The "Spread" of Ignorance

This isn't quite what I thought the thread was going to be after I read the title, I thought there was going to be a pretty good rant going!

Make wide turns when possible rather than sharp ones. An electric dump valve on one axle can be helpful. The ride is much better than a regular tandem. I haven't been able to get recaps to last on our drop, after a while the tread starts to peel away from the sidewall.

That's about all I know for sure, not too much.

 

Like RW said limit sharp turns as much as possible, A dump valve on the rear axle will make your trailer 5' shorter at the flip of a switch (assuming it's a 10' spread). You can make either axle a lift (hendrickson suspensions are easier and cheaper than neway to lift). What brand of trailer? Timpte and Cornhusker are die hard Neway where Wilson uses Hendrickson.

Just guessing but I say you'll love it. Ride is WAY better, with a dump valve maneuverability is better and you'll never have to pay to scale your truck again. Caps work fine as long as you buy the caps for a spread (closed rounded shoulders) We run caps on almost all our spread axle flats with making stop and go deliveries in town with no issues.

 

also 5 mouths im not sure of this but when i ran flatbed you can carry 40000 on the spreds vs a tandum,as far as the dump valve i would truly look into makeing that happen ,it would be worth the investment so you can save on tires,,hope its going better than it was when i talked to you last,,give me a call when you get a chance there driver,,,hope all is well with the family and your loads are closer together the dino

 

If it's Neway suspension here are a couple links to the lift kit for them.
It's shown at the bottom of this brochure.
Installation instructions.
I got a price for around $800 for the kit. Not sure if it included the valves.

If it's Hendrickson suspension.
Under Beam Lift
Parts List
Installation instructions
I've bought one of these. Simple to install since it's weld on unlike the Neway that requires you remove the pivot pin. I paid about $500 for this kit without the "air kit" which Hendrickson wanted another $500. I just used electric solenoid valves.

 

being able to dump the air for the rear axle will make it much easier to manuever, but some manufacturers will tell you that this will void their warranties because you could overload the front axle.

 

The cab contolled quick dumps are illegal, however it's just yet another stupid law that gets broke along with the other 10,000 laws. That said, they are sweet and you should get the quick dumps.......(grin)

 

In short, they are electricaly contoled solinoids, one on each axle, and when activated they dump all of the air out of the 2 bags on the axle you are dumping. You have 2 cab switches (you'll need to fabricate the design and wiring yourself), each cab switch dumps one axle, and they dump the air completely in about 3 seconds flat (hence "quick" dump). These solinoids are set so they will only dump when electricaly charged, therefore, the bags will stay inflated as a default, like when you're unhooked from the trailer. Older trailers will have a 6 prong recepticle plug from the factory, newer ones I'm not sure. If equiped with the 6 prong plug on the trailer, you can buy the male end at any auto parts store for about $6. They are esentialy a couplable wire harness for a pickup and boat trailer.

Super short version = run wires from cab (via switches) to energize both solinoid valves so to dump air as desired. When they are de-energized, the solinoids will not dump, and your bags stay inflated.

If I get some time sometime soon, I'll take pics of my setup and post, as an illistration would be easier to understand.