Make Tyre Changing and Axle Carrying Easier with Double Acting Rams on Low Loader

A new product that Drake Trailers has developed for its road going low loaders are its Double Acting Suspension Rams. These Rams allow the axles to be quickly retracted to reduce tyre wear when coming home empty. It also allows for easier and safe tyre change even when loaded.

Imagine if you’ve just unloaded, and making the journey home, but you’re carrying 40 tyres on the ground. You want a way to pick up a couple of axles and reduce tyre scrub.

At The Drake Group, we’ve developed a component on our low loader trailers which allows operators to get away from using axle hold hook ups. It’s called Double Acting Suspension Rams, and we can guarantee that it makes life a lot easier when you want to carry axles home when you’re unloaded or simply want to change a tyre.

Byron Foss, Trailer Sales at The Drake Group, has created an instructional video on how quick and easy our double acting suspension rams work on our Swingwing and Steerable models.

“The biggest benefits of double acting suspension rams is the ability to lift any axles whether or not you are empty or loaded.” He says. “This makes it quicker, easier and safer for the operator to change tyres or to carry an axle when you want lift axles for empty travel.”

Every tyre has a rolling resistance, which is essentially the force required to make it roll on the road. The bigger the load, the more downward pressure is applied from gravity that needs to be countered against by the engine burning fuel and powering the rotation of the tyres. However, the resistance makes the tyre heat up and it’s this heat, combined with road friction, that leads to the tyre wearing away over time and distance.

The tyres positioned on the rearmost axles also get extra friction from how they scrub sideways around corners, especially on trailers with three or more axles. One way to mitigate against this is having the rearmost axle turn, or by lifting the tyres off the ground completely.

This isn’t always possible, especially when the trailer is carrying a very heavy load, so every axle is needed to spread the weight evenly. On trips where the trailer is carrying a light or even empty load though it’s typical to see the rearmost tyres lifted up to save wear and tear. Retractable axles are allowed by road authorities under certain conditions so it’s best to check ahead before starting the job.

At The Drake Group, we have over 60 year’s experience of custom designing, manufacturing and servicing the best heavy haulage low loaders to travel on Australian roads. Contact The Drake Group today to find out more.