Bert2:
Your problem is a classic beam on elastic springs problem. The front axle, and the three tandem axles, and their tires and suspension are spring reactions for your beam, with some spring constants; there may be a walking beam someplace in the rear three tandem arrangement; your beam (the tractor chassis frame) has a stiffness “EI”; and when you achieve compatibility between the beam deflection and the spring deflections, you will have solved your problem. You must consider these relative stiffness and flexibility issues to even start to get near a meaningful answer to your problem. And, that’s true however you want to simplify or screw up your presentation of the real question. Although, as in our previous meeting, your impressive picture may bear no relation to your actual question.
Your post of 13Aug10, 7:58, is really out of line; your original question or OP bears very little resemblance to the truck picture you have posted. You got good answers to your original question. Now, you show a very impressive picture of a truck which does not relate to your original question, and blame us for not being mind readers. The fact is, you asked the question wrong, but these guys, for the most part, answered your question correctly and with good advice. This is the very same thing we went around about on your post #404-265967 in FEB10. If you don’t really understand your problem, and then post a question which doesn’t relate properly to the real problem, and then post a picture, to impress, which may or may not have prompted your question; you can not be mad at us for not guessing what you want.
Again, you need a local, friendly mentor of your very own, who can help you through these problems, with sketches and text books and the like. This kind of instruction, guidance and advice is very difficult to give in words alone, when you don’t understand the problem well enough to ask the question correctly. Many of the people here are smart enough and experienced enough to be led immediately to give the correct answer for the question you asked. However, they can’t be blamed if you asked the wrong question, in the wrong way, or you are ignoring important fact of the matter and don’t even know it.