… run twin wheels on drive axles? Why not one wide wheel like a super single?
I’m bored and this just occurred to me.
I believe it is to allow a higher weight on the axle and to do with tyre ratings, most trailer axles are only rated to a maximum of 10 ton with 2 super singles so maybe for 11.5 ton it needs the extra tyres.
Shell used to run Scammell Trunkees with super single type tyres but the idea was dropped.
I would imagine trying to jack a loaded unit up with enough clearance to change a wheel would be a precarious task.
It’s bad enough with all the spoiler kits on the steer axle and low profile tyres
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Possibly a silly suggestion but with twin wheels if one tyre fails the remaining one could help stability - would be under excess load but might survive long enough to stop safely?
I’m sure…
I’ve seen US trucks with what appear to be singles on the drive axles.
Any of you Yanks care to comment?
the maoster:
… run twin wheels on drive axles? Why not one wide wheel like a super single?I’m bored and this just occurred to me.
Lockwoods at Ambergate did have an MAN unit with single drive tyres size 495 so 110 wider than a normal super single ,I remember the shell Foden units had 385 super singles on double drives .
I seem to remember Sheddick and Rennie-Hogg both operating Magnums with super singles on double drives? (1990s.) They weren’t on heavy haulage so the individual axles would not have been as high as 10 or 12 ton.
And last year saw a brand new 2 axle FHVolvo unit, pulling a tanker, with very wide and low profile single wheels on the drive. Alloy wheels all round, so after weight savings. Can imagine those tyres costing a fortune!
NijmanZeetank have been running super singles on the drive axles for a few years now.It seems to be a weight saving measure for liquid transport…
Practicality it’s easier to remove and fit two standard wheels, also probably cheaper at the end of the day as opposed to a big specialised wide wheel.Also easier to meet axle weight rating.
If they’d have gone with big singles from the start you can bet that someone would have said why not just use two standards. 
The bit I don’t get is using one set of wheel nuts to hold two wheels.That’s just silly.The idea of lug/stud nuts holding the inner and then another set of nuts holding the outer makes more sense.
yourhavingalarf:
I’m sure…I’ve seen US trucks with what appear to be singles on the drive axles.
Any of you Yanks care to comment?
Yes, they were all the rage a few years ago. They had some tractors with them on where I worked but I didn’t have them on my tractor so have no first hand knowledge of how they handled but most drivers who did didn’t like them in the snow. The company went back to all duals and as they’re all about money I doubt that they did it so just because drivers didn’t like them but more a performance issue.
remy:
yourhavingalarf:
I’m sure…I’ve seen US trucks with what appear to be singles on the drive axles.
Any of you Yanks care to comment?
Yes, they were all the rage a few years ago. They had some tractors with them on where I worked but I didn’t have them on my tractor so have no first hand knowledge of how they handled but most drivers who did didn’t like them in the snow. The company went back to all duals and as they’re all about money I doubt that they did it so just because drivers didn’t like them but more a performance issue.
Thank you remy…
I think that’s your answer maoster. As you might have suspected all along…money.
So, if you call an 8 wheeler that actually has 12 wheels an 8 wheeler, what do you call an 8 wheeler that has supper singles on the drive axle ? 
remy:
So, if you call an 8 wheeler that actually has 12 wheels an 8 wheeler, what do you call an 8 wheeler that has supper singles on the drive axle ?
I’ve always…
Called them eight leggers.
If you have a double wheeled arrangement, - isn’t the combination then rather more stable than if you didn’t?
I mean, if you had a blowout at the back, then the weight would bear down on the other remaining wheel right next to it - which is rather safter than the single wheeled alternative, surely?
Winseer:
If you have a double wheeled arrangement, - isn’t the combination then rather more stable than if you didn’t?I mean, if you had a blowout at the back, then the weight would bear down on the other remaining wheel right next to it - which is rather safter than the single wheeled alternative, surely?
This^^^^ If you have singles on the drive and it goes pop, which ever corner goes down lifting the opposite front corner up, causing a stability issue, could you imagine the panic a snowflake agencyski, and damage would occur…
I’ve had a double blowout on the drive, fully freighted on the motorway, and no major stability problems.
A steer tyre blowing is more of an issue, and they are always(?) singles.
remy:
So, if you call an 8 wheeler that actually has 12 wheels an 8 wheeler, what do you call an 8 wheeler that has supper singles on the drive axle ?
Edible.
Carryfast:
The bit I don’t get is using one set of wheel nuts to hold two wheels.That’s just silly.The idea of lug/stud nuts holding the inner and then another set of nuts holding the outer makes more sense.
■■■■■■■■, the wheel doesn’t need reinventing. 
Star down under.:
Carryfast:
The bit I don’t get is using one set of wheel nuts to hold two wheels.That’s just silly.The idea of lug/stud nuts holding the inner and then another set of nuts holding the outer makes more sense.■■■■■■■■, the wheel doesn’t need reinventing.
Couldn’t agree more these ■■■■■■■ stupid ■■■■■■■ Yankee abortion of an idea things, which some of the Japanese small trucks have as well, are more than a pain in the arse. They have not just one way of ruining your day they have several.
Back in the50s our quarry ran US ex army 6x6 lime spreaders , they had the long inner studs with separate outer wheel nuts . Waste of time, we couldn’t keep them tight no matter what was tried .