Tag Axles (1 Viewer)

[The Kar-Mann]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a tag axle,
I am interested in buy one and wondered about the way they drive I was told that road holding was better, and reversing was more difficult is that so?????

 

[old-mo]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a tag axle,
I am interested in buy one and wondered about the way they drive I was told that road holding was better, and reversing was more difficult is that so?????

They drive and handle nice,, No rolling or not so much,, not quite so crucial when loading,,
bigger payload,, Reversing I found not a lot of difference than a single axle,, I think you are more likely to scuff the rear tyres out quicker and on soggy ground more likely to spin..

They are my own opinions having owned one,, I loved it :thumb:

 

[Bulletguy]

Never having owned one i'd say the main advantage is ability to take more load.

Disadvantages?
Two extra wheels = two more sets of bearings = two more tyres = cost!

The increased costs may or may not be worthwhile. That has to be figured by each individuals needs. My guess is there are many running around with tag axle mh's who never really make use of the reason they were built that way in the first place.

 

[lady jann]

hi kar-man , we find our hymer very stable , preferable to the single wheel 22 foot eldis we used to own .......


rayval

 

[scotjimland]

Disadvantages?
Two extra wheels = two more sets of bearings = two more tyres = cost!

also two more sets of brake shoes ...

They also make a hell of a mess on grassy sites when doing tight turns.. like a ploughed field ..

personally I prefer dual wheels with rear drive.. tag axles make it even harder to move on soft ground with front wheel drive.

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[The Kar-Mann]

also two more sets of brake shoes ...

They also make a hell of a mess on grassy sites when doing tight turns.. like a ploughed field ..

personally I prefer dual wheels with rear drive.. tag axles make it even harder to move on soft ground with front wheel drive.

Is it more difficult getting a pitch then ?? Are site owners put off allowing tags on site ?

 

[scotjimland]

Is it more difficult getting a pitch then ?? Are site owners put off allowing tags on site ?

Can't say, haven't heard any reports to that effect .. but they are certainly put off by 8.5 ton RVs making a mess...

 

[Frankia]

We have had 4 tags (Frankias).
Advantages
1) Far more stable on bends or with passing lorrys
2) We were told that we would scrub lots of tyres - wrong! At 30k miles put a pair from the back on the front as the front were getting low and there was still plenty on both back sets.
3) 6 sets of brake pads stopping the weight instead of only 4.
4 Better pay load at the rear where the motorbike is
Dis
1) Not as easy to get off very wet grass

All in all for me the advantages out weigh the disadvantages

Cheers

 

[The Kar-Mann]

We have had 4 tags (Frankias).
Advantages
1) Far more stable on bends or with passing lorrys
2) We were told that we would scrub lots of tyres - wrong! At 30k miles put a pair from the back on the front as the front were getting low and there was still plenty on both back sets.
3) 6 sets of brake pads stopping the weight instead of only 4.
4 Better pay load at the rear where the motorbike is
Dis
1) Not as easy to get off very wet grass

All in all for me the advantages out weigh the disadvantages

Cheers

Thanks I'm off to test drive two today :thumb:

 

[Blisters]

I concur with Bernie aka Frankie,

We have only had 2 M/H's the first a 6.9 meter on a fiat Ducato single axle, the second a 6.8 meter fiat ducato tag axle, the tag is definatly more stable and imo a better drive, reversing is no problem and the payload is great for the wine:thumb:, our tyres are fine at the back but the fronts are getting lower, they are also cheaper on the road tax, ours is £165.00,

A downside to concider is they tend to be over 3.5 tonne ex works and some people can only drive upto that on thier liecnce, also technically you could/should pay more on the toll roads but we never have, I think they see a M/H and charge you as a car, but because ours is one of the smaller tags maybe some one else could better ansaw this

Finally we test drove a merc tag before buting the fiat and that wasn't as stable, in fact made Kay feel travel sick after just a couple of miles it was like driving a disco of landy good luck you pays your money you make your choose

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[Tiderus]

Hi, Iv'e had both 2 & 4 axel vans and found the tag to be more comfortable. Also they tend to be longer so have more room. Never had a problem with reversing only on wet grass. Best fuel mpg I have got is 28 mpg with two axels, and 24 mpg with three axels. My only complaint is that with earlier models of the Ducato based vans, they used the same master cylinder for the brakes as the two axel. This reduced the braking significantly so you have to adjust your driving. When I picked up my new one from Chelston, I braked at the end of their drive as normal, and nearly hit the screen. They are now perfect, and would recomend them highly. I prefer the end lounge to stretch out, and this tends to be bigger as well. Rgd's tiderus.

 

[Frankia]

It is also worth noting that there are 2 types of Alko tag 1) Standard 2)lowered.

The lowered gives even more stability (payload lower therefore centre of gravity lower). It also means the converter can provide a good depth of double floor usable storage space without turning the 'van into a tower block.

 

[The Kar-Mann]

Checked out the autotrail yesterday, but was not impressed with the quality.
I was concerned about the poorly made o/c bed slates I expected at least beach.
The cushions I thought would be soft and cumfie but they were hard you certainly would not sit on them for long.
I mostly camp in the U.K so I tend to live in the van more than out of it due to our good British weather,
Back to the drawing board.
Thanks :thumb:

 

[dazzer]

Just buy an RV!!

The only reason to buy a tag is to carry the extra weight, but the original van was never meant to move that amount of weight so while the tag may make up for the shortfalls in the payload and braking it has no effect on the engines ability to shift it all :Angry:.

RVs are built to carry the weight (and a lot more besides!!) that have "truck" chassis which "truck" engine and transmissions and running gear capable of dragging round umptee tons all day long. Couple that with the size, space and amount of standard kit its a no brainer for me.

Yes they use more fuel but have a much more efficient power to weight ratio. They are also all automatic with all the toys. Lots of people trying to sell there RVs at the moment some real good deals to be had.....go and have a look at one, you may be surprised:thumb:

 

[Tony Lee]

they used the same master cylinder for the brakes as the two axel. This reduced the braking significantly

Not sure that this would stand up to scientific scrutiny since the master cylinder just applies pressure - and the actual braking force depends on how the whole braking system is set up mechanically (and/or electronically). The maximum braking on each axle should be adjusted by braking proportioners/limiters or size of slave cylinders or area of linings according to the weight carried by the axle. Each vehicle handles the problem differently and some vehicle designs make a very poor attempt at getting it correct. Ideally every wheel should be fitted with a load cell and the braking force adjusted proportionally, but maybe the fall-back position is to rely on the ABS to do the limiting.

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