a weaklings struggle with the red airline

[cooper1203]

Had a delivery yesterday and was told once i was on bay i had to disconect one of the airlines and put a padlock on it. Having read on here about this practice before and it was always the red airline i assume it has to be the red one rather than the yellow. So i dutifuly spent 2 mins struggeling trying to reach the red airline and remove it (im a short arse at 5'6). As i discovered this was the easy bit compaired to putting it back on. I ended up curled around the fridge unit in a fetal position to beable to get behind it enough to connect it. With the driver next to me trying not to look and wetting himself.

I did think after i had managed it and left i should of dumped some air. But what other trick have i missed

[drover]

As you said just dump some air out by pressing the brake pedal a few times, or put legs down pull pin and inch forward until you have enough room. It's all a ball-ache

[ezydriver]

what other trick have i missed

Not looking for another career immediately

In seriousness, I sometimes use my knee under my forearm to give myself leverage when I've got a trickier red line. Works every time for me.

[the maoster]

A quick tip to get the red airline back onto a close coupled fridge with no Mavis rail is to simply push the shunt button on the trailer (assuming it hasn’t been disabled) , drive clear of the bay and any other trucks and put a hard right or left in until the unit is at 90 degrees to the trailer and hey presto it can be pushed on from the floor.

Disclaimer; be careful where you do this and be careful of who you do it around, lots of companies are really anal about moving on the shunt button and plenty of yards are full of women trapped in mens bodies who’d quickly go running to teacher if they saw it.

Some such examples will be along shortly……..

[SWEDISH BLUE]

I used to spray male and female with WD40. Made the job very easy.

[the maoster]

^^^^ I just quickly dunk them into the fuel tank. Cheaper ya see

[cooper1203]

A quick tip to get the red airline back onto a close coupled fridge with no Mavis rail is to simply push the shunt button on the trailer (assuming it hasn’t been disabled) , drive clear of the bay and any other trucks and put a hard right or left in until the unit is at 90 degrees to the trailer and hey presto it can be pushed on from the floor.

Disclaimer; be careful where you do this and be careful of who you do it around, lots of companies are really anal about moving on the shunt button and plenty of yards are full of women trapped in mens bodies who’d quickly go running to teacher if they saw it.

Some such examples will be along shortly……..

silly question does pressing/pulling the shunt button lesson the back pressure

[stu675]

But what other trick have i missed

I run into the same problem sometimes. I find if I can't get the red back on easily, I remove every single Suzie and start from scratch in the order and position I want (red first).

[Franglais]

or put legs down pull pin and inch forward until you have enough room.

Yes, (AKA split coupling) but also

Disclaimer; be careful where you do this and be careful of who you do it around,

[drover]

A quick tip to get the red airline back onto a close coupled fridge with no Mavis rail is to simply push the shunt button on the trailer (assuming it hasn’t been disabled) , drive clear of the bay and any other trucks and put a hard right or left in until the unit is at 90 degrees to the trailer and hey presto it can be pushed on from the floor.

Disclaimer; be careful where you do this and be careful of who you do it around, lots of companies are really anal about moving on the shunt button and plenty of yards are full of women trapped in mens bodies who’d quickly go running to teacher if they saw it.

Some such examples will be along shortly……..

silly question does pressing/pulling the shunt button lesson the back pressure

No but it enables you to move without airline connected so you can screw it round giving you easier access

[Sploom]

I noticed that every time a new truck comes out,the air pressure seems to have increased,making it harder to connect the red airline.I try and position myself behind it and get my right leg to supply the force if possible.
On the Scanias,there is a wire you can pull on the air tank to drain the air instead of having to press the brake pedal

[Juddian]

As above, lubing the connectors up makes the job a lot easier.
My favourite is aerosol chain lube, which also happens to be good for locks and hinges etc.

[toonsy]

Ground access rails should be legally and morally obligated on all trailers

[Roymondo]

Ground access rails should be legally and morally obligated on all trailers

Yes, our own (owned) trailers have them (but not the rented fridges etc). But using them triggers my OCD as I end up with the lines lying on the catwalk rather than neatly stowed...

[gardun]

As above, lubing the connectors up makes the job a lot easier.
My favourite is aerosol chain lube, which also happens to be good for locks and hinges etc.

I use Vaseline - a tiny smear goes a long way. After all, we all have a pot in our work bags in case of DVSA stops

[Harry Monk]

A quick tip to get the red airline back onto a close coupled fridge with no Mavis rail is to simply push the shunt button on the trailer

A bit of trivia, in case anyone doesn't know.

The reason it's called a Mavis Rail is that Mavis is an acronym for Montracon Articulated Vehicle Interconnecting System.

[Roymondo]

A quick tip to get the red airline back onto a close coupled fridge with no Mavis rail is to simply push the shunt button on the trailer

A bit of trivia, in case anyone doesn't know.

The reason it's called a Mavis Rail is that Mavis is an acronym for Montracon Articulated Vehicle Interconnecting System.

Doubly frustrating then that not one of the several Montracon built hire trailers that we have are equipped with such a system.

[Winseer]

Pull the red button out, and dangle the padlock over the still-in airline.

Oh, and make sure you're seen sitting in the passenger seat as Kitchener Union Guy "Your firm needs YOU to wear your mask!" walks by, looking for non-complianting renegades like moi, whistling sweetly, and looking innocent as they walk by, barely paying attention to my dangly padlock handiwork...

You don't need to be so much "short" to climb up the catwalk to ponce about with red airlines - you need to be a victorian chimney sweep kid just to get up there!

[Winseer]

A quick tip to get the red airline back onto a close coupled fridge with no Mavis rail is to simply push the shunt button on the trailer

A bit of trivia, in case anyone doesn't know.

The reason it's called a Mavis Rail is that Mavis is an acronym for Montracon Articulated Vehicle Interconnecting System.

I see a lot of such rails on supermarket trailers, but I have not seen a blue shunt button for over a decade since leaving RM...

[Sabretooth]

Sorry, I don't quite understand, Why are you getting pressure when you connect the Suzzie? Yes there is always a little back pressure but if you pump the brake a couple of times prior to disconnect the pressure is released.
All the trailers I ever used had a handle at the base of the connectors in order to close the air lines. cutting off the air for disconnecting and reconnecting. Trailer braking systems have a one way valve system so the air is only coming from the unit air tank !! And once the handle is turned the air is closed off, so there should be no pressure building up or stored in the lines.
Plus allowing the air to flow while attempting to connect or disconnect is dangerous ?

[cav551]

Sorry, I don't quite understand, Why are you getting pressure when you connect the Suzzie? Yes there is always a little back pressure but if you pump the brake a couple of times prior to disconnect the pressure is released.
All the trailers I ever used had a handle at the base of the connectors in order to close the air lines. cutting off the air for disconnecting and reconnecting. Trailer braking systems have a one way valve system so the air is only coming from the unit air tank !! And once the handle is turned the air is closed off, so there should be no pressure building up or stored in the lines.
Plus allowing the air to flow while attempting to connect or disconnect is dangerous ?

Taps on airline suzies are banned by the UK Construction and Use Regulations. We don't use palm couplings either. We use C couplings with non return valves and operating sleeves, either as an integral unit or assembled from the constituent components as shown.

https://hgvdirect.co.uk/trailer-parts/t ... lings.html

[Franglais]

Sorry, I don't quite understand, Why are you getting pressure when you connect the Suzzie? Yes there is always a little back pressure but if you pump the brake a couple of times prior to disconnect the pressure is released.
All the trailers I ever used had a handle at the base of the connectors in order to close the air lines. cutting off the air for disconnecting and reconnecting. Trailer braking systems have a one way valve system so the air is only coming from the unit air tank !! And once the handle is turned the air is closed off, so there should be no pressure building up or stored in the lines.
Plus allowing the air to flow while attempting to connect or disconnect is dangerous ?

Taps on airline suzies are banned by the UK Construction and Use Regulations. We don't use palm couplings either. We use C couplings with non return valves and operating sleeves, either as an integral unit or assembled from the constituent components as shown.

https://hgvdirect.co.uk/trailer-parts/t ... lings.html

Quite right Cav551.
Some of us remember the taps on air lines but as you say they were done away with decades ago.

When did SabreTooth last drive an artic? The same time as CarryFast?

[Carryfast]

Sorry, I don't quite understand, Why are you getting pressure when you connect the Suzzie? Yes there is always a little back pressure but if you pump the brake a couple of times prior to disconnect the pressure is released.
All the trailers I ever used had a handle at the base of the connectors in order to close the air lines. cutting off the air for disconnecting and reconnecting. Trailer braking systems have a one way valve system so the air is only coming from the unit air tank !! And once the handle is turned the air is closed off, so there should be no pressure building up or stored in the lines.
Plus allowing the air to flow while attempting to connect or disconnect is dangerous ?

Taps on airline suzies are banned by the UK Construction and Use Regulations. We don't use palm couplings either. We use C couplings with non return valves and operating sleeves, either as an integral unit or assembled from the constituent components as shown.

https://hgvdirect.co.uk/trailer-parts/t ... lings.html

Quite right Cav551.
Some of us remember the taps on air lines but as you say they were done away with decades ago.

When did SabreTooth last drive an artic? The same time as CarryFast?

Taps were banned long before I went out of the job.
Palm couplings are the solution they also contain the valve still no need for taps but no need to struggle like silly C couplings.
Ironically we had Palm couplings on all our vehicles for a while and were even more advantageous on drawbars no need to struggle at ground level and immune from road dirt and salt.Then they reverted to bleedin C couplings.

[yourhavingalarf]

^^^^ I just quickly dunk them into the fuel tank. Cheaper ya see

But...

What if you're like really low on diesel and there's like a slight angle so the little fuel you have left has like all gone to one side of the tank like?

[Franglais]

Palm couplings are the solution they also contain the valve still no need for taps but no need to struggle like silly C couplings.
Ironically we had Palm couplings on all our vehicles for a while and were even more advantageous on drawbars no need to struggle at ground level and immune from road dirt and salt.Then they reverted to bleedin C couplings.

Badly maintained C couplings will seize up and be difficult to detach or fit on. True.
Badly maintained palm couplings will leak, and may detach too easily.
Properly fitted and maintained, both work, but the C coupling seems more of a fail-safe option to me.

[Carryfast]

^^^^ I just quickly dunk them into the fuel tank. Cheaper ya see

But...

What if you're like really low on diesel and there's like a slight angle so the little fuel you have left has like all gone to one side of the tank like?

Plenty of water, some WD 40 and a drop of engine oil and a rag.Especially for drawbar C couplings in the winter.
As opposed to some spit and back of a glove to wipe it for Palm couplings.

[cooper1203]

Sorry, I don't quite understand, Why are you getting pressure when you connect the Suzzie? Yes there is always a little back pressure but if you pump the brake a couple of times prior to disconnect the pressure is released.
All the trailers I ever used had a handle at the base of the connectors in order to close the air lines. cutting off the air for disconnecting and reconnecting. Trailer braking systems have a one way valve system so the air is only coming from the unit air tank !! And once the handle is turned the air is closed off, so there should be no pressure building up or stored in the lines.
Plus allowing the air to flow while attempting to connect or disconnect is dangerous ?

As soon as you start a unit the air pressure on the unit builds up. If its too low to operate the handbrake or gearbox?? the unit wont move so inevatibly there will be some pressure on the airline at all times. The reason it doesnt drop is the airlines have valves on so they dont release the air untill the fittings counter part is connected. However as You pish the fittings together the valve is partialy opened hence back pressure that trys to push the fitting apart.

[Carryfast]

Palm couplings are the solution they also contain the valve still no need for taps but no need to struggle like silly C couplings.
Ironically we had Palm couplings on all our vehicles for a while and were even more advantageous on drawbars no need to struggle at ground level and immune from road dirt and salt.Then they reverted to bleedin C couplings.

Badly maintained C couplings will seize up and be difficult to detach or fit on. True.
Badly maintained palm couplings will leak, and may detach too easily.
Properly fitted and maintained, both work, but the C coupling seems more of a fail-safe option to me.

At best with C couplings you have to manually force it into position against the air pressure.
Palm couplings just twist and the tapered tabs do all the work of pulling the coupling together.

[Sabretooth]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the responses, just shows your never too old to learn !

Re Palm Couplings they have been around for donkey's years, back in the day they were standard in Europe which meant if you did trailer swaps with anything from and in the continent you had to have a Palm coupling adapter. And the seals on a palm were always perished and unreliable.
Looking at the link for the C and Ca's they don't look too different than the old ones, I guess someone thought of a way to make a lot of money very quickly ..
As to the question of when did I last drive an Artic ? In the UK and EU over 30 years ago as an Independent Owner Operator, but in those days you had a clutch and it needed to be doubled !!

[Carryfast]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the responses, just shows your never too old to learn !

Re Palm Couplings they have been around for donkey's years, back in the day they were standard in Europe which meant if you did trailer swaps with anything from and in the continent you had to have a Palm coupling adapter. And the seals on a palm were always perished and unreliable.
Looking at the link for the C and Ca's they don't look too different than the old ones, I guess someone thought of a way to make a lot of money very quickly ..
As to the question of when did I last drive an Artic ? In the UK and EU over 30 years ago as an Independent Owner Operator, but in those days you had a clutch and it needed to be doubled !!

But the advantages of palms v C couplings easily outweigh any downsides after taps were banned for the reasons shown by the OP.
Also think they are used the same now on the continent as ever.