3 Axles ?

[cockneyboy]

Hello again Lads and Lasses. I am considering a Open Range residential fiver that wieghs in at just 11900# dry but has 3 axles. Will this help it ride smoother or track better when being towed ?

In other words is this a good thing or is it just 2 extra tires to buy amd maintain. Any and all comment will as always be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[TXiceman]

By nature a 5th wheel tracks pretty well. The big issue on 5ers is the pin weight. Too light on the pin and it will tend to chuck.

 

You need to look at the trailer GVWR rather than the dry weight and about 20% of that for pin weight when loaded.

 

Look closely at the axles and make sure they are not under sized and the tires not under rated Chines junk.

 

WE have had two 3 axle trailers and you will hear stories that they scuff or scrub the tires in tight corners. Truth is all trailers with more than one axle will scuff the tires in a tight turn. Think how much mileage up drive straight vs turning tight corners. We have never had an issue with tire scuffing and tire wear. One trailer had the Dexter Torqueflex axle and the current trailer has Mor/Ryde IS rather than the strung straight axles.

 

Truth is your tires will age out before you wear them out ...provided the axles are aligned and not over loaded.

 

Our current trailer is a 40' HitchHiker that is at 19,500# loaded and has three 7000# axles and we are running G rated Hankook tires. Close to 15,000 miles on the trailer tires and hardly showing any wear.

 

Ken

[gjhunter01]

Did you mean 19,100#s? Tri-axles seems like a lot for such a light trailer at 11900#'s. Most trailer axles are good for 7000 lbs each which would allow your trailer to carry 21,000 lbs with the 3 axles minus hitch weight. With 3 axles, the rear tires will scuff and slide sideways which during turns will cause excessive tire wear and frame twisting.

Greg

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

Your first problem is looking at the dry weight which is a useless number. The GVWR of the trailer is the number that counts and then you compare the axle weight ratings. You can have less axles if the axles have heavier weight capacities.

 

Axle ratings are based on the tire capacities. I believe that Open Ranges come with 15" rims which you can get E-rated tires at 2860 lbs each for a gross tire load of 17,160 lbs, leaving a margin of 5,280 lbs. With only two axles, you would not have enough tire capacity for the trailer.

 

Yes two more tire, and two more brakes.

 

One thing you can understand, a trailer manufacturer never over equips a RV.

[GlennWest]

Open Range uses lighter weight chassis. They claim no holes cut out for side rams so they use lighter chassis. Long 5ther would need 3 axles due to this. Support frame

[cockneyboy]

Gracias Amigos. As usual all good points to consider.

Thank you.