Adding a third axle to an M36

Well since we kinda hijacked another thread to start this disscusion i thought it would be good to start a new tread. Maybe somebody can get a new idea in here.

M1075
Also, I've been thinking of adding another rear axle to the M36. Another tandem might be the easiest to setup, but I wonder if the truck will ever turn? Could one rear axle be setup with either M105 or M35 front springs? It would be easy to power with another driveshaft. Mechanically, is there enough torque to turn it? Another axle would sure help balance the payload and would be help a lot off road. It could even be a steering axle. Anybody done this? Drawbacks? Ideas?

HRD
I would think it needs to be air so ride hight is not an issue the axle would only know pressure in the bags. other wise a spring axle will not work with your walking beam. so as one of the walking beam tandems goes up it lifts the truck and thus your new axle comes off the ground or if you drive over the same object with the newly added spring axle it will lift the walking beams off the ground. Now if it were air you could just pick it up off road. If it were me i owuld add an air ride spring lift axle for simplicity. Put a steering axle in it with coil overs on the tie rod and let it steer itself..

I have a few questions, does the M36 have a bogie, or a walking beam
and could i get some pictures either way.

just like the m35 and 5 tonners....

The only way you could link 3 axles together that i know of is to redo the suspension to a walking beam. It would be require a bunch of fabrication but would improve a lot of the aspects of truck plus look at the quick chop i did.

Oh my...how about just slapping in another set of front springs like you would on a bobbed deuce project. I just did this. The pic, not tried, kind of gives a look as to how this may look with the stock suspension still there...by other axle location. This should work, take care of itself and keep the truck from having another whole system built for it.

1 ton- thanks for the chop. I really like the looks of it. This project needs to happen!

SpicerGear- my first thought was to use the leaf springs idea (see my quote in 1 tons first post above). I'll have to measure to see how close I can get another axle with the leaf springs. I'd like to keep the same axle spacing as between the tandems. How would this setup handle the payload? Would it just act like an overload spring (tandem will get the weight first)? What about traction, in regards to weight? I have a locker I need to put somewhere, would this be the right axle to do it?

Well, it's used to holding up the whole front of the truck all by it's lonesome...that's gotta be worth something. Aren't lockers usually put in the middle of that three axle truck...like first tandem? I do believe that when I put the single spring in the truck I bobbed, the truck back was higher then with the tandems leading me to believe that they're pretty compressed under the load of the front of the truck. It *may* see weight first 'til the tandems get loaded. I do think with the right cargo weight it would even out as I'd think the tandem springs have more balls them than the front spring set once enough cargo weight is added for the tandem springs to get down to business...so to speak.

Well here's a tag axle chop for M1075. Tandems are approximately in the same place. I just noticed that the drawing i did of the walking beam suspension has 4 axles hehe...

I can see this truck needing steering brakes. You could prolly turn around in a 40 acre field, maybe.

Okay, thanks.

1ton said:

I just noticed that the drawing i did of the walking beam suspension has 4 axles hehe...

Click to expand...

....there is room under there

Why not put a steering axle in the front just behind the cab and move the rear axles back a bit?

i had a new idea a couple of days ago and hadn't posted it due to the forum being inaccessible. As with most of my ideas it requires some fab work but not as bad as my first-I think. You could just have all 3 axles be air axle and have the linked together so the pressure change when one bag compress the rest experience forced articulation. Also on the front or rear axle you could have valuve switch to a different line to lift it up-for when the waters gone from the tank. Either way you gotta do it, it's gonna be sick.

btw did spicergump kill himself yet?

1 ton-

Thanks for the encouragement and ideas. It is going to be done. I got the axle, driveshaft and springs over the weekend. Just need to determine whether or not to install the locker I have for it. No plans to move the tandems, just going to add in the rear. If it doesn't work out, I can always remove the driveshaft or the axle.