Research and Design

With the help of our mentors, we went on-iine to do some research for some parts of the dump trailer. This first question we tackled was the use of a single axle or a double axle for the trailer. We discovered that not only do the double axles make the trailer drives smoother on the road, but buying two lower weight capacity axles is cheaper than buying a single high weight capacity axle. We also explored the possibility of having trailer brakes on one of the axles. The easiest brake to attach to the axle is an electric brake which functions just like a car brake and can be turned on by the driver on the inside of the tow vehicle. We also found out that one of the dangers of a trailer is when the trailer sways during high speed and can threaten the lives of those in the tow vehicle. But the only remedy to fix this is installing trailer brakes that when applied even out the trailer and stop the swaying. Making the towing experience much safer. We also looked to find multiple parts for the project. We ended up finding a kit that included a lot of the parts that we needed including two axles, wheel, jack, light kit, fenders, and many more parts. We found that this kit was the most affordable parts we could buy and after talking with our mentor, Jim Blackburn, he agreed that it was affordable but that he would look at his contacts to see if he could find an even better deal. Either way we are one step closer to buying all of the parts we need for our final project. This kit will most likely be the first piece of material that we purchase taking us one step closer to our goal.