Lloyd Christmas wrote:brian_bp wrote:I'm not at all convinced that a too-lightly-loaded tandem cargo trailer will ride any better than a single-axle... and it will fight the tug vertically if the hitch height isn't just right. The other issue might be that a very small tandem will likely have smaller wheels and tires than the same size single-axle... and small overall tire size is not a good thing for ride.
I suggest less than $100 worth of shock absorbers on the trailer axle (including the mounts) to make the ride (and control) better, instead of a whole extra axle.
Not to come of as a know it all but with my experience (from an ag background with a lot of trailers of all sizes), a tandem trailer rides remarkably better than a single axle and especially with any kind of a load. I do agree that proper setup makes a difference.
Yes, a
properly applied tandem setup makes one big bump into two small ones, which is probably a good thing. A tandem small cargo trailer used as a TTT is unlikely to qualify.
If starting from scratch, tandem is a valid (but unnecessarily expensive, heavy, and complex) option. I thought we were shooting for inexpensive, light, and simple?
Lloyd Christmas wrote:Although not really a good example, a trailer made out of a pickup box pulls incredibly bad and really worsens with any weight added.
The rear of a pickup truck will work as a trailer... but so will almost any box, some steel (or wood!) rails, and a random axle. Pick any part of such a trailer, and there is a better way to do that part. I think the performance bar should be set higher than typical pickup-based things... even though bobhenry has a good one.