I learnt in and drove 4x2’s for the first week, then got in a big 6 wheeler the other day, and blimey, doesn’t it make a difference… !!!
I’d start feeding the wheel back into the trailer and all of a sudden i’d be straight and going the opposite way… Even with the midleft up, as was suggested by another newbie, it was still very different… The wheel base is longer and the fifth wheel feels further up, above the midlift, instead of the rear wheels, which is what i was used to… !!!
Took a couple of days to get used to I must admit, but I think my end of day 3 I had it sussed… Just keep saying to yourself "NOT too much steering, NOT too much steering… "
I was lucky in the respect of i learnt in a 4x2 and by the time i got my first drive, (after having a baby and everything), the 6x2 on my first job was a breeze. I prefer 6x2… handle better in my humble opinion. And i also go against the grain, i find them easier to reverse too.
4 x 2s I wish..........its been all 6 x 2s so far.
I find em more stable, but heavier on steering, but I do still sometimes run empty with the tag axil down as I find it less likly to bounce around like as it sometimes happens with the axil up, but I do sometimes lift the axil up to make it easier to manouvre into tight spots.
but I deffo lift the tag up if I ever attempt the run up sutton bank to avoid getting stuck
but I only ever go up if I`m empty, and its on a dry day, and I would never attempt to change gear using the comfort shift coz that left hand bend half way up is the killer
4 x 2 = 4 wheels (counting doubles as 1) 2 of the 4 being drive.
6 x 2 = 6 wheels, 2 driven.
A 6 x 2 can be twin steer , twin steer with mid axle lift, mid lift, TAG (rear axle lift) or no lifting axles.
6 x 4 is the other main set-up. That is 6 wheels with 4 driven. A lot of 6 wheeled rigids are 6 x 4, eg tippers cement mixers and STGO units, which are better on rough ground for traction as against a 6 x 2.
A twin-steer unit has VERY positive steering, with a mid lift the middle axle (2nd steer) can be lifted to save wear on the tyres when empty and to improve traction. Some twin steers can’t lift the middle axle but they do have an ‘air dump’ button. That is to take the weight off the middle axle to give more traction in poor conditions.
A TAG axle when lifted gives a shorter wheelbase, which gives more maneuverability.
The max weight a 4 x 2 can carry is 40t, a 6 x 2 can take 44t. The extra axle weighs about a tonne, with twin steer tackle that could be a total of 1.5t heavier than a 4 x 2, everything else being the same.
The big advantage of 6x2 over 4x2 is less chance of overloading the drive axle, at 40 tonnes you only have about 1.5 tonne lee way on the axles, but 6 axle at 44t you have about 4t lee way.
twinsteers handle well, but where the extra axle doesn’t steer then sometimes it feels as the trailer is pushing the unit on instead of unit steering.
a twin steer or pusher will always give an easier ride or smoother than a 4 wheeler, a tag axle is different because the tag will bounce when raised or can foul on trailers with a full chassis.
Also be careful about the geometry being altered whn an axle is raised.
It is worse with a trailer with automatic lift axles. We had a customer in Hull who had a small yard opposite the weighbridge, you could reverse in easily loaded, but when you tipped the axles raise and make it a struggle to get the truck out again
Even with the midleft up, as was suggested by another newbie, it was still very different… The wheel base is longer and the fifth wheel feels further up, above the midlift, instead of the rear wheels, which is what i was used to… !!!
