In the process of building a 6'x 8' trailer, with a 4' tongue for my ATV. Where should I place the axle? I heard it should be 2/3's back from the front of the box or from the tongue? or is it somewhere else all together. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

That's probably a pretty good location for balance, but as the hitch on the atv isn't rated for very much weight, you may want to move it a hair forward. I just modified an old boat trailer for towing logs. It was 15' long, so I cut the first 4' off, then attached it perpendicular to the main beam, 3' back from the tongue. This give me a 3' tongue then a 4' wide x 8' long bed. I haven't done so yet, but I plan on building a box to attach to this as well for hauling fence mending supplies in during spring time. Right now though, I'm hauling logs, and LOTS of them. So, I left the box off, just have the 4' wide front beam with 12" uprights, with the 4' wide rear rollers that "v" toward the center slightly. This combination keeps the logs towards the center of the trailer when loading, and with a good stack, the uprights and the "v" rear end keep them on the trailer better. Because of the excessive weight of the logs, I moved the axle about a foot forward, so it's almost in the dead center of the trailer. This way, fully loaded with logs, you can easily pick the tongue up off the ground with just a finger or two, which prevents too much weight from being on the hitch of the atv. The axle itself has between 18-20" of ground clearance, so I can just drive over most of the stumps, rather than trying to go around them, as I had to before while dragging logs on the ground.

Dad and I just got back from the ranch Saturday after giving the trailer a good workout. I was running the chainsaw all day each day, while Dad was towing and unloading the trailer. Even in the nasty up and downhill, off-camber terrain, it pulled great behind the 'Cat, we didn't have a problem at all, ever with it. As far as weight, I was loading it up with stacks of logs between 10-12' in length, and figuring each load to weigh around 2,000 lbs. Again, with the axle further forward, there was very little weight on the 'Cat, yet it still pulled very well.

I did set the axle up though so that when I do build the box, I can slide the axle back about a foot, to put a little more weight on the nose, as the box will be more weight towards the back, making the front TOO light. Using bolts, I can quickly and easily remove that box, and slide the axle forward again for hauling logs, which is mostly what I do anyway. Might be something to think about, though it may take a couple tries to get that "perfect" balance point.

Best of Luck, I'll have some pictures up hopefully within the next couple weeks-that might help explain it better, I don't know.

Mike

 

What a timely question. I just today got done welding up a trailer for my ATV. Chuck, the guy who runs the welding shop (and built many trailers himself) said the recommendation for axle location is to split the load 60/40, meaning that 60% of the bed is in front of the axle, and 40% is behind it. If tongue weight is going to be a concern, he recommends lengthening the tongue a foot or so, rather than move the axle too far forward, because the weight in front of the axle is what keeps it tracking straight. As a rule, the more weight on the tongue, the more stable the trailer, especially at higher speeds, and the more weight on the axle, the bigger load you can haul without overloading your hitch. Finding that balance is the tricky part. I guess you could always adjust your load forwards/backwards a little in the trailer, too, if you had to.
One final word on this. Chuck says he wouldn't build a trailer anymore unless it had a commercial axle, spring, and shackle kit on it. I guess if you make your own axle, and it fails on a public road, you may be legally liable for damages caused. If you use a commercial axle, it will have been approved as 'safe' by the D.O.T. In this lawsuit happy day and age, I can't argue with his logic.