Where to Place Axles on Hay Cart Converted to Tandem Axle Trailer

Question:

Ive got it into my head to take a old hay trailer fixed rear axle with pivoting front axle for turning purposes into a double axle trailer for firewood and whatever else I feel like hauling. Its 8foot W x 18foot L. The length is not including hitch length. I was wondering where I should put my axles for best weight distribution without putting too much on the tongue. Or if I need to just chop it down and use one axle...any and all advice would be helpful thanks! An average weight of a cord of wood is 4700-6000 lbs.

asked by: Kyle

Expert Reply:

To determine the location for the front and rear hangers on your tandem axle trailer you will first need to make sure that you have the correct center point for your equalizer hanger.

The center point of your equalizer hanger needs to be located where you will have 60 percent of the frame of the trailer in front of the center of the equalizer hanger and 40 percent behind the center of the equalizer hanger. For example, if the trailers frames length is 18 feet, then the center-line location for the equalizer hanger will be 10.8 feet from the front of the trailer and 7.2 feet from the back. You have to measure all the way up to the center of the coupler ball when taking this measurement.

This is where to start with when picking out axle locations for a tandem axle trailer. You will need to determine the tongue weight of the trailer and then check out the picture I attached if the tongue weight is anything other than 10 percent of the total trailer weight.

expert reply by: Jameson C