It doesn’t. No commercial truck does, but it is just a rule of thumb, and really just for bumper pull trailers, versus fifth wheel styles that are more concerned with axle loads than tongue weight. Many commercial trucks can slide the axle assembly back and forth to achieve the correct loading though. That is close to the same effect of moving the load around.
axle placement
- Thread starter Rubicon51
- Start date
It doesn’t. No commercial truck does, but it is just a rule of thumb, and really just for bumper pull trailers, versus fifth wheel styles that are more concerned with axle loads than tongue weight. Many commercial trucks can slide the axle assembly back and forth to achieve the correct loading though. That is close to the same effect of moving the load around.
Thanks for all the help guys. I'd say that the majority of the weight will be up front. Over the axle and back will be my 4wheeler. That will help off set the weight on the front. However I'm sure there will be trips without the 4wheeler. Trips like that will maybe have a dirt bike and additional gear. I'm placing the water tank as close to the axle as I can. It would be nice to have a sliding axle like big rigs do. I'm going to start at 60/40 and then move the axle a little closer to the front if I have to. I'm using the timbren offroad axle-less setup, so I don't think moving them will be that bad.
Yes. To this point, too far back is better than too far forward with respect to axle position. Keeping the weight mostly between the axle and tongue “may” cause tongue weight problems, but having a majority of the weight behind the axle and not enough on the tongue “will” cause control problems.
With that in mind, you are probably okay running around without a 4 wheeler on the back, but you might have problems running empty other than your 4 wheeler, if the axle is in front of the 4 wheeler.
Something tells me that overall your trailer is so short that it won’t really matter unless your tow vehicle is super short or lightweight.
Trailer brakes , trailer brakes, trailer brakes, trailer brakes… let me emphasize… trailer brakes! Lots of states and people on the internet will say you don’t need them. The difference between cleaning up a little brown stain in your shorts and a massive red stain on the highway is often as simple as trailer brakes.
pushing the axle rearward will increase tongue weight. Making it more difficult to man handle when off the hitch.
Excess tongue weight have **much** more dangerous consequences, can be life threatening at US highway speeds.
And not just the lives of those in your vehicle.
And I'm not saying insufficient ball weight is more or less dangerous.
Stay within that 8-12% range. Treat it as a top priority, like tire pressures and checking bearings periodically
More slack might be OK for slow travel speeds in surface roads, but not on our highways.
And not just the lives of those in your vehicle.
And I'm not saying insufficient ball weight is more or less dangerous.
Stay within that 8-12% range. Treat it as a top priority, like tire pressures and checking bearings periodically
More slack might be OK for slow travel speeds in surface roads, but not on our highways.
Old bike doc
Active member
Axle placement is a hell of a rabbit hole.
