recently purchased this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/tonysmudbog/Misc%20Member%20Photos/trailer001.jpg

The trailer from front to back is 32 feet. It has 24feet of frame for deckspace, and 8 feet of length on the tounge. 3500 axles with brakes

I plan to mount a slidein camper without restroom upfront, costing me 8 feet of deckspace, and four feet on the tounge. The front 4 will get a large toolbox for parts holdin, occasionaly it may be removed to put the 4wheeler on it. ( if truck will handle that much tounge wieght) I will have 16feet of space for vehicles on the back of the trailer.

Currently the axles are mounted 12feet from the rear of the trailer.

I see 3 options for this trailer.

Staying tandem and simply moving the axles back.
Going triaxle ( adding one behind the current rear axle) and keeping them put
or moving them back and going triaxle both.

I'd prefer not to go triaxle if not needed.. itsk inda pricey i'd assume, plus I'd need 6 tires isntead of 4, plus spares.

Here are my questions.

With an 8foot camper up front, and 16feet of space behind it, which of my options are best suited for the application, and if best, how far should I move them back.

3 is the way,Yes it a boat trailer but about the same size , pulls like a dream & can ''limp'' home better , You just can't turn them REAL sharp a whole lot of times (too much tire scub=:barf: wheelbarings) my 2 pennys, Good start though http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j230/hale988_photos/40FOOT-1.jpg

You could go triple axle or tandem, either way I'd be thinking about 5200lbs. axles for the triple and 7k's for tandem if I where you. Why would you need to move the axles? Is your rig that heavy that the camper and tools/quad won't off set it? And what are the measurements that you have now?

What's the GVWR of the trailer? I'm guessing it's not very high if it's got 3500# axles. I'd be looking at the trailer frame behind the axles real close before I'd be hanging a vehicle back there.

Brian

Most generaly the vehicle will wiegh more than the camper I'm sure. Not sure what a slid in wieghts. This trailer will hula various vehicles, as its the only I have, that means if I buy a car for $30 to scrap, it'll get that 2600 pound car on it, but it also means if I run across a cheap fullsize it'll get that 3500-4500 pound fullsize put on it. Most commonly it'll have either a Bronco II, or Explorer on there, somewhere between 3000 and 4000 pounds depending if its the BII or explorer, and what all I end up doing to the sploder before its finished.

What's the GVWR of the trailer? I'm guessing it's not very high if it's got 3500# axles. I'd be looking at the trailer frame behind the axles real close before I'd be hanging a vehicle back there.

Brian


Not sure what the gvwr is, it was originaly a 32foot travel trailer.
But for the sake of figuring it out lets assume it has 7k tandems and a frame that meets everyone standards.


As far as current meaurments.

my rear axle center is dead center of the deck length, so the center of the two ( bolt i nthe pivet) is about 13 feet from the rear, and about 19 from the hitch pin. The back of the camper will sit about one foot in front of the front axle, leaving 4feet of space from the front of camper (part that will sit on tounge) to the pin. I'll have 16 feet of deck behind the camper, leaving almost all of the vehicle hanging behind it. I think thats simply to much leverage on the rear of the frame. The camper will ride mostly on the truck axle if im not mistaken by being in front of the axles.

what if you made an axle subframe to hold your 2 axles. That subframe than bolts under the main deck frame. With some additional holes you could move/slide the axles back to handle your current need without to much hastle..

It has a subframe already, ( redish in the photo) so that could be very possible if I grind the welds and make it movable as you mention.

Someone on onther site suggest a 70/30 deck length vs axle center setup. And possibly backing the vehicle on to bias the wieght if needed. Anyone agrre to something like that?

Not sure what the gvwr is, it was originaly a 32foot travel trailer.
But for the sake of figuring it out lets assume it has 7k tandems and a frame that meets everyone standards.

The fact that it started out as a travel trailer raises red flags IMO. The RV trailer industry is not known for overbuilding anything and generally a RV trailer weight will be reasonably well distributed - it's a box w/o any significant point loads.

I would be looking very hard at the frame section height/cross members to determine if it's up to having 3-4K hanging behind the axles.

My 36ft 5th wheel Patio Hauler has a 12" I-beam frame and is rated for 4k in the garage - there is no way in hell I'd be putting my 4K CJ-7 in there (even if it would fit) because it's ALL behind the axles.

Brian

It has a subframe already, ( redish in the photo) so that could be very possible if I grind the welds and make it movable as you mention.

Someone on onther site suggest a 70/30 deck length vs axle center setup. And possibly backing the vehicle on to bias the wieght if needed. Anyone agrre to something like that?
With a 24' deck and a 70/30 split, the equalizer would be 201.6" from the front of the deck. With the way I figure it, you want the equalizer to be 192" from the front of the deck, but you're not loading it with an even load, so things change. The 70/30 might work well with a light load up front, but might be too much tongue weight if a more even load was put on. On the other hand, the way I figure it might not put enough tongue weight on with the uneven load. It is a hard one to figure out. Because of the different load options, I would have to agree that something that can be adjusted might be your best bet.

The fact that it started out as a travel trailer raises red flags IMO. The RV trailer industry is not known for overbuilding anything and generally a RV trailer weight will be reasonably well distributed - it's a box w/o any significant point loads.

I would be looking very hard at the frame section height/cross members to determine if it's up to having 3-4K hanging behind the axles.

My 36ft 5th wheel Patio Hauler has a 12" I-beam frame and is rated for 4k in the garage - there is no way in hell I'd be putting my 4K CJ-7 in there (even if it would fit) because it's ALL behind the axles.

Brian

Thats why I want them moved back to take that leverage off of the frame. I plan to added a diamondplate deck with wrap around deck like my old trailer had.. (I'll see if I can find a photo) My old trailer started as a 24foot travel trailer shortened to 16 and I hualed many fullsize trucks with no problems on it, but the axles where positioned accordingly.

I would say a slide in wieghs no more than 2k, and at tops I'd add 620 pounds to that IF I ever hualed the quad up there. But most typicaly it would be holding a toolbox with a couple hundred pounds of parts.
A Chevy Corisca wieghs about 2600 pounds, and very seldom would an vehicle that small be on there unless going to scrap. More typicaly I'd be hualing a 4-5500k vehicle, and I should be able to adjsut it to equal the wieght with the 70/30 Please correct me if that sounds incorrect.

I guess the only real way to get a universal setup would be to first get the wieght of the load that will be upfront but I cant do that until I find one.

...........I would say a slide in wieghs no more than 2k..........


I'd add about 1,000 lbs to that depending on what size you're talking about.

8footer with no bathroom

What are you towing with?

If the trailer can handle the weight, I think it'll be relatively well-balanced with the camper up front and a trail rig in the back, as long as you have a tow rig capable of handling the pin weight that you'll end up with.

I hope you have a 1 ton, and preferably, it'll be a dually.

91 f350 non dually. Watching for a nice diesel within my price range though.

8footer with no bathroom

how old?

Just depends on what I find, as I'm still shopping.

Also just updated my truck.

I'll be towing with a 94 f-450 Deisel 5speed dually. Should handle the laod just fine!