Does anyone know the weight of an artic trailer axle with super singles? Currently we are running around with a triple axle flatbed but our main work is moving horse trailers which weigh the grand total of a ton each … we can get x3 three of these on our artic (so 3 tons of cargo) but was figuring that it might be worth having the trailer modified to a single axle to improve the fuel efficiency? Currently the trailer weighs 5.5 tons empty, so how much weight would we save if we had two axles removed? Do you think it’s worth doing for the fuel economy? I guess people who move caravans must have the same issue … i.e. very bulky load with very little weight to it?
You would probably get 4 or possibly 5 on the right wagon and drag, convert the unit to a rigid and swap the 3 axle for a drawbar trailer.
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I was digging around t’other day and roughly an axle goes at 600kgs and super singles at 100kg each.
No one said it was off target.
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Doing away with the axles, brakes and tyres, might be a good move, but I doubt there will be much fuel savings?
Wheel Nut:
You would probably get 4 or possibly 5 on the right wagon and drag, convert the unit to a rigid and swap the 3 axle for a drawbar trailer.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It’s tricky as they are 4.5m each, we’d love to be able to do x4, x3 only just fit onto a 45ft artic so I can’t see x5 ever being an option. I guess a drawbar unit would be lighter than an artic tractor and also the possibility to have a smaller engine, we currently have a 460 hp volvo which is complete over kill for the work we are doing now.
You could always try to find and employ an old Brian Harris driver.
Reckon he would get 4 or 5 on no problem.
“Best get on” as he used to say himself.
I’d go with about 800-900 kg each. Negligible fuel saving if you ask me for the work involved, but what about stability for a 13.6 m trailer with one axle?
Many years ago I enquired to Fruehauf about a new trailer with lifting front and rear axles, but their engineer said it would be unstable.
Could you not use one of those 15,5m long things? Seen them with flat trailers with chep pallets on.
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coiler:
Many years ago I enquired to Fruehauf about a new trailer with lifting front and rear axles, but their engineer said it would be unstable.
Many years ago when I started driving for a living, my first employer had two Schmitz dry boxes with lifting front and rear axles. Never a problem on the road, just had to remember to manually drop the axles when negotiating hairpins on a tight mountain road in the Balkans for example.
Lost a wheel on one at some point, but that was due to poor maintenance if nothing else, they were far from new by 2005 and MOT was managed by a backhander or two in those days.
I’ve seen tippers with lifting rear and front axles. I just compare it to a caravan with one axle swaying about on the motorway, but a twin axle is more stable.
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Quite a common site on the continent.
I had one on the UK with a two axle tractor, it wound them up at the Humber Bridge when you came through as 3 axles and they had to leave their hut to check 
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