Lift-Axle for flatbed

It is all the way up, tight against the internal stops.

 

Donate, heck! He charged me double!!!

 

Interesting

 

I've been using the poor man's method for a while with some poor results.

First thing I did was put a ball valve with a waste valve on it inline to the airbags on the rear axle. This is probably the best idea I had in all of this. Just unscrew the cap, and it purges what's left of the air from the whole suspension. Had to buy a roll of high pressure hose to make it work with what I've got, but that just means I've got 39.5 feet of spare hose, just in case. I used just enough hose that the ball valve peeks out from behind the crossmember between it and the back of the trailer, so I don't need to get under there to work it.

I tried one 2" strap, and it snapped driving around Duluth.

I tried two 2" straps, and they both snapped outside Eau Claire.

I tried one chain and two binders on the crossmembers, and the front crossmember bent back so far the wheels were all kissing the ground over bumps after about 500 miles.

Now I have one chain going from stake pockets in front of the axle, running under the axle crossed behind it, and my two binders hooked onto the bumper near a T-joint (roughly 1/4" steel plates). Which do you think will crack first?

Had to fiddle with the airbag leveling valve a bit to get a reasonable amount of clearance under the wheels (3-4"), so I'm not sure I've got the axle as far up as it can go. I felt the deflated airbags, and it feels like the cups are as close as they can be, though.

The increase in maneuverability is unreal with that rear axle in the air, which is appreciated due to my lack of hydraulic steering. I've run it across scales without it raising an eyebrow (only 9500lbs on that single axle empty), and it saves me a ton of cash going through toll booths (just look at that 4 axle price next time you're going through empty and cry). Hoping this newest arrangement is stable enough to last me until I figure out what I need to weld where to make this work better than what I've been doing.

My only major concern with the tag axle so far is looking back and seeing smoke from time to time under braking. I'm not sure if this is the brakes on the ground getting hot, or the tires in the air tapping the ground due to a lack of clearance.

 

What kind of trailer is this on and which axle? My setup just has one 4" strap and it's the same one I installed when I first made the setup. As you can see in my photos, mine was made in May of 2011. My "cross member", that the flat hook rests on, is a 3/8"X3X3 angle iron, setting on top the airbag mounts. The winch is bolted to the factory C channel, at the front of the suspension. The valve is a simple ball valve with the normal, everyday, black plastic DOT air line. I have about 6" of clearance, under the tires, when lifted.

 

Could be when you hit the brakes, the trailer drops enough to let the axle that is up kiss the ground.

 

Most of his problem is he is trying to lift the rear axle. It teeters more and will touch the ground since the pivot point is between the truck and the lift axle. Hard on tires

 

Yea, that doesn't work very well, on a spread. Ok, on a closed tandem, but not a spread.

 

no it doesnt. we have had dumps with both manual and auto lifts on reefers since the early 90's. we have tried all kinds of variations. dumps on rear are nice for menuvering but lifts only work on the front