Lift axle cost?

$1400.00. is what MAC quoted me. Done at their service shop in Alliance OH. They need the trailer for one full shift and it must be empty.

 

explain to me what the purpose of the dump is?

i've got a trailer. that dumps when the brakes are applied. if i had to go to canada. i'd have to slide the front axle back. kind of hard to do when the trailer is dumped. axles won't slide unless the brakes are applied. but that dumps the bags.

 

I'm sure it's cheaper to order a lift axle from new. Guys I'm working with gnat have lift axles claim a noticeable milage gain when running light or empty. I'm not sure about saving on tire wear because since the lift axle had become so popular, I'm seeing lots of skid marks on bumpy roads especially in the upper Midwest and western Canada You go over those frost heaves and the tires briefly touch then a few months later you've got flat spots and junk tires.

 

what your saying would make sense. but that wouldn't work for the trailer i have. the only reason i could see it. would be a one peace heavy load. coming off the trailer. and popping the bags. so park the brakes so the valve dumps. no air in the bags when the one peice load comes off.

but i can't see myself ever hauling a load like that. so it just seems like a dumb setup. cuz more often then not. my loads are going to be strapped in such that there's going to be at least one winch sitting over SOME part of the tire. i try to keep them off to the sides of the tire but sometimes it gets right on top. the trailer is brand new. but if i were to have a air leak being parked over night. or even at home for the weekend or what not. the strap is going to have to come undone so the winch can be slid over. cuz when the trailer is dumped. the winch gets jammed right into the tire. and when that happens. the winch can get bent out of shape. and the tire can get sliced into.

there's also the dillema that you think the trailer is pumped up. you go driving down the road. and later on you see the tire all chewed up and maybe the winch got messed up.

cuz, you know, some drivers just don't think about such things.

 

here's an idea for you to make your own lift axle and save some cash.



there's a thread on here where someone did something similar and even ran a shaft out the side and added a valve so you could lift it without crawling under the trailer.

 

On a lift axle they install 2 extra air bags that push the axle up. You flip the valve and air is dumped from the suspension bags to the lift bags. Some of these are automatic / load sending.

A dump valve on a spread simply dumps air to take pressure off the trailer frame and tires when turning sharply. I'm sure you could get both at once.

 

Here's the aforementioned link on how to make your own lift axle. http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...cking-forum/188704-lift-axle-for-flatbed.html

 

I've run for one company that had lift axle to the front of the spread, and they seemed to work out pretty decent. I liked them except when you unloaded and forgot to flip the switch you would need to stop to hit it. I was told you can't have a switch for a lift inside the cab. On a dump, you would want the switch inside, and it does make parking a bit easier. Lord nows, sometimes they want you to back into a tight spot and your back and forth umpteenth times putting your butt into it.