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Old 11-30-20, 10:14 PM
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alo
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Originally Posted by KC8QVO
Does anyone have any thoughts on axle position?

What I mean by this is how far forward or back the axle is with respect to the trailer dimensions.

Why I ask is the axle placement affects 2 things:
1. Trailer drifting/off-tracking to the inside of a turn - where an axle further rearward would increase the drifting/off-tracking (the trailer would swing further to the inside of the turn)
2. Trailer tail swing - where the rear of the trailer will swing past the tracking. If you think about the rear seats on a buss or jetliner taxiing - the further rearward you are the further "across" the tracking of the axle (sideways movement) you get.

When riding in densely populated areas with a lot of traffic on MUP's - what is better to design to? Having the trailer swing further inside the turn or have the rear of the trailer swing further?

Weight balance is another topic. An axle further back would typically mean higher tongue/hitch weight, but ballasting can be done to change the balance so this isn't that big of a concern to me. The axle position is - moving things around inside to get the balance right will never change the geometry of the tracking of the trailer behind the bike, only stability.
The axle needs to be behind the center of gravity, otherwise the trailer will sway from side to side. That means the bike must carry some of the trailer weight.
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