Spread axles on a bumper pull

Diesel_Brad · Sep 20, 2013

Anyone have them on a bumper pull?

I am looking to spread my axles a bit to take off some excessive tongue weight.

Do you have to have torsion axles to do this?

7.3 Cowboy · Sep 21, 2013

Never seen it on the little tikes stuff but in the class 8 trailer world there is a lot of spread axle and they are are or a slipper spring set up

B585Ford · Sep 22, 2013

How much spread are you talking about?

Diesel_Brad · Sep 23, 2013

B585Ford said:
How much spread are you talking about?

Maybe adding 6-12" to the wheel base

Jason · Sep 23, 2013

7.3Cowboy, wtf is a slipper spring setup?

6-12" of spread isn't going to hurt anything. I pulled a 32' with a 3' spread, loaded down to 27k gross, and it pulled great. Axles flex quite a bit in tight turns and looked a tad scary at times, but you don't jack it around tight loaded. Same goes for class 8 spreads, you shpuldn't be u-turning those things either. Straight line stability at highway speeds and curves was night and day over closed tandem too.

7.3 Cowboy · Sep 23, 2013

Jason said:
7.3Cowboy, wtf is a slipper spring setup?

6-12" of spread isn't going to hurt anything. I pulled a 32' with a 3' spread, loaded down to 27k gross, and it pulled great. Axles flex quite a bit in tight turns and looked a tad scary at times, but you don't jack it around tight loaded. Same goes for class 8 spreads, you shpuldn't be u-turning those things either. Straight line stability at highway speeds and curves was night and day over closed tandem too.

I do t know the technical term but where your spring is solid mounted at one end but just has a bar it the other end rides on

7.3 Cowboy · Sep 23, 2013

It's just what 95% of non class 8 trailers have

Jason · Sep 23, 2013

Oh ok. Spreads on class 8 air air ride...there's a few spring rides on older stuff, but it's mostly all air now. You dump an axle (99% of the time the rear), and it evacuates the air from those bags, lifting that axle to where it slides across the ground, and making the otger axle carry all the weight.