Then you can always rely on Wheelnut to confuse matters further
With some A frames they have an extending drawbar which pushes the trailer away from the prime mover so you can turn corners, this can be interesting in very tight spaces as the trailer moves backward as you turn to stop it catching.
Our system had a gear wheel and a hydraulic ram built into the drawbar, some rely on sensors on the body to force out the ram, these are only used on very close coupled rigs like the french use though.
The bodies we carried were 27’6 and 24 feet so we were well within the limits
The gap between the 2nd and 3rd vans is about an inch!
gap between the 1st and 2nd is about 15 inches.
Thanks for the welcome, lurked around for a long time before registering.
been driving drawbars for 14 years, after passing my old class 2 license, 7.5 tonners before that. Basically been doing caravan transport for nearly 18 years, used to do agency work in the quiet peroids, but in the last 5 years i haven’t needed too. Mind you, this year has been the worst for 3 years, been a real downturn in caravan sales, obviously there is less money around for people to play with. Quiet a few dealers feeling the pinch, and a few gone under already. normally a sign of a recession coming.
dennisw1, rear steer axle makes it easier to reverse. It is like reversing rear axle lifted so you have more rear overhang and that makes a-frame easier to reverse. When going forward trailer follows better in corners becouse of rear overhang. When you have enough speed rear axle usually locks and after that it’s not different from ordinary 6x2
Kyrbo:
dennisw1, rear steer axle makes it easier to reverse. It is like reversing rear axle lifted so you have more rear overhang and that makes a-frame easier to reverse. When going forward trailer follows better in corners becouse of rear overhang. When you have enough speed rear axle usually locks and after that it’s not different from ordinary 6x2
That makes sense, at Toray we used to lift the 3rd axle whenever we could to get similar benefit.
Kyrbo:
dennisw1, rear steer axle makes it easier to reverse. It is like reversing rear axle lifted so you have more rear overhang and that makes a-frame easier to reverse. When going forward trailer follows better in corners becouse of rear overhang. When you have enough speed rear axle usually locks and after that it’s not different from ordinary 6x2
That makes sense, at Toray we used to lift the 3rd axle whenever we could to get similar benefit.
Salut, David.
Diverting to lift axles a while
Although im talking about semi trailers, it still applies on drawbars. A company I worked for had automatic lift akles on the trailers. This means when you unload the axles raise up on their own. This can cause problems if you have parked the trailer in a tight spot. as you turn the trailer the pivot point has moved and can cause you to be stuck fast
My trailer had automatic, front and rear axles, so the pivot point stayed about the same. The one I came unstuck with had the centre and rear axle lift. it makes things interesting
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:lol:.
