Article about Tandem Torsion Axle Issues

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Perryb67

Sure, I wish Escape built their trailers with a walking beam torsion axle, but they don't. What fiberglass manufacturer builds with a walking beam?

wow, new idea to me, but pretty cool, found this vid showing it working.
https://youtu.be/7qWMkBfMllI

too bad they didn't shoot the same test without the rocker beam, just two torsion axles on a rigid frame, and do the same slo-mo curb hop so we could see the difference.

me, I can't help but think that trailers could use shock absorbers aka dampers.

[George Johnson]

Brian B-P, you are correct regarding appropriate use of engine braking, at least in some circumstances. Sorry to have ruffled your feathers.

Engine braking and axle braking are both "tools in the box," and anyone towing should make themselves familiar with both tools and use them appropriately. I did not mean to imply anything else.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

wow, new idea to me, but pretty cool, found this vid showing it working.
https://youtu.be/7qWMkBfMllI

This is an interesting scheme which uses two Torflex (or similar) axles/suspensions mounted on rockers to allow additional linked articulation. One consequence of this design is that while the Torflex suspensions are independent (the travel of the suspension on one side does not affect angles such as camber of the wheel on the other side), motion of the rocker is not independent - it makes the Torflex crossmember tubes into beam axles.

Since the Torflex crossmembers normally rigidly tie the frame rails together, this design includes an additional frame crossmember at the pivot location.

This is very similar to Timbren's Silent Ride, but Silent Ride has no independent action at all; it is pair of beam axles. Silent Ride also includes a single fixed crossmember tube.

The design of the suspension in the video is explained in a page linked in the comments: https://www.synthx.com/torsion-axle-...am-suspension/

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

too bad they didn't shoot the same test without the rocker beam, just two torsion axles on a rigid frame, and do the same slo-mo curb hop so we could see the difference.

I agree - climbing a curb with just tandem Torflex will lift the trailing tires right off the ground on the way up, and leave the leading tires in the air on the way down the other side. Someone made the same suggestion in the YouTube comments, and the response was "That's a good idea"... but that was only a few minutes ago.

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

me, I can't help but think that trailers could use shock absorbers aka dampers.

Yes, as I mentioned earlier, but especially in this design - the rocker arm motion is entirely missing damping, even by rubber. Timbren Silent Ride also has no damping of rocker motion except at the limits of travel when it hits rubber bump stops. A damper (shock absorber) per wheel would damp motions of both the rubber suspensions and the rocker.

[Semievolved]

Thanks for the great replies, I learned a lot!

[hondasaurus]

Even with a one torsion axel the risk of overloading it exit when doing a sharp turn near a sidewalk curb when only one wheel is able to cary the load. I've build many trailer in my life as a welding teacher and once you understand the limit of torsion the extra are more than the minus in the long run.

I'm not afraid.