VIDEO: TAG AXLE For Carrying Your Heavy Truck Camper

JRscooby wrote:
Is the hitch and rear of pickup frame designed to have a great big hammer pounding up on it?

Yes. Weight distributing hitches do it all the time.

These tag axles apply the same kinds of forces.

^Theres a little more to it than that, but regardless it’s a poor solution with limitations and issues

deltabravo wrote:

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
I'm sure the wheels are sprung so they only carry so much weight putting less weight on the bearings

The springs have no bearing on the weight on the wheel bearings.
Whatever amount of weight is placed upon axles is the weight it carries, regardless of what type of springs it has.

The stronger the spring, the more weight transfered to the tag axle. If the axle is just floating, no load on it, there is no load on the bearing. If you install springs rated 100, 300, 500 pounds, you are progressively transferring more weight from the drive axle to the tag axle. The more weight transfered, the more friction and heat.
When you only have the truck axle, that is true, the weight is dividedbetween the front and fear axles. But with a tag axle, you are now sharing the weight load between 3 axles.

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
I'm sure the wheels are sprung so they only carry so much weight putting less weight on the bearings

The springs have no bearing on the weight on the wheel bearings.
Whatever amount of weight is placed upon axles is the weight it carries, regardless of what type of springs it has.

I developed a tag axle several years ago. I built about 8 of them and all worked good. They were connected to the truck trailer hitch and were controlled with air bags so they could be raised or lowered at any time. I could transfer 2200lbs. to the axle without adding any weight to the front axle which is very important. The first one I made had a steering axle which worked well but was heavy and awkward to hook and unhook. By raising and lowering it tight corners and reversing were not a problem. The problem was when I went to sell them no insurance company would touch them. It seems that when you are altering the suspension on a vehicle it is to risky and some idiot will kill themself. I was told "imagine someone driving on a rainy night with no load and puts the axle down and takes the weight off the rear axle."

Yup cue the criticism.
Not a new concept. These things existed back in the olden days of truck campers.
But even if it works reliably and flawlessly, there’s just no reason to not get the truck you actually need.

I’ll pass…

This guy "Pack" was on LOA for a long time and he basically designed it himself while camping and towing. He sent me a parts list many moons ago but I can't find the forum post. I think if I can't live without my pontoon in the keys I will purchase one. The one downside is you have to have them install it and that's something I wouldn't like. I have had those same tires on my pontoon trailer for many moons without a single issue. The only bad thing is you can't get brakes for them at least the last time I looked. It's a great idea!
This is going to be the best weight police post of all time. Cheers!!!

https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/new-tag-axle-improves-truck-camper-hauling-options/

Is the hitch and rear of pickup frame designed to have a great big hammer pounding up on it?

mkirsch wrote:
In the rv.net tradition of mercilessly picking products apart...

The mailbox letter advertising is a nice touch. Real "professional" and makes you want to do business with an outfit that couldn't be bothered to spring $100 for some vinyl in a nice font.

Using snowmobile trailer tires is probably not the best idea when you're going to be traveling long distances. They tend to burn up wheel bearings because the wheels are spinning so fast.

I'm sure the wheels are sprung so they only carry so much weight putting less weight on the bearings but they certainly could heat up. I'm not sure what effect the tag axle has when backing the vehicle and reverse steering. I could also see an issue when negotiating tight turns, berms in the road causing one or the other axle to be airborne. Probably not good when the tag axle is on the ground and the drive axle is in the air. If you are carrying a TC heavy enough to warrant a tag axle, you probably aren't driving back roads and sticking to pavement. For some folks, it may serve a purpose.

In the rv.net tradition of mercilessly picking products apart...

The mailbox letter advertising is a nice touch. Real "professional" and makes you want to do business with an outfit that couldn't be bothered to spring $100 for some vinyl in a nice font.

Using snowmobile trailer tires is probably not the best idea when you're going to be traveling long distances. They tend to burn up wheel bearings because the wheels are spinning so fast.