Steerable lift axle

jansiemoo · Apr 7, 2009

Has anybody ever used one of these? I wanted to know if it was worth the extra maintenance over a regular lift type. Thanks

mjolnir131 · Apr 7, 2009

somebody on the forums has a twin screw plus the steerable tag,yes 3 axels. there was a thread about it back around the first of the year. think it's a FDCC truck.

Doggie Daddy · Apr 7, 2009

It was a Landstar truck,here is the link.

http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/general-expediter-forum/35270-odd-st-configuration.html

mjolnir131 · Apr 7, 2009

thank you DD, sorry about being off on the carrier

jansiemoo · Apr 7, 2009

Thanks, found it.
(if you look for it online the company is Watson Chalin, not Chalmers)

Slo-Ride · Apr 7, 2009

Steerable lifts are not that uncommon,,,construction indrustry has used em for awhile,,,Not sure they are really needed for our line of work unless your going to stick to city driving..There is added maintance as with anything that ya add...Shocks,,steering knuckle,,,Locks and added air plumbing....biggest draw back I can see would be loss of air thru the locks and causing ya to sit on the side of road till ya repair it.. I am looking into an extra axle but highly doubt I will go steerable.Its not that hard to reach over and dump the air to make your turn....

RTOspeedwagn · Apr 7, 2009

The guy with the Volvo lift axle said he could scale 27000 without going over on the steers. Do expediters carry that much often? What can a tandem scale without a tag?

jsbiker · Apr 8, 2009

Steerable Lift Axles are good IF you really need it.
you end up with a lot of problems if you have a company install it f they do not have the equipment to do it with.

just like your steering axle, caster shimmy, balance, alignment of the wheels on the axle, now add the alignment of the steerable axle to the other axles.

then add that the axle can not be on the road if you need to back up. (ever watch a motorhome pulling a car try to backup, smae thing)

FREE TO FAIL · Apr 8, 2009

I was the guy with the steerable lift axle.... I recomend a steerable when you need to locate the lift axle some distance away from the drives. The steerable will allow you to avoid tire scrub on the lift axle. I would caution you about the location of the axle controls as at least 3 jurisdictions do not allow you to have controls accessable to the driver. Insofar as lifting axles on a turn remember that if you are on a public roadway and get caught lifting your axles you can be cited for being overweight. The cost on a steerable is not that much if you buy a good used unit paid 3k for mine with wheels and tires. 400.00 for installation. Check ebay usually can find a couple of units there. I would mention that the steerables appear to be better made as they usually use a 12k truck front axle assembly. If you buy a used unit make sure the kingpins are in good shape and it is well greased.

Doggie Daddy · Apr 8, 2009

RTOspeedwagn said:
The guy with the Volvo lift axle said he could scale 27000 without going over on the steers. Do expediters carry that much often? What can a tandem scale without a tag?

34,000# on a set of tandem axles RTO.

bluejaybee · Apr 8, 2009

Excuse me, as I may be having a senior moment here, but when you say scale 27000 and 34000, are you talking GWV or Tare weight? I am not following your lingo. (probably is a senior moment).

Where are my pull ups? Got my teeth. There is my glasses. Yep, hearing aids are in. Pace maker is charged. Shoot, let's go.

RTOspeedwagn · Apr 8, 2009

Im talking about the maximum weight of the cargo without being over(12000) on the front axel.( Tandem axel truck)

x06col · Apr 8, 2009

Maybe I can help. If you are running a tandem and add a steer axle, you have capacity of 12 plus 12 plus 34, for a total of 58,000lbs (jes to be safe). If your teuck weighs 24,000 empty you could (CARRY) 34,000lbs legal. Butttt..... there are bridge laws that will limit you to 54,000lbs as a straight truck (length) So jes liscense a quad axle truck for 54, and jes CARRY 30,000, and avoid bridge laws and having to pay heavy use for over 54K.

RTOspeedwagn · Apr 8, 2009

Thanks. I spelled "axle' like axel Rose spells his.

FREE TO FAIL · Apr 10, 2009

Please do a search for the hendrickson website they have great examples of how the bridge laws work, its actually not that simple two seperate calcs required most of the time depending on the location of the lift axle you will be way under the capacity of the second group of axles.

When i said i could carry 27K legal it was just to the limits of my 54k base plate. I could carry more but didnt want to base plate any higher.