clearance of tire from box on trailer ?????

[colorado matt]

forgive my lack of jargon on this subject ..... here is what I know .... target hub to hub measurement is 58 inches to match tow vehicle .... with backspacing and 12.50 tires it appears that I have right at 48 inches between inside of tires (measured on tow vehicle) .... now looking online for axles ... 60 inch hub to hub seems to be as close as I can get .... these axles have a spring to spring measurement of 48 inches .... now this says to me that I will have 1 inch clearance past a 48 inch wide frame to the inside edge of the tire ..... is that enough???? most of the articulation of the trailer I imagine is in the hitch ..... searching and reading and can not seem to find the answer I am looking for ...... I want to start collecting parts for build and I am little lost on the axle width vs springs width as spring width will decide frame measurements and eventually the box .... thanks for any insight ...Matt

 

[WagoneerSX4]

No 1 inch is definitely not enough. You'll have enough articulation with the trailer axle where you'll probably rub. I'd run a minimum of 2" to the inside of my fender/frame or whatever is closest to your tire depending on the setup. If you don't have enough articulation for that to happen, you're probably oversprung, especially for bad road conditions. Also, a trailer axle is fully floating axle, meaning there will be plenty of axle movement during off camber situations.

In the 5 years I've been trailering on every kind of road imaginable, I'd much rather have a softer suspension with bump stops rather than a spring pack that's too stiff. So something to keep in mind. Also this setup allows you to keep a good frame of reference of how loaded up your trailer is. Just keep measurements of how close you are to the bump stops when you're finished packing.

Your spring width vs axle width depends on a lot of things. I always go overkill with axles and bearings. That's one area where it's very cheap to upgrade to the next level and there are really no downsides (other than a few extra pounds of the larger axle). How far inboard you can mount the springs will depend on your bearings a little more than the axle. For instance, I'm running the same bearings found in a 3500# axle but I'm only running a 2200# axle tube, so my springs are mounted 42" on my 60" axle. That's a little far inboard for most, but the trailer size and weight I'm running it still gives plenty of stability. Your 48" spring width/60" axle is well within the safety zone if you're running proper axle and bearing sizes.

But if you want to take the guessing out of it, every axle and bearing will have a minimum spring perch width listed in the specifications. So just stay within that range and you'll be good to go.