Is there ever a point to unpowered pusher axles?

[Toasted Sunshine]

Like I said, is there any real use for them?
In mud, they just add more drag for your wheels to push through without even having the decency to help,
and on hard roads, you don't need them either.
If anything, they oftentimes add a high-center hazard, such as when going over the top of a slope, raising your front wheels off the ground or else your rear ones when you need all the traction you can get (thinking about icy slopes here but others apply).
Sure, I've been helped by them a couple times, but they were all in situations where the mud was deep enough the wheels could touch the bottom, and they immediately became useless again on solid ground, when I could have made it anyway without using it to begin with.
And another thing it can do, I guess, is stop your truck from bottoming out when going over those steep railway crossing speed bumps. Highly situational.

These days I literally only use the pusher axle on that one CAT truck so that it has a slightly more stable crane platform, and even then it doesn't seem to matter at all. I never end up using it on the oshkosh (derry) military truck. Either it does it fine without it, or it just gets in the way.

So I ask, is there some special utility or use for the pusher axle I'm not aware of? Because the way I see it, it basically only gets in the way.

[Vimpster]

Nope. They serve no purpose outside of lifting your truck up, which as you said, has very limited usefulness. If they didn't have such strong suspension on them then they would be more useful. As it is the strong suspension of a non-powered axle tends to cause the powered axle next to it to lose contact with the surface when you go over ridges or bumps which is quite problematic.

In the real world you need those extra axles because 1) road regulations require so many wheels per amount of weight in order to minimise damage to the roads, and 2) the suspension per wheel is only rated to handle certain amount of weight, so the more the better when hauling heavy loads to prevent damage to the suspension. Sadly none of that is relevant in the game.

[Top]

The only thing I have found them useful for in game, is when traveling fast on asphalt roads with them lowered, they tend to help keep you on the road somewhat better than when raised. Other than that, they serve no benefit in game that I have found.

[deckerdave1973]

I am a chronic double stacker and I find lowering the axle give me a bit more stability.

[Top]

Originally posted by deckerdave1973:

I am a chronic double stacker and I find lowering the axle give me a bit more stability.

I'm not a double stacker, but I have noticed that there are times where lowering the axle does provide better stability in some situations as well.

[Timicro]

i use them when i haul vehicles or heavy load. usually helps stability. only real issue ive had using them is in the mud

[Nite69]

The puisher axels were probably just meant for the special mission cargo on the heavy trailers, but they really aren;t needed

[Beast of War]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3007352927

The lift axles on medium trucks that have them serve to resist rolling over when they carry high center of gravity loads on soft ground.

Some lift axles have brakes ( but you should be in low gear for control downhill anyway ) some do not. Some have double wheels, some do not.

The only lift axle that serves to increase ground clearance is on the Derry Longhorn 3194. I guess the only real use is lift the semi trailer somewhat in certain situations.

Yes they get stuck on bumps with the axles down. Yet while retracted they protect the fuel tank form bumps or other objects damaging the fuel tank. So even when not using them they have some uses.

There are players that use the largest trucks for medium log transport to not be bothered by rolling over and losing the logs. I always use the lift axle trucks for that. More challenge then large trucks, less then mediums without a lift axle.

[Rragar]

Originally posted by Toasted Sunshine:

Like I said, is there any real use for them?
In mud, they just add more drag for your wheels to push through without even having the decency to help,
and on hard roads, you don't need them either.
If anything, they oftentimes add a high-center hazard, such as when going over the top of a slope, raising your front wheels off the ground or else your rear ones when you need all the traction you can get (thinking about icy slopes here but others apply).
Sure, I've been helped by them a couple times, but they were all in situations where the mud was deep enough the wheels could touch the bottom, and they immediately became useless again on solid ground, when I could have made it anyway without using it to begin with.
And another thing it can do, I guess, is stop your truck from bottoming out when going over those steep railway crossing speed bumps. Highly situational.

These days I literally only use the pusher axle on that one CAT truck so that it has a slightly more stable crane platform, and even then it doesn't seem to matter at all. I never end up using it on the oshkosh (derry) military truck. Either it does it fine without it, or it just gets in the way.

So I ask, is there some special utility or use for the pusher axle I'm not aware of? Because the way I see it, it basically only gets in the way.

On the Derry, it increases its limited ground clearance. This is useful if you need to cross fields strewn with rocks, where traction won't be a big problem but ground clearance will.

On other trucks, those axles can make a huge difference in lateral sway control, especially at higher speeds and while carrying heavy loads on the truck frame. They don't make that big of a difference with semi-trailers since those helps stabilize the truck somewhat, nor do they make a big difference with regular trailers if you're putting the weight on those instead of the truck.

They are most definitely not to be used on mud or any surface where you find yourself in need of extra traction. But in these surfaces you also won't be driving fast and you'll want to avoid terrain features that impart significant tilt anyway.