one axle vs two

[TEXTIN]

Been reading forum for months but this is my first post.Waiting on big RV show in Feb.to compare different AS models side by side and then decide if new or used is for me. Would like to stay with 22 or 23 footer. One thing I have been
wondering is what are advantages/disadvantages in one vs two axels as these lengths seem to come either way. TV will be low mileage 2012 Toyota Tundra double cab with 4.6 v8.

[Lumatic]

The big one for me is if you blow a tire there is not as much risk of loosing control and you can still tow on 3 wheels.

[Piggy Bank]

If you are looking at the 23 vs the 22, I really recommend you compare the 3 bed options. More important than the single vs double axel in my opinion.

To us the longer bed in the 22 trumps either bed option in the 23 FB or front dinette model.

[idroba]

I have had both single and double axle Airstreams and although there are differences I have never found them to be significant. I have two single axle trailers now. About 200,000 miles of towing experience.

I am sure you will get lots of opinions here, only you can decide which ones are of merit.

[rideair]

I own and have pulled both, personally I think the dual setup provides a smoother ride overall. My 1966 Overlander (dual., 26') is a smoother pull than the 1966 Safari (single, 22') I owned even though its a shorter trailer and weights less. Plus as others have said, you can ride down the road with three tires if you need too.

Enjoy,

[markdoane]

I prefer the single axle option, as long as you have a TPMS system. I believe single axle tires are less suseptible to interply shear and belt separation. I've never had a tire fail on my single axle Tradewind that weighs over 4800 lbs.
And of course it's less expensive to replace tires, brakes, and axles when the time comes.

[switz]

I prefer two axles and four tires. I one tire fails for whatever reason, the trailer still has stability while stopping it. There is braking capacity on both side of the unit.

[field & stream]

Hi, and welcome!

We currently have both a dual axle 23' and a single axle Basecamp, and would give the preference to dual axle for peace-of-mind issues.

The 22' and 23' do not come with either one or two axles -- the 22' is single axle and the 23' models are dual axle.

In my opinion, each one of the other decision factors of floorplans, trim levels (Sport vs. Flying Cloud) and price are more significant than the number of axles.

[dkottum]

We've had both single and tandem axle Airstreams. With the tire failure history of the original Goodyear Marathons, my greatest concern with the single axle was a blowout on freeways, roads with no shoulder, or long bridges where it would be difficult to drive ahead to a safe place to change the tire. With the tandem axle we could go on for some distance, and if we remove the bad tire, can travel up to 100 miles on the other.

If we still had the single axle Airstream I would put high quality Michelin tires on it, maintain proper air pressures, and the chance of a blowout will be almost zero. (We put Michelins on the tandem axle for this reason).

So for a small Airstream, take your pick and dump the original Goodyear Marathon tires. Then the choosing the trailer interior configuration is more important.

[Yachthalo]

We store in a carport off the alley and need to pivot sharply to get our 22FB in. This works with a single, but wouldn't with a double.

[dkottum]

Just for the record, we can back and turn as sharply with our tandem axle as the hitch and truck will allow us. And the 120" wheelbase truck can make a pretty sharp turn.

[Len n Jeanne]

The single-axel 22' Sport and 19' Flying Cloud weigh 4500 lbs. The 20' FC weighs 5000 lbs. The double axel 23' FC weighs 6000 lbs. All should be fine if you are towing with a Tundra, so it might come down to whether a double axel is an important safety feature for you, your camping style, and which interior layout best suits your needs.

We also have a Tundra TV, and could have gotten a better price on a used 23' International than we got on our new 19' FC. We opted for the shorter length because we really enjoy camping in smaller older National Park, BLM, and forest campgrounds designed back-when for shorter RVs. These campgrounds generally have some sites for longer rigs, but they are in high demand, so we have a lot more campsite availability with an under 20' trailer. We've enjoyed camping in loops limited to short RVs, which deletes the effect of being boxed in by massive 5th wheels and motor homes.

So single axel it is.

[switz]

Note that the Airstream lengths are measured from the front of the hitch ball socket to the rear of the bumper. All other trailers were measuring the "box" length. So the comparable length of the 23D model Airstream (23') is comparable to a sub 20' other brand using their measurements.

[Wingeezer]

I've had both and no real issues with either.

Whether it is all in my mind or not though, I feel a bit more secure with two axles (ie thinking about the possibility of a blow out and maybe losing control - or at least not being able to continue at reduced speed to get off a busy interstate to a spot where I could more safely deal with the problem.)

Another plus for me - although others may consider it very minor, is the ease of removing a wheel on a dual axle trailer either to fix a flat or repack wheel bearings.

I just run one wheel onto a pyramid of Lynx leveler blocks, and the adjacent wheel is left hanging in mid-air to easily remove - safer than using jacks IMHO.

Just be sure to start to loosen the lug nuts while the wheel is still on the ground, it is a lot harder to do once the wheel is hanging free!

Brian.

[Tireman9]

From a tire standpoint there are some issues to consider.

I tend to agree with the vehicle control issue if there is a tire failure on tandem axle TT. However unless you have TPMS there is a good chance you might not realize you have a tire loosing air and is about to become a sidewall blowout or if you have already had a tire failure you may still continue driving at your normal speed until someone lets you know you have had a failure.
I have personally seen a tandem axle TT after it was driven for a few miles with a failed tire and there was nothing of the tire left but bead wire wrapped around the axle and the wheel was scrap also. Driver said he didn't know he had had a failure till he stopped.

Now even if you have a TPMS and know about the tire failure at once, the issue of continuing for a number of miles comes up. The other tire on the side of the failure is now way overloaded unless the wheel is supporting load as it bashes into the pavement. Tires cannot support the potential 100% overload without suffering internal structural damage. Trucks & motorhomes with dual application many times make this mistake only to have the 2nd tire fail a few hours to a couple of weeks later due to the overload damage and continued operation.

Another item to consider is that with tandem axles the tires are always fighting each other in every turn or curve as the center of rotation is not the actual center of the turn radius. This results in Interply Shear forces in the tire that can lead to belt separation.
( Google link ) With tandem axles the best practice is to run the pressure on the tire sidewall AND to also have at least a 15% margin on tire loading.

[dkottum]

Many here (including us) believe best practice is to get rid of the original failure-prone GYM's, and replace them with Michelin LTX which have little to no failure history on our Airstreams, single or tandem axle set at what tire pressures they are comfortable with.

[TEXTIN]

Thanks for all the answers. This really is a great site for a wanna be streamer.

[graysailor]

My first priority when buying my first trailer was a 2 axle. Just safer in my opinion.

[D Greene]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

From a tire standpoint there are some issues to consider.

I tend to agree with the vehicle control issue if there is a tire failure on tandem axle TT. However unless you have TPMS there is a good chance you might not realize you have a tire loosing air and is about to become a sidewall blowout or if you have already had a tire failure you may still continue driving at your normal speed until someone lets you know you have had a failure.
I have personally seen a tandem axle TT after it was driven for a few miles with a failed tire and there was nothing of the tire left but bead wire wrapped around the axle and the wheel was scrap also. Driver said he didn't know he had had a failure till he stopped.

Now even if you have a TPMS and know about the tire failure at once, the issue of continuing for a number of miles comes up. The other tire on the side of the failure is now way overloaded unless the wheel is supporting load as it bashes into the pavement. Tires cannot support the potential 100% overload without suffering internal structural damage. Trucks & motorhomes with dual application many times make this mistake only to have the 2nd tire fail a few hours to a couple of weeks later due to the overload damage and continued operation.

Another item to consider is that with tandem axles the tires are always fighting each other in every turn or curve as the center of rotation is not the actual center of the turn radius. This results in Interply Shear forces in the tire that can lead to belt separation.
( Google link ) With tandem axles the best practice is to run the pressure on the tire sidewall AND to also have at least a 15% margin on tire loading.

Another possible advantage of single axle is in case of rapid deflation you will know almost immediately and can slow and pull over before the tire does expensive damage to the trailer.

[Vich]

While most of the replies are good info the real advantage of two axles is the stability under adverse conditions while towing. With 4 tires the rig will self stabilize faster when encountering heavy wind vs. big trucks. Also is more forgiving on ice & snow, not to mention pot holes. While towing is important you must also like living in it, so really the differences are minor.


Vic H