Hendrickson lift axle kit

Instead of a lift on the front axle just put a dump valve on the back axle.

 

That dump axle option will give you a better turning radius on the rear, plus save wear / tear on the tires. Now I’m not familiar with the setup you have on the dump trailer, are they independent?

I use to haul flat glass out of Bridgeport, WV many moons ago. That dump axle made maneuvering a 48x102 a lot nicer in tight areas…..

 

Basically you’ll want it to dump about half the air out of the rear bags, just enough to take some weight off but not put all the weight on the front axle. It will cut your turning radius down quite a lot as the trailer will pivot on the front axle. I’d be leery of running a lift and picking it up when you’re loaded because that would put a lot of weight on the rear axle. It doesn’t take very long and you’ll be in the habit of flipping the switch and dumping the back axle when your turn.

 

I use to haul train wheels / axles with a 1988 Cabover Kenworth that still smelled new, because it was. We had dumps on the truck and trailer. Dump the tractor when loading so it was easier to roll the wheels to the front, and dump the trailer when unloading to make it easier to roll them to the rear.

Lifting the front axle is pretty common when running empty on many trailers. There should be no issue in that at all, unless something has changed….?

 

You won’t have the tail swing like a box trailer with the tandems slid ahead. The back axle will still have some weight on it but not so much weight that it can’t slide around the corner a little bit.

 

It’s something to watch for, but shouldn’t be all that much of a problem. Turn signals, and mirrors, and take your time…..