Why don't more of us run lift axle trailers?

All the other rear axle lift trailers I’ve had were a ball valve with an electric overide run thru the aux plug- til I bought that newest Mac// that has a aux plug ostensibly for the strobes: but the electric for the lift is ran thru the main harness and uses one of the trailer light functions.... caught me up pretty good first time I hooked it setting in the yard checking my lights watching the axle lift lol

 

53ft spread axle Barrett with 3 position crank up nose deck, double swinging bull gate at counter balance/fat rail gate. 3/4 jail at half the distance floor to ceiling (if they go under it they go in it) stop gate at roll up door in rear with a takeout 3rd deck or hog rail. Stainless bull nose front with slide vents. Stainless corners on rear. Fat man step at rear door. LED lights inside, tool box between the spread on right safety latches on center escape doors with pipe style gates inside (center cut gates in middles) with 166 lights if I remember right. It is a lightly used 20 year model 95 percent floors 80K.

By far the nicest thing this ol poor boy has ever owned. When he priced it I did not make a counter offer I simply called my people to call his people and handle all the arrangements. He handed me the title so it for sure wasn’t a money issue.

 

Bridgestone has smartlift axles on their dry van trailers for many years now they're kind of mega. I had one installed on a new van I bought several years ago. My average deadhead is probably 40% or so and I figured it would be worth it. I didn't do my homework. It wasnt recommended for the axles my trailer had because it couldn't lift them high enough. On smooth highways this wasn't an issue but if you hit bad bridge joints or potholes it would scuff the tires pretty badly.

I ended up never using it much so that was $2500 down the toilet that I paid a Great Dane dealer to install. The smartlift ones raise up a lot higher. They lift based on weight, mine was manual. Not sure how anyone would save on tolls with lift axles. Cash boxes on toll roads are nonexistent since the pandemic. Everyone is on EZ Pass now and there's no option to register a lift axle that I know of. But for fuel savings if you run a lot of empty miles that'd be where it's at..

 

Ez-Pass counts your axels. You register for 5 axels and it counts them and charges you accordingly for the axels touching the road.

The only thing is you have to register for them max axles you will have. The way their system is configured it can only deduct axels. If it counts more, you get a nasty letter in the mail & they may cancel your tag and make you get a new one that is registered properly.

i’ve ran drops plenty & never been over charged or charged for a trailer while i was bobtailing.

 

I didn't know that, good info. Amazing what they can do with sensors and technology.

 

Like many others, lift axles weren't on my mind when sussing out reefer specs. I had the disc brake discussion with my Great Dane dealer 6 years ago, it was a situation where unless some mega had a big order with the same parts coming through about the same time as my one, it would likely delay the build a month or two just getting the special parts nobody else was buying. Now that disc brakes are about standard issue, that's not the case any more. I'd expect a similar discussion about lift kits.

Far as more things to break is concerned LOL. I'm already a Tiremaxx Pro master tech, diagnosing and repairing blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back. How bad could it be?

I run a few MT miles, but not enough to need that complication, to be honest.

 

I mean there is always the home made lift axle. All you need is a dump valve & a chain. Crude, but effective.