one axle vs. two axles on short TT (20')
I was wondering what the pros/cons were of one axle vs. two axles on a short/lite TT. I'm talking about something less than 22' and 3500 LB dry. I guess I should also ask about wheel size too.
Forum Discussion
The OP was asking about a trailer with a GVW of around 3,500# and a length of 22' or less.
As stated many times there are advantages and disadvantages of both. Having built trailers on and off for around 40 years I will express my experience with them.
First off, being a single axle or tandem axle has nothing to do with how well they back up. It is the distance from the hitch (coupler) to the center of the axle (or center of tandem axles) that determines how well they will back up. The shorter the distance, the harder they are to back up. Most folks don't realize that this distance also affect how well they tow. The shorter the distance the more any issues, like sway, will be magnified.
To the OP's question, in the 3,500# weight range it is hard to find decent axle arraingements with tandem axles. Most axle manufacturers start getting into their decent axles in the 3,000-3500# range. You aren't going to put two 3,500# axles on a trailer with a 3,500# GVW. Take a look at a 1500-2000# axle and you will see what I mean. The spindels, hubs, springs are not in the same league as the quality axles. I like tandem axles in most cases, especially with leaf spring instead of rubber torsion axles, because of the equalizer. Rubber torsion tandem axles can have all the weight on one axle when going over large bumps. That can create a huge problem.
Would I rather have a single axle trailer with a quality 3,500# axle or a tandem axle trailer with two 2,000# axles? I would take the single axle trailer every time. I recently built a single axle trailer with a 7,000# rubber torsion axle. It works great, but for that weight load I would prefer tandem leaf spring axles, but the length of the trailer didn't reasonably allow for that.
Most of the trailers that I built over the last 40 years were tandem axles, but there is a need, and use for single axles, just as there is for triple axles.
As stated many times there are advantages and disadvantages of both. Having built trailers on and off for around 40 years I will express my experience with them.
First off, being a single axle or tandem axle has nothing to do with how well they back up. It is the distance from the hitch (coupler) to the center of the axle (or center of tandem axles) that determines how well they will back up. The shorter the distance, the harder they are to back up. Most folks don't realize that this distance also affect how well they tow. The shorter the distance the more any issues, like sway, will be magnified.
To the OP's question, in the 3,500# weight range it is hard to find decent axle arraingements with tandem axles. Most axle manufacturers start getting into their decent axles in the 3,000-3500# range. You aren't going to put two 3,500# axles on a trailer with a 3,500# GVW. Take a look at a 1500-2000# axle and you will see what I mean. The spindels, hubs, springs are not in the same league as the quality axles. I like tandem axles in most cases, especially with leaf spring instead of rubber torsion axles, because of the equalizer. Rubber torsion tandem axles can have all the weight on one axle when going over large bumps. That can create a huge problem.
Would I rather have a single axle trailer with a quality 3,500# axle or a tandem axle trailer with two 2,000# axles? I would take the single axle trailer every time. I recently built a single axle trailer with a 7,000# rubber torsion axle. It works great, but for that weight load I would prefer tandem leaf spring axles, but the length of the trailer didn't reasonably allow for that.
Most of the trailers that I built over the last 40 years were tandem axles, but there is a need, and use for single axles, just as there is for triple axles.
