Tandem axle trailer questions - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

dkillianjr · 09-01-2009, 04:36 PM

Hey guys,
I really have never hauled anything excessivly heavy in my dump trailer until a few weeks ago. I was hauling some dirt and gravel. The heaviest load being 3 tons of gravel. What I noticed is when I was backing into places and turning the wheels of the trailer were tilting in and out as the trailer turned. I know the tires scuff a little when turning, but that looked a little weird to me. The trailer was not over loaded its a 10,000lbs GVW and empty weighs 2700lbs. Any info from you trailer pros would be great

The trailer is only 7 months or so old.

Edit: The lugnuts are tight I already checked

But there is play in the wheel when you pull from top to bottom, like when checking ball joints on a car.

Thanks, Dave

BCConstruction · 09-01-2009, 04:41 PM

Yep thats normal. Sometimes mine look like they are as much as 2-3inches in difference and it does worry me but i heard thats it's fine. Im sure it wears down your tires faster though. I leave lovely black marks all over the road when i reverse my trailer in every day.

What type of axles do you have? and do you have leafs or torsion?

woodchuck2 · 09-01-2009, 05:27 PM

All of my trailers have leaf sprung suspensions and do the same thing. You will see they do this to some degree when loaded heavy as the tube of the axle is flexing with the load, when turning this is magnified due to the leverage of the wheel and tire. You will see this on a torsion bar suspension too but not as much as leaf springs.

Greg Di · 09-01-2009, 07:17 PM

Mine does it too. I freaked out the first time like you, now I just don't look!

dkillianjr · 09-01-2009, 08:37 PM

Thanks again guys for the info!

BC, I've got dexter axles with leaf springs.

Now I just can't look either

Ok, now for the next problem, I'm getting a pretty decent squeak from the wheels. If I remember right, the trailer has done it since it was new. I'm gonna pull the wheels on friday and check everything. Is there anything in particular I should look at? I have kept everything well greased and it dosen't sound like brake noise.

Thanks, Dave

DJ9222 · 09-01-2009, 08:49 PM

I would check to make sure that the lug bolts are seated properly on the back side of the hub, a squeek from the wheels usually means something is not right..............good luck...

woodchuck2 · 09-02-2009, 08:20 AM

Be sure the wheel bearings are properly greased too, clean the grease seals of any dust as this will cause a squeal when under motion.

72chevy4x4 · 09-02-2009, 03:49 PM

your mention of the wheel moving (jacked up is the only way to check) would indicate loose bearings. The wheel should spin freely, but not too freely.

this is a great question about the wheels-some of us just pick up on this stuff without 'learning' it. I take softer turns especially when loaded down. if possible, make your sharper turns on soft materials (less friction). make sure your tire pressure is correct-for your 10k trailer (guessing it's rated at 14k) the 16" tires are probably rated to 80psi-sure does take a long time to pump them up on a Wawa compressor :-(

dkillianjr · 09-02-2009, 10:47 PM

Thanks again guys,

72chevy, yup I am deffinetly gonna check the pressure and from now on try and turn softer when I'm loaded.

I think friday I'm gonna inspect the trailer and check everything. Around here they have acctually been having random trailer inspection stops. The police pull you over and a state motor inspector inspect your truck and trailer right there! We have had so many trailer related accidents around here I guess they are cracking down a bit. I wanna make sure I find stuff before they do

Dave