Turning a fixed tandem axle to a spread axle

That's on the driver for not being proactive and managing how his trailer is loaded.

And the spread gives a much larger room for error, not just on the trailer axles but also the drives. That front axle sitting so far forward is similar as having a sliding tandem slid almost all the way up.

 

I think Hendrickson makes a drop-in spread axle "carriage" to slot right into the rails of a van trailer. One thing to be aware of is certain states get prickly about 53' spreads. CT in particular does not like them, and I don't know that the ability to slide the pair of axles would make any difference to them.

 

So what will it cost to go from sliding tandem to fixed spread with a lift on the front axle? How do the brakes on the lifted one affect the one in road contact when moving?

 

A lot. It's not something people pay others to do. Its something guys break out a welder, some plate and start fabricating do.

The brakes on the lifted one don't effect the down axle at all. Plenty of braking power on the down axle. It will only be lifted up when light because you can only have 20k on a single axle.

 

Did you convert your trailer or sell and buy the spread ? Just currious looking to get a 53 reefer trailer and as of now I was looking to get a new box and move my unit but this might open more doors. I’m in Maryland as well

 

You need to review the bridge law chart in your commercial vehicle atlas. This will help you determine where the rear most axel should be.

 

When you turn a spread, you are doing so at speeds where braking wont matter. Provided that forward axle is doing the lifting while the rear one is in the air or skating very very lightly. If you don't do this you can pretty much rip the tires right off the rear axle.

The one advantage of a spread is carrying 40,000 back there. I actually prefer spread to tandem but eh... there are disadvantages. The forward axle is known to break curbing in places you really should not take a spread into.