How to Determine Axle Position When Building Single Axle Utility Trailer

Question:

building a 5X7 utilty trailer that tilts. best location to mount axle, this is single axle

asked by: Kenny R

Expert Reply:

The general rule when building a trailer is there should be a 60/40 percent split in weight when centering the axle. Sixty percent of the trailer weight should be placed forward of the axle for proper tongue weight.

I can break this down for you.

To determine the correct position for the axle determine the trailer weight under the wheels and the tongue weight. This will require a mock up (pre-build) of the trailer. Once these weights are determined you will need to add the two numbers together to get the total weight. Once the total weight is determined you need to measure the distance to the center point of the axle to the center of the trailer coupler.

Now figure the percentage of tongue weight, total weight divided by tongue weight. If it is greater than 10 percent you will need to subtract 10 percent of the total weight from the tongue weight and divide by the total weight. Next multiply the answer by the distance between axle center and center of the coupler. The result will give you the distance that the center line of the axle should be moved forward.

If you have less than 10 percent tongue weight you will need to move the axle rearward using the following equation. The distance to move rearward will be 10 percent of total weight minus tongue weight divided by total weight then multiplied by the distance between axle center and center of the coupler.

I have included a helpful article on How to Determine Correct Axle Position for you to check out.

expert reply by: Chris O