I am considering buying a gooseneck trailer for hauling logs to my mill. I have a one ton F350 with a 7.3 diesel to haul with. I have heard triple axle trailers are harder on tires and very difficult to back compared to dual wheel tandems. I've never hauled a triple axle so have no experience. I have pulled lots of tandem axles of various lengths, though never a dual wheeled tandem. Any advice is appreciated.
Mart
Since the axles/wheels don't turn, they have to scrub whether going forward or backing. The further apart the axles are (triple) the more scrubbing action as to take place.
I have pulled both quite a bit, prefer a tandem dually for heavy loads over a triaxle single any day. It is not so much that the tridems are hard to back especially on flat ground, but it does put a lot of side load on the tires and wheels in tight situations (sharp turns) which sometimes damages the wheels and even studs when loaded.
I agree with everything mentioned above. Tire scrub when turning is a real issue to me. We have some badly rutted highways up here and it also seems that the dually tracks better without that slight wandering effect. Probably not an issue on good roads but we don't have many of those up here. The other side benefit of a dually is that should one go flat you can still cripple back to a tire shop or home.
I've used both and wouldn't buy a triple axle unless it was for highway use only.
Where I've taken gooseneck stock trailers would guarantee a some tore up tires and possibly a bent axle or hub if you were loaded up good.
There's a large paved area across the road from my mill, where semi's often turn around after unloading. The tri-axle trailers drag the tires sideways something fierce. The drivers will always get the businesses next door to unload them before trying to turn around -- even when it's inconvenient for everyone. I figure the driver would rather burn up some rubber than put the extra side stress on the undercarriage and tires.
Another vote for a dual tandem. More capacity than the tri-axle, and less hassle turning it.
One thing that I always try to do is position the trailer towards my exit before loading it. This helps to reduce tire failure from making tight turns on heavily loaded tires.
Dual tandem. Very well mannered and turns great.
I pulled a triple axle trailer with single tires for many heavy loads and would never use one again. First problem is tires and tire ratings. You just cannot carry the loads on six tires that you can carry on eight. The three axle trailer came originally with those worthless 9-14.5 trailer home center-less rims and after going thru about 12-18 catastrophic blowouts a year I switched hubs and rims to 16 inch radials in a G rating. That eliminated the tire problems but I was still load limited by six tires instead of eight.
I also have another gooseneck trailer with tandem duals and have not had any tire problems and I do haul some heavy loads. The electric brakes are the biggest problem with those gooseneck trailers so your best option is vacuum over hydraulics for brakes.
I now do all my heavy hauling with a 48 ft semi trailer with three tandem axles and do have some issues with the rear axle scrubbing the tread off but it's manageable. It was set up originally with ten foot spread axles on the rear and I added a lift axle in front of the front spread axle so the rear axle tires take all the scrubbing. I can dump the air bags on the rear axle when turning but rarely do it because it increases the load by 50 % on the other two axles and that can cause tire problems on the other two axles. On a semi trailer you can get tires specially made with heavy edges to handle the scrubbing on spread axles.
Thanks guys for all the replies. I ask because I see a lot of triples for sale up here but very few dual tandems. I was discussing it with a friend this morning after I posted my question and had the thought that while it might not be as convenient, I could pay for a lot of log truck driver time with what it costs for a dual tandem or triple axle trailer. Of course I wouldn't always have a a full log truck load to haul.
I have a heavy duty 12 foot tandem axle receiver hitch trailer designed for hauling bobcats, backhoes and the like and have been using it for small local loads and have had a friend haul some longer loads on his 20 foot gooseneck. I was thinking it might be nice to have a bigger trailer for those times when I don't need a log truck but want to haul more than my 12 foot. I guess I need to weigh out how much I'd really need it versus how much I want it.