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Posted by Brian in Oregon on March 19, 2000 at 15:01:44:

In Reply to: Trailer for my PW posted by Leonard on March 19, 2000 at 10:53:45:

My late father-in-law had a trailer made up from two heavy I-beams laid across three mobile home axles. No suspension. We carried heavy bulldozers and other equipment with it. It had a nice low center of gravity, but the lack of suspension meant it tracked rather badly on unimproved roads as it rode around like a destroyer in a hurricane. In fact, we could not stack hay as high as the weight rating would allow because we were worried the trailer would try to tip over because of no suspension.

We also did not put brakes on the front axle, so those tires would continue to track straight if the rear brakes locked up. This is important given the chronic rain and mud in our area, plus black ice. However, few states allow this anymore and insist all wheels of a heavy trailer have brakes. (I think this is a mistake on 3-axle heavy trailers and even on 3-axle light trailers for the reasons I mention.)

If you want a suspension, the mobile home axles are a liability for center of gravity, as the triler will be quite high. This is OK for unimproved roads, but high speed on hilly, winding highways can be a real adventure. It is possible to use springs underslung beneath the axles, but I've seen few made this way that really worked out right.




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