biggriffin:
0Bit heavy on the front.
Who ever…
Dropped it is my hero because they haven’t stowed the winding handle.
pet hate of mine
I always drop the trailer at its natural ride height. Always pull out slowly lowering ride height of unit to prevent damage to unit and stops fifth wheel grease getting all over catwalk and mud guards.
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In the same scenario, I used to put the unit to full height, wind the legs down so they’re an inch or 2 off the ground, pull the pin, pull forward slightly, drop the unit till all the weight is off the unit and there’s a gap between the trailer and the 5th wheel, drive forward.
It’s quite surprising just how much done trailers can sag. Doing it this way I was guaranteed to be able to drop the trailer and get all the weight off the unit and when coupling get under without touch whilst being able to lift the legs off the floor so no stress on them if not lined up perfectly or when doing the tug test.
It was only ever me picking that trailer up after I’d dropped it just to go and get fuel or whatever, loads will say I’m wrong and to be fair there may be issues if a different unit has to pick it up, but you can raise / lower the trailer if needs be to alter the height at the front, I still say this is the best way to drop a heavy trailer
yourhavingalarf:
biggriffin:
0Bit heavy on the front.Who ever…
Dropped it is my hero because they haven’t stowed the winding handle.
pet hate of mine
I never stow the handle away when dropping a trailer. The reason why is it prevents the handle from being “locked in”
ajt:
I never stow the handle away when dropping a trailer. The reason why is it prevents the handle from being “locked in”
Ding ding ding…
We have a winner. Now all we have to do is convince the other half million (I wonder how many there actually are?) or so drivers out there to do the same. 
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(I wonder how many there actually are?)
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Next to bugger all, national shortage Apparently.
I leave unit at normal ride height and once legs are down (onto wooden bearers if necessary on soft ground) and suzies disconnected I dump the air out of the trailer suspension. This takes weight off the 5th wheel and makes the handle easier to use. Also better for the trailer airbags than leaving them pressurised with all the weight on them. Drive forwards while dumping suspension on unit. No clunk, nice and smooth and next lorry can get under the trailer OK.
Roymondo:
biggriffin:
0Bit heavy on the front.Now just imagine for a moment if the driver dropped that trailer on that bay and lifted the suspension a bit “to make it easier for the driver picking it up”. 2 hours later, the warehouse staff have been running in/out of the trailer on their electric pallet trucks and taken all the weight off. Front of trailer now sits several inches higher. How is that going to make the next driver’s job any easier…?
Sorry roy not following your logic. If the weight is removed the legs don’t go up or down the suspension at the back may rise but then the pivot action around the legs will lower the front wouldn’t it?
Wiretwister:
Roymondo:
biggriffin:
0Bit heavy on the front.Now just imagine for a moment if the driver dropped that trailer on that bay and lifted the suspension a bit “to make it easier for the driver picking it up”. 2 hours later, the warehouse staff have been running in/out of the trailer on their electric pallet trucks and taken all the weight off. Front of trailer now sits several inches higher. How is that going to make the next driver’s job any easier…?
Sorry roy not following your logic. If the weight is removed the legs don’t go up or down the suspension at the back may rise but then the pivot action around the legs will lower the front wouldn’t it?
The issue being that the trailer in the picture is sagging at the front simply because the structure itself is bending slightly. Take the load off, the trailer springs back to its normal straightness and the pin is now a few inches higher than when it was dropped. In addition, as the heavy pallet truck rolls on/off the back, the trailer suspension compensates, inflating the air bags each time the truck rolls on, then releasing that air each time the truck rolls off again. Eventually, there’s not enough air in the trailer tanks to inflate again, so the back end sags down a bit, raising the pin still further. An incoming driver can (assuming he spots what is happening) get some air back into the trailer tanks before coupling up, but it rather defeats the stated aim of making things easier for him…
Thanks for that Roy. I’ve not seen a trailer flex that much but can see how it might. Wonder if the picture is giving a misleading perspective as I thought there was a gradient dropping to a point about 3-4 feet in front of the legs, where the concrete section finishes.
yourhavingalarf:
ajt:
I never stow the handle away when dropping a trailer. The reason why is it prevents the handle from being “locked in”Ding ding ding…
We have a winner. Now all we have to do is convince the other half million (I wonder how many there actually are?) or so drivers out there to do the same.
Most of our trailers legs have a fair bit of grease on them. A certain ‘■■■■’ at our firm never stows the handle. Most times you pick up his trailer, the winding handle is covered in grease. Despite wearing gloves, you don;t want them covered in grease!!
And ive never had a handle ‘locked in’ when its stowed correctly. You might have to bend the holder a bit to get it out but id rather that than a load of muck on my hands/gloves.
Normally, I leave a gap when winding down the legs, so the next tractor coming under - lifts it up a bit as it does.
If a trailer is fully laden though - I wind the legs all the way down to the ground, as there might otherwise be a bit of sag in the standing trailer that would have the next tractor chump crashing into the front above the lip with their 5th wheel, if they have neglected to dip their suspension (as I do habitually…) when going under. 