like is that the fresh water tank is mounted between the axles. It doesn't change the balance of the TT if it is full of water or empty. It pulled great coming home too.