elmo_4_vt
Explorer
Silly question for the people on this board more knowledgeable about trailer equipment than I...
Right now I have a 1,900lb-ish (fully loaded) trailer and am using a 3500lb axle with Ford Ranger leaf springs and good shocks and I am pretty happy with it's performance on and off road. Problem is, I'm already thinking of what I'd like to build in the future and I keep coming back to how much weight I can put on a 3500lb axle for a trailer that I want to be capable off-road (bad dirt roads, not really rock crawling) before it will be too much for it. I've seen a couple of dual axle off-road camper trailers from Australia on here and I REALLY like the idea of them for family camping in remote areas, but they use an independent style suspension for all wheels. Because of my fab ability, I'd have to stick with some sort of a custom leaf spring, straight axle setup, and am wondering, how heavy I can go before I get into having to use two 3500lb axles to keep everything rolling right in rough terrain. There's not much of a chance I'll go over 3500lbs, but there is a good change I'll be around 2500lbs-3000lbs loaded based on how much my current setup weighs...
Also, will having the additional axle help or hurt manners while driving in the dirt on and on the street. I also have two utility trailers that I use for side jobs, one w/ two 3500lb axles, and one with one 2000lb axle. I've had three blowouts at different times (two on the highway), and an axle seize on the small 2000lb trailer, and I've never (knock on wood) had ANY issues with the larger trailer. I drive both around the same mileage, maybe more on the large trailer, keep both in good maintenance and shape. The small trailer was never overloaded when the incidents occurred, because I always use the bigger trailer if it's even close. Anymore, I'll use the larger trailer even to get a couple sheets of ply from the local box stores just because of the luck I've had with the smaller utility trailer. Does that make any sense, or do you think it's it just bad luck and in my head?
Thanks for any help/opinions/advice you can provide.
Don
Right now I have a 1,900lb-ish (fully loaded) trailer and am using a 3500lb axle with Ford Ranger leaf springs and good shocks and I am pretty happy with it's performance on and off road. Problem is, I'm already thinking of what I'd like to build in the future and I keep coming back to how much weight I can put on a 3500lb axle for a trailer that I want to be capable off-road (bad dirt roads, not really rock crawling) before it will be too much for it. I've seen a couple of dual axle off-road camper trailers from Australia on here and I REALLY like the idea of them for family camping in remote areas, but they use an independent style suspension for all wheels. Because of my fab ability, I'd have to stick with some sort of a custom leaf spring, straight axle setup, and am wondering, how heavy I can go before I get into having to use two 3500lb axles to keep everything rolling right in rough terrain. There's not much of a chance I'll go over 3500lbs, but there is a good change I'll be around 2500lbs-3000lbs loaded based on how much my current setup weighs...
Also, will having the additional axle help or hurt manners while driving in the dirt on and on the street. I also have two utility trailers that I use for side jobs, one w/ two 3500lb axles, and one with one 2000lb axle. I've had three blowouts at different times (two on the highway), and an axle seize on the small 2000lb trailer, and I've never (knock on wood) had ANY issues with the larger trailer. I drive both around the same mileage, maybe more on the large trailer, keep both in good maintenance and shape. The small trailer was never overloaded when the incidents occurred, because I always use the bigger trailer if it's even close. Anymore, I'll use the larger trailer even to get a couple sheets of ply from the local box stores just because of the luck I've had with the smaller utility trailer. Does that make any sense, or do you think it's it just bad luck and in my head?
Thanks for any help/opinions/advice you can provide.
Don
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