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Subject Topic: Single or twin axles
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28/7/2016 at 1:26pm
 Location: Birmingham
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Can anyone help me with some advice please?
My wife & myself have been caravanning for 5 years now, and love it so much that we want to upgrade to a newer 'van! Can anyone tell me why some caravans are twin axled as opposed to single ones and, if possible, a brief rundown of the pros & cons of one over the other?
Thanks for any help or advice.


28/7/2016 at 2:26pm
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Twin axles are more stable. Normally only fitted to very large caravans, they tend to be very heavy and more expensive. The twin axles make the van harder to manually manouver and need a motor mover that is designed for a twin axles. A twin axle won't turn on the spot like a single axle, though can be easier to reverse because they don't respond as quickly.

Normally it's a trade off between weight, size, price and stability.


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28/7/2016 at 4:11pm
 Location: fife
 Outfit: vw t5 adria isonzo
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my adria is 8.2 metres long, 2.45 metres wide on a single axle,weight 1800kgs and is very stable due to the curved al-ko axle. as it only has 2 wheels, tyres are cheeper to replace at 5 yrs rather than to replace 4 tyres.with the mover its very easy to turn.    davecoaches, no trade off, single axle every time for me


28/7/2016 at 5:02pm
 Location: Midlands
 Outfit: Mondeo Avondale Gram
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Quote: Originally posted by DaveCoaches on 28/7/2016
Twin axles are more stable. Normally only fitted to very large caravans, they tend to be very heavy and more expensive. The twin axles make the van harder to manually manouver and need a motor mover that is designed for a twin axles. A twin axle won't turn on the spot like a single axle, though can be easier to reverse because they don't respond as quickly.

Normally it's a trade off between weight, size, price and stability.




Going back a few years but i think the Bessacar caravans were only 15ft long yert were a twin axle, heavy compared to most other vans at the time due to that 2nd axle.

Towing with something that has a heavy duty clutch or automatic with a decent cooler? Tight spots may cook your clutch.



28/7/2016 at 5:40pm
 Location: Herts. UK
 Outfit: Bailley Cartagena. Land Rover Discover
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Hello srose
We changed our single axle Cadiz for a twin axle Cartagena for two reasons......an island bed that does away with the hassle of making a double from the front two singles.........more space in the center of the van around the kitchen area so that we can walk pass each other without walking into each other. Oh and the shower and shower door are a better
design.
Of course with the Cartahena it is heavier so a suitable poweful enough tug is a must.
On both vans we had Powrtouch movers......works a treat on the SA Cadiz but we opted for one set of movers on one axle of the Cartahena and on hindsight that may be a mistake.......on wet uneven grass and uneven gravel, traction/grip can be a challenge as can a tight turn on a good surface. Towing a twin axle van is a bit more stable in windy and HGV passing situations.


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28/7/2016 at 7:08pm
 Location: Scotland
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A twin axle unit will also put more strain on the towbar and rear suspension of the towing vehicle, as not all road surfaces are flat and level.

-------------
mm48j


28/7/2016 at 8:08pm
 Location: Birmingham
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Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your replies!


28/7/2016 at 8:09pm
 Location: West country
 Outfit: Mondeo
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Twins struggle to get two Alko wheel locks on as required by insurance companies. They have to line two wheels up and end up having to jack it up to do it.

Insurance will be more expensive, some companies won't insure them.

More likely to get stolen.

Servicing more expensive

Less nose weight usually.


28/7/2016 at 8:15pm
 Location: Sheffield
 Outfit: Sterling Eccles Sport 636
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Quote: Originally posted by navver on 28/7/2016
Twins struggle to get two Alko wheel locks on as required by insurance companies. They have to line two wheels up and end up having to jack it up to do it.

Insurance will be more expensive, some companies won't insure them.

More likely to get stolen.

Servicing more expensive

Less nose weight usually.



Hi Navver that's not true re alko locks. We have a twin axle and are only required to fit on alko lock and one other lock ( we use the Nemesis )


28/7/2016 at 8:17pm
 Location: Sheffield
 Outfit: Sterling Eccles Sport 636
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Quote: Originally posted by diesel steve on 28/7/2016
my adria is 8.2 metres long, 2.45 metres wide on a single axle,weight 1800kgs and is very stable due to the curved al-ko axle. as it only has 2 wheels, tyres are cheeper to replace at 5 yrs rather than to replace 4 tyres.with the mover its very easy to turn.    davecoaches, no trade off, single axle every time for me



The tyre replacement on a twin axle is no more expensive than a single of your size, you will need extra load tyres which are expensive as you are placing the weight of a car on 2 tyres. Twin axle vans run on standard car tyres which are much cheaper so its horses for courses.

Twin axle vans are more stable than any single, the downside to that stability is they are harder to move in tight spaces.


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28/7/2016 at 8:36pm
 Location: Chiltern Hills
 Outfit: Bailey Senator Wyoming
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We got a twin axle for the extra room inside but the main reason was that in the unfortunate event of a blow out we could limp along until we found a safe place to pull over especially when on the motorway.


28/7/2016 at 9:45pm
 Location: fife
 Outfit: vw t5 adria isonzo
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Quote: Originally posted by checkley1973 on 28/7/2016
Quote: Originally posted by diesel steve on 28/7/2016
my adria is 8.2 metres long, 2.45 metres wide on a single axle,weight 1800kgs and is very stable due to the curved al-ko axle. as it only has 2 wheels, tyres are cheeper to replace at 5 yrs rather than to replace 4 tyres.with the mover its very easy to turn.    davecoaches, no trade off, single axle every time for me



The tyre replacement on a twin axle is no more expensive than a single of your size, you will need extra load tyres which are expensive as you are placing the weight of a car on 2 tyres. Twin axle vans run on standard car tyres which are much cheaper so its horses for courses.

Twin axle vans are more stable than any single, the downside to that stability is they are harder to move in tight spaces.


the size of tyres are van tyres available on MY TYRES . COM for £55 each premium brand continentals. al-ko have modified the axle and the contact geometry of the wheels which makes it very stable in crosswinds.


28/7/2016 at 11:04pm
 Location: Devon
 Outfit: Swift challenger 540
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If it is just you and your wife why a twin axle the Swift challenger 570 Lunar clubman Lunar lexon 540 etc are single axle more than enough space for Two people


28/7/2016 at 11:08pm
 Location: West Yorkshire
 Outfit: Bessacarr Cameo 625 2011
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Quote: Originally posted by navver on 28/7/2016
Twins struggle to get two Alko wheel locks on as required by insurance companies. They have to line two wheels up and end up having to jack it up to do it.

Insurance will be more expensive, some companies won't insure them.

More likely to get stolen.

Servicing more expensive

Less nose weight usually.



It is not the case that insurance companies all require 2 Alko wheel locks to be fitted. Caravan Club will give you a discount, but only require a wheel or hitchlock to be fitted.

More expensive? Well TAs tend to be at the higher end of the market when new, so are bound to cost more to insure. Its the value that matters rather than how many wheels it has.

http://www.caravantheftalerts.co.uk/stolen-caravans

A quick look through a few pages here shows more single axle than twins being stolen.

Less nosweight? why? This is dependent upon how the van is loaded


29/7/2016 at 12:04am
 Location: Southport
 Outfit: Adria Adora Premium Yeti 4x4 run about
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Some sites are still living in the past and refuse twin axles as they say they tear up the grass when manoeuvring
Some still think your a traveller with a twin as most travellers use twin axels.
But there again there are still plenty of sites will welcome you regardless of how many wheels you have. Unless you have five and to long for the pltch


29/7/2016 at 4:50am
 Location: fife
 Outfit: vw t5 adria isonzo
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Quote: Originally posted by lexie71 on 28/7/2016
If it is just you and your wife why a twin axle the Swift challenger 570 Lunar clubman Lunar lexon 540 etc are single axle more than enough space for Two people


when we were looking to change to our current van we looked at every make and model of caravan on the market,our main requirements was floor space as we travel with 3 collies and just the 2 of us.the number of axles didn't come in to it,we wanted floor space and it came a lot cheaper with adria, we also looked at the reviews of all makes and adria have the lest complaints and problems with.



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