[Rhodes22-list] Trailer Axles

[Steve Bauman]

I have a friend who had a tire blowout on a dual axle trailer and found
himself stranded by the roadside because of the extreme imbalance. So
having four tires instead of two may not reduce your chances of ending up
on the roadside with a flat. Also, remember that a dual axle trailer is
much more difficult to get to turn, especially by hand when trying to
maneuver into a garage or something. I deal with that problem every year to
maneuver my powerboat trailer into our garage.

Steve
Misty Anne

On Sat, Mar 5, 2022, 1:47 PM Mark Whipple <mark at whipplefamily.com> wrote:

> I spoke to the trailer shop I use about this, and we concluded that it did
> not make economic sense. In other words, the cost for the conversion
> would represent a substantial portion of the cost of a new trailer.  The
> quote I got from Triad for a new trailer was around $5K and it would cost
> several thousand dollars to add a second axle to my trailer - which
> is already at least 20 years old. You'd be selling your old trailer to help
> defray the cost of a new one but I can't say what you can get for it.
>
> Your trailer may differ from mine. I have a Trailmaster that is likely from
> the same era as my boat (2000). It has heavy-duty fenders over the wheels
> that would have to be removed & rebuilt. A previous owner installed surge
> brakes and those would need to be disconnected and reinstalled, since you'd
> probably want to move the existing axle forward when adding a second behind
> it. If you're going to do it right you'd probably want electric brakes
> anyway. You'd need to buy a new axle, wheels, tires, springs, fenders plus
> anything that needs replacing on your existing axle set. Then there's the
> cost of the labor to move the old one forward and install the new one.
>
> Another thing they told me to consider: a dual axle trailer is much more
> sensitive to hitch height than a single axle. If you don't get the dual
> axle trailer to be level when on the hitch then one of the axles will be
> carrying less than half the weight.
>
> I wonder if there is any real-world data out there regarding the relative
> safety of single vs. dual axle on trailers like ours. It would be good to
> know what the true advantage is (if any) when looking at the costs.
>
> Hope that helps. Let us know if you decide to move forward.
>
> Mark
>
> Boston, MA
> 2000 R22 *Luna Mia*
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 5, 2022 at 12:00 PM Luis Guzman <luis.guzman.ve at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Consult fro the Rhodes 22 Wisdom  group.
> >
> > I have a single axle trailer that, if possible, I would like to convert
> to
> > double axle.  I’m playing on doing long trips, and I would feel more
> > comfortable having the additional axle, but I do not have the money to
> buy
> > a double axle trailer.
> >
> > Has anybody done this?
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Luis Guzmán
> >
> > S/V Aquetxali
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
>