Flats,
- Thread starter hurgoll
- Start date
Sinister
pari animositate
I just realized this thread is 45 years old.
I knew a guy once who thought dumping the front axle on our flat spreads actually made them more manueverable.
I'm serious.
He moved back to Albany to drive garbage trucks. Where he came from, and probably never should have left.
Les2
Hobbie Trucker
At times dumping the front axle would be the better option, but not on a daily basis.
Yeah I noticed how old the thread was too after I commented....
eamac2004
Well-Known Member
No, I don't see a point in dumping it all the time. I would only use it if I had to jackknife it into a tight bay, or make a turn from a 2 laner to another 2 laner in a downtown type setting. Anything to keep me from hitting a pole or something. I have hauled trailers that are 65-70 feet long though, so it shouldn't be that much of an issue. I really don't see how dumping the front axle would help manuevering though. I'd prefer the back axle to dump so I have a shorter wheel base. Maybe someone should invent the tri axle spread. Dump the rear and an axle that is like a standard trailer comes down in front of the front axle. Anything is better than having to replace tires every 60000 miles
eamac2004
Well-Known Member
I like east trailers. To me it seems Reitnouer trailers have too much arch. Enough to cause your securements to come loose too often when hauling shiny bar or Ibeams. Transcraft trailers blow. I like the all aluminum for sure. What is interesting about Reitnouer is, they don't have any welds on them besides the rub rail.
Sinister
pari animositate
I have no doubt. I've noticed in ther past your bumping talents...like when you have too much time on your hands.
I believe I mentioned the arch issue in one of the first posts in this thread about which flats are good and which suck, and I believe I gave props to the 94 East we kept forever.
I actually as talking to a friend recently, and I learned that that trailer was only about 9900 pounds too. The thing even looked real heavy.
Far as I'm concerned, East was pretty far ahead of the game in lightweight trailers, and structural integrity.
Gus
What?
If it fails to deflate? You mean like every other spread without a manual dump? How would you rip tires off the rim. I turn with ours every day without a dump and manage to keep the tires on the rims.
Me thinks you are over thinking things here. It's a positive input valve, meaning if there isn't any input (failure), nothing happens and all is well.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
If it fails to deflate? You mean like every other spread without a manual dump? How would you rip tires off the rim. I turn with ours every day without a dump and manage to keep the tires on the rims.
I saw it happen once.
Well actually the whole damn axle came off.
I was coming home from the junkyard with an axle for my pickup, was on a chip-seal country back-road & a spread-axle hauling a tractor was stopped in the road with his front trailer axle rotated about 45 degrees. I didn't see it happen, I just saw him sitting there with his fuggin' axle torn off. There were dually skidmarks on the pavement leading out of a farmer's driveway. It would have been a tight-ass left turn.
Some guys say dump the air, other guys say don't dump the air, .. who the **** knows? I'm just glad I don't have to pull the damn things.
But I've had to make those zero radius turns with standard tandems before, loaded heavy, on pavement, & have noticed the tires look like they're about to come off the rim. If I couldn't dump the air out of at least one of those axles, I wouldn't pull them. At least not on a reefer. Not with the places I've had to go with them.
Les2
Hobbie Trucker
Trust me there were other issues at hand if someone rips an axle out or tires off.
The front axle dump would only be good in a backing up situation.
What most people don't understand is dumping an axle will only do any good depending on the way a load is loaded. If you take a load that is spread out front to back and dump the axle all you're doing is putting the weight on the axle with no air in it. If you have a load (single coil) and dump the air it will take some of the weight off the back axle.
Most suspension isn't designed for this kind of weight or transfer of weight in a short burst, so in reality what happens is they dump the air, it squats the front bags and still applies weight to the back bags, which are sitting on the stops in the bag.
The front axle dump would only be good in a backing up situation.
What most people don't understand is dumping an axle will only do any good depending on the way a load is loaded. If you take a load that is spread out front to back and dump the axle all you're doing is putting the weight on the axle with no air in it. If you have a load (single coil) and dump the air it will take some of the weight off the back axle.
Most suspension isn't designed for this kind of weight or transfer of weight in a short burst, so in reality what happens is they dump the air, it squats the front bags and still applies weight to the back bags, which are sitting on the stops in the bag.
Tim
U.S.Constitution
Its true there on some trailer. I forget who's trailer there on, either Ravens or Monac or how ever its spelled I think uses it.
Tim
U.S.Constitution
Blowme!
What arch? Mines only 3 1/2 inchs in the center. Put a 30000 pound coil on and its table top level.
That guy
Well-Known Member
This is how a typical Reitnouer looks when you set a 30k coil on it!
View attachment 6766
If you want strong....Call Mac!
View attachment 6766
Tim
U.S.Constitution
Mac and cheese? McDonald's Big Mac?
By the way I seen another pic of that trailer in the office at Miami Valley Steel the other day. I believe a good alum welder can have that thing back on the road in a day or so.
R
Racer X 69
Guest
Looks like they set it down kinda hard.
Tim
U.S.Constitution
Yeah I bet no one else got loaded at Berwick Steel the rest of the day.
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