Spread Axle 48' or 53' Dry Van?

Most spread vans and reefers i've seen do not have a big beam under them, the axels are welded right to the cross members. My freind has a Wabash and thats how his is ,no big beam just direct to the cross members.

 

You can get them however you want them. Some are fixed spread, others are fixed spread but the entire spread will slide (always stay 10-2 or whatever) some each axle will slide individually for that rare occasion you just hate the smooth ride and no need to scale out of a spread and insist on having a closed tandem. And some have the heavy subframe which I believe would hold up better, it's all in how you order it.

Tire wear is trivial, on a 1000 mile trip how many of those miles are spend making hard turns? Dump valves save tires and so do good drivers.

 

^^^^^^^ I have never had a tire wear issue on my spread flats. Get just as many if not more miles on them as my closed tandem trailers do.