Pin weight and axles on 5'er

[Nankipoo]

After reading the other thread about the 6000 pound axles on an RV that grosses 14,000, it got me to thinking. Ok if that's correct that would be when hooked to truck. What about sitting in the driveway not hooked to truck. The spot I park at home is level. I usually lower front jacks unhook from truck and let front jacks back down to level. That's all I do. I don't even lower the rear jacks. I guess that means my front jacks, axles and tires are holding the entire gross of my 5'er. At that point do the front jacks become the carrier of pin weight?

[flybouy]

Yes the pin weight is carried thru the hitch to the truck or thru the font landing gear when not attached to the truck.

[chuckster57]

I’ve done it the way you do it for over 25 years. No need to put the rears down.

[Nankipoo]

Good to know. Was just curious if I was putting to much on the axles.

[bobbecky]

Sitting still in your driveway means you aren’t subjecting the axles and suspension to the unknown loads experienced when you are rolling down the highway which is likely way ore than 6,000 lbs o the axles.

[sourdough]

IMO here's the way that plays out;

You have a 14k trailer and 2 6k axles. You need 2k off loaded on the pin to keep the static weight of the trailer at what the axles can support - that's not the way towing or life works. Every whoop de doo, every hole, every "oh no" hammering on the trailer, flying over the expansion joints on I20 in LA and MS...not a single time is that axle carrying the static, sitting still weight they tried to cut the corners on. Instead, those flying up, down, hitting this and that is subjecting those axles, and springs, to forces FAR beyond that "cut it to the minimum" spec you have under the trailer. Same goes with the OE trailer tires that fail repeatedly. They WILL get you out of warranty, which is the intent, but certainly not the optimal equipment that one would want...again, IMO.

[bsmith0404]

IMO, axles are rated for the static weight that is placed on them. Just like tires are rated for cold PSI knowing the pressure will increase. I don’t think bumps in the road have much to do with what an axle can carry, after all that is what suspension components are for. I doubt you will damage an axle under normal driving, that’s not saying some road conditions can’t/won’t, those can damage axles that are well below their max. I think the place axles get damaged/bent is parking lots when people are cutting them short and dragging tires. An axle that is close to or at max is getting much more stress under those conditions than an axle with some extra margin. That alone is why I don’t understand why people worry about being able to get to 90 degrees with a 5th wheel. I’ll never turn mine that short, I can get to 90 degrees, but it’s too hard on axles and suspension. Go to a dealership and watch them move these things around with a forklift and tell me that doesn’t make you cringe a little seeing what happens to those axles.

[CWtheMan]

We had our Everest for 14 years and traveled to all of the lower 48. When sold, the original 6000# axles were still on it.

We made a lot of really tight turns with our rig. It's not as serious when on grass, soil or crushed rocks. However, you're going to leave some large tire skid marks when turning tight on any sort of pavement.

The weakest link for our Everest were the shackles. I had, by chance, seen a trailer with broken shackles before I broke our first set. My brother-in-law is an all-around mechanic and made me some spares before I needed them.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

IMO, axles are rated for the static weight that is placed on them. Just like tires are rated for cold PSI knowing the pressure will increase. I don’t think bumps in the road have much to do with what an axle can carry, after all that is what suspension components are for. I doubt you will damage an axle under normal driving, that’s not saying some road conditions can’t/won’t, those can damage axles that are well below their max. I think the place axles get damaged/bent is parking lots when people are cutting them short and dragging tires. An axle that is close to or at max is getting much more stress under those conditions than an axle with some extra margin. That alone is why I don’t understand why people worry about being able to get to 90 degrees with a 5th wheel. I’ll never turn mine that short, I can get to 90 degrees, but it’s too hard on axles and suspension. Go to a dealership and watch them move these things around with a forklift and tell me that doesn’t make you cringe a little seeing what happens to those axles.

I agree with the first portion of your post to a degree. After driving on some of these highways (I20 across LA comes to mind), as they launch your RV/truck almost off the ground only to come crashing down, my concerns about marginal axles were elevated a lot. That isn't "normal" driving and they're not normal conditions. I make that route about 4 times a year so IMO it was only time before the springs or axles were flattened. I would rather do it proactively rather than find a serious problem 1000 miles from home sitting in some overnight RV park. JMO

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I agree with the first portion of your post to a degree. After driving on some of these highways (I20 across LA comes to mind), as they launch your RV/truck almost off the ground only to come crashing down, my concerns about marginal axles were elevated a lot. That isn't "normal" driving and their not normal conditions. I make that route about 4 times a year so IMO it was only time before the springs or axles were flattened. I would rather do it proactively rather than find a serious problem 1000 miles from home sitting in some overnight RV park. JMO

EXACTLY !!!!! After towing at 70MPH for 100 miles, stopping at a rest area for a couple minutes to "refresh" then towing another 25 miles to a campground, again at around 70MPH, and then pulling into the campground checkin station, crossing a 5MPH speed bump at probably 3 or 4 MPH, and seeing the roadside rear wheel, hub and tire "wobble out from underneath the trailer" is SPOOKY !!!!

Had it happened 10 miles before, we'd have been "all over the road, lost the 150 pound "projectile" on the interstate, no telling who or what it might have hit, and we'd have had significantly more damage than the cost of the two "upgrade axles I installed last week"....

Bare minimums, whether it's in axle GAWR, tow vehicle payload or GCWR ratings or in sodium daily intake allowances. Pushing the limits is a dangerous way to "find out if the analysists were on top of their game the day they did the calculations that you're betting are valid for the conditions you're using them under"......