Skid wheels

Gaffer · Dec 8, 2010

Anybody put skid wheels near the rear of their frame to prevent dragging? My driveway has a slight incline and the street in front of my place has a pretty good crown. When I back in I need to stack a couple of 2x6's to drive the trailer wheels over so that my rear stabizers do not drag (one side only). So I am thinking swivel or no? Anybody done this? Got pix?

GOTTOYS · Dec 8, 2010

I have not done it but from I have read this is not a good idea. The rear end of the frame was not designed to carry that much weight and it could result in damage to the frame. JMHO...Don

dbylinski · Dec 8, 2010

GOTTOYS said:
I have not done it but from I have read this is not a good idea. The rear end of the frame was not designed to carry that much weight and it could result in damage to the frame. JMHO...Don

From a woman's perspective.... Isn't the frame of the trailer going to carry the same weight whether suspended in mid air or resting on a set of dolly wheels. Not trying to be smart, just trying to understand. As long as the trailer tires remain planted doesn't the frame support same amount of weight?

Willym · Dec 8, 2010

I know a couple of Titanium owners with the rear bug room option. The floor of the bug room is stored under the trailer and has caster type wheels installed at the rear. Both owners broke their frames when the bug room wheels made repeated contact with the ground. When the rear skid wheels contact the ground, they unload the main wheels and a significant portion of the trailer weight is then taken by the two skid wheels. The loading occurs over a small portion of the frame, and not over several feet as with the main wheels. I would not recommend this practice.

grizzlygiant · Dec 8, 2010

If the scraping produces only small lifting loads on the rear of the frame there should be no problem. If the lifting force is sufficient to significantly unload the wheels you could be asking for troubles with frame bending/cracking. If this force is applied at an angle such as in turning you are asking for more trouble. Stick with the 2x6's.

hoefler · Dec 8, 2010

grizzlygiant said:
If the scraping produces only small lifting loads on the rear of the frame there should be no problem. If the lifting force is sufficient to significantly unload the wheels you could be asking for troubles with frame bending/cracking. If this force is applied at an angle such as in turning you are asking for more trouble. Stick with the 2x6's.

I would stick with blocking as well. You can put the frame in an extreme twist and really mess things up for sure.

BruteForce · Dec 9, 2010

Gaffer said:
Anybody put skid wheels near the rear of their frame to prevent dragging? My driveway has a slight incline and the street in front of my place has a pretty good crown. When I back in I need to stack a couple of 2x6's to drive the trailer wheels over so that my rear stabizers do not drag (one side only). So I am thinking swivel or no? Anybody done this? Got pix?

I have. My driveway has a slight slope to it and the skid wheels are the only thing that prevent my rig from scraping the back-end. I had to weld a steel beam across the frame rails, then attached the skid wheels to that beam. I will send pics tonight of my setup. Coming out of my driveway, when the skid wheels hit the pavement, only one tire on the left side (out of three) is touching the ground.

BruteForce · Dec 17, 2010

Sorry for the delay, but I've been on a man-trip with the 5th wheel. Here's a quick photo of my skid-wheel setup. Note that I put a really large steel beam across both frame sections to reinforce the rear-end. That chunk of steel is 1" thick and the length of the rig.

Other than needing some grease, the skid wheels have worked out quite well.

funntheson · Dec 17, 2010

My parents have a similar concern with a new 5th wheel. They were discouraged from putting n the skid wheels.

What they are doing, is having the dealer flip the axles on the trailer. They will gain about 3" by doing this, which should give them the clearance they need. They also won't have to worry about damaging the frame.

2psnapod2 · Dec 17, 2010

funntheson said:
My parents have a similar concern with a new 5th wheel. They were discouraged from putting n the skid wheels.

What they are doing, is having the dealer flip the axles on the trailer. They will gain about 3" by doing this, which should give them the clearance they need. They also won't have to worry about damaging the frame.

What is meant by flipping the axles?

branson4020 · Dec 17, 2010

2psnapod said:
What is meant by flipping the axles?

On some rigs (not Heartland) the axle is installed above the leaf spring, with the spring saddle facing down. You can gain a couple of inches in height by removing the axle, rotating it ("flipping") so the spring saddle faces up, and reinstalling it below the leaf spring.

2psnapod2 · Dec 17, 2010

oh ok got it. Thanks.

hoefler · Dec 17, 2010

It really is not as simple as turning the axle over. If you do, the axle is pre-stressed to flex with the load, you will have it flexing the wrong way. Also, the brake backing plates would have to be removed and rotated on the spindle to keep the correct orientation with the adjusters down. The spring perches need to be relocated to the top of the axle.

Skid wheels

Gaffer

Well-known member

GOTTOYS

Well-known member

dbylinski

NE Reg Dir Retired

Willym

Well-known member

grizzlygiant

Well-known member

hoefler

Well-known member

BruteForce

Well-known member

BruteForce

Well-known member

funntheson

Well-known member

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired

branson4020

Icantre Member

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired

hoefler

Well-known member

Similar threads