Will Adding 4" - 5" Lift Axle Impact how a Trailer Tows

Question:

Building an 8.5x20 aluminum enclosed v-nose cargo trailer. Im contemplating 45 degree down axels to gain 4-5 inches of ground clearance... Do you think that will have much of an impact on how the trailer tows? Any other concerns with that?

asked by: BH

Expert Reply:

Installing an axle that gives you more height on your trailer isn't necessarily a bad thing. The most important thing to remember is that too much height can cause your center of gravity to sit high enough that crosswinds and corners at higher speeds could cause adverse effects to your towing experience.

With that being said, 4" - 5" of lift alone shouldn't be enough to make your trailer dangerous to tow. If you were to try lifting your trailer much more than that though is when you could start to see problems.

If you don't already have your heart set on a particular axle I have a recommendation that will make installing an axle much easier and less of a pain when mocking up your trailer for suspension parts. Timbren has their axle-less trailer suspension that simply bolts onto your trailer frame.

You will need to mock up your trailer, but this option makes it much more simple since you don't have as many parts to take into consideration. The suspension is combined with the axle part so it is literally just a matter of making sure you have your tires/wheels in the correct location and that they are the directly across from each other and the same distance from your coupler.

I have linked out selection of these systems for you to filter through, but we do have the follow axle weight capacities with a 4" lift:

2,000 lb Axle - # ASR2KHDS03
2,200 lb Axle - # ASR1THDS03
3,500 lb Axle - # ASR35HDS02
5,200 lb Axle - # TASR5200S03

I have also linked an installation video of the Timbren axle-less suspension as well as a helpful article on where to position the axle on a trailer for you to check out.