Trailer Axles

[homer3]

Question: I have not done this to many times however, When I'm pulling my 5ver and making a sharp, i.e. putting the King Pin in a position where the 5ver si towing at angles over the bed of the truck while making a U-turn the trailer wheels seem to be almost cockeyed of each other. Is this normal. I've seen commercial tractor trailer driver make this maneuver quite frequently. I do not want to tweak the axles. Please advise.

[Ken / Claudia]

That is normal with dual axle trailers. Watch others using tight turns at boat ramps or camps spots you will see the same thing. If you took a photo and showed it to most people they would think the axles are bent or something.

[theeyres]

Somebody else can probably give a much better explanation than I can, but trailers don't have differentials on the axles that allow the wheels to turn at different speeds so when you make a really tight turn something has to give because all four wheels are turning at different speeds. Thus the distortion in the tires; that's what gives.

[GaryWT]

There is not a single turning pont, there are 2 so one is pulling and one is pushing. This is one of the reason you have to keep checking the lug nuts.

[bsmith0404]

as others have said, yes perfectly normal. Trailer axles are actually designed to do this, if they didn't flex, all of the torque would be placed on the suspension and your spring shackles would buckle. It does look strange when you see the entire wheel bent at an angle, but the only time you need to worry is if they don't straighten back up when you get back straight and the pressure is unloaded. This just gives you some idea of the amount of abuse your trailer tires go through as well. If you watch, they actually slide across the road surface when you're turning.

[cabinfever]

It does not happen as much with a TT or 5er, but with my work trailer I back up and make so many tight turns I wear out the tires in about 2 years (about 12K miles), if I'm lucky. Also, the rear axle wears faster than the front due to the way it pivots.

[1995Suburban]

Originally Posted by theeyres

Somebody else can probably give a much better explanation than I can, but trailers don't have differentials on the axles that allow the wheels to turn at different speeds so when you make a really tight turn something has to give because all four wheels are turning at different speeds. Thus the distortion in the tires; that's what gives.

All four wheels spin independently of each other. They are NOT live axles. You are correct in that there is no differential, but there is also nothing connecting the left tire to the right tire except the axle housing itself.

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