Q: Move axle or not?! (1 Viewer)

[mercfan]

I have a cheap Harbor Freight trailer that I've been hauling my snowmobile on - originally it was 8'x4'. The snowmobile (Ski-doo Tundra V-800) weighs around 550lbs. The original trailer rating is 990lbs. Long story short, the front A-frame had bent while loading the machine on it one day, so I decided to fix it.

I began by adding 30'' to the front. I'm also going to rebuild the weak A-frame that was on there and lenghten the tongue a bit. The question I have is: should I move the axle forward, now that the trailer frame and the tongue are longer?

What's the formula for locating the trailer axle on the frame? The frame is longer by 30'', should just move the axle forward by 15 inches? Do i have to move it at all?

James

 

[mercfan]

Here is an appox. drawing

 

[mercfan]

I found my answer here: How to Determine Axle Position when Building a Trailer | etrailer.com - looks like I don't have enough information to determine that yet. I have to first weigh the loaded trailer to determine that.

 

[greentruck]

That's a lot of math, but should give you an answer.

In general, you want things to come out around 60/40, with 60% of the weight forward of the axle.

The formula cited above has some adjustment built in so that heavier trailers can be dealt with without going into crazy high tongue weight values.