So, Decided to move on from bulk tippers and have got myself a position doing brick and blocks on a Wag & Drag. Had a play on the crane in the yard yesterday. Seems fairly straight forward, just needs a bit of care, common sense and smoothness on the controls.
Never driven a Wag & Drag before, literally just backed it up the yard to have a go at uncoupling it and hitching back up. Seems they do a fair bit of trans-shipping loads and just using the prime mover to get into tighter sites so this bit is fairly important. I noticed there isn’t as much leeway as with a 5th wheel, have to be totally straight on it because it isnt going to pull itself in like a 5th wheel.
It also seemed far more responsive to steering input, not that I did much turning, especially as it has a steering rear lift axle on the back of the “unit” Question for those that drive them (trying not to awaken Carryfast on A-frames as this is drawbar only) I read somewhere that screwing round like a normal artic is a no no? Suzies snap apparently. Also seems very close coupled and looks like it would touch if turning on a bit of a slope.
Any tips, crane or Wag & Drawbar Drag related are most welcome.
Having been a rigid driver for years with occasional stints on a lowloader I gained a drag at the end of last year.
It does get very close but doesn’t hit! You’ll be surprised how bendy they can be but you can’t screw them around like a regular artic. I’ve found it to be much more responsive than I imagined when reversing it, it reacts instantly meaning lots of little inputs, unlike an artic you can’t flick round and get straight in front of the trailer as quickly so there may be some more forward shunting.
I’ve found that I need to be square on to the trailer to get it to lock on, I’ve also found that if the hitch light doesn’t turn green straight away lifting the rear air suspension and giving it a wiggle will often get it to engage.
As for the crane, firm level ground is your friend and watch for overhead wires etc.
For a smooth hitch up keep putting plenty of engine oil on the the pin and remove the rubber bungs to oil the mechanism on the hitch .
Also if you got a reversing camera you can hitch up at any angle .
A good thing to do is a trail run to see how much angle you can get on before the draw bar catches the drop plates as sometimes you will need to reverse in to a tight angle to turn around .
Have you got a training certificate for the crane.
Depending where you’re delivering you may be asked to show it.
Concentrate on being smooth and safe with the crane , speed will come and just remember your training.
Dunky, Crane training is to come, was just a have a crack and see what you think yesterday. I’ve done diggers and telehandlers so not that much of a leap except for some unknown reason the controls are totally different to a 360 digger.
8wheels, I saw your post but didnt want to hijack it, Being on tippers makes you look down to make sure you aint gonna sink and up before you lift the body for wires etc. hitch light is something I didnt see and wasnt told about, where should it be?
Punchy, good advise. not averse to a bit of dirty hands diy maintenance if it makes my life easier. Seen a few wireless reversing cams on amazon so could have 1 pointing at the hitch and one on the arse end of the trailer.
I have a panel that looks like a switch inside the cab, it shows a red led until the pin is down when it turns green.
My colleague who has more experience of wag and drag said he’d never seen such a system and would have to visually check the little flag on the coupling itself.
It’s not foolproof as I’ve found that if I don’t hit the eye square on it can drop the pin still showing red as not secure, pull out slightly and the pin drops fully and you’ve got a green light but not coupled the trailer. That’s a pain as you have to get out and reset the coupling.
But really its common sense, the trailer arrived whilst I was off with Covid and it was down to me to work it out.
Our yard is tight, and the truck and trailer only just fits in as one but then blocks everything else so I have to split at the end of the day and recouple next time. I Ieave it so it’s easier to get square on and usually manage to get a green light on the first try.
I then scramble underneath to connect the lines, wind the legs and release the brake. Check the lights and ready for the off. Much like a semi trailer it’s all about a routine, probably the biggest headache on mine is the legs are very low to the ground, the first axle is an auto load sensing lift so if it is light sometimes they can bind a bit on uneven ground. I’ve had a couple of instances of not being able to get in somewhere as they have been fouling a ramp, I’ve found that disconnecting the abs lead drops the lift axle and therefore the trailer rises that bit sooner. I’ll try and get some more pictures of the gubbins tomorrow.
When coupling up to the drag if you don’t have the fancy light system you can get a false coupling where the arm hasn’t gone right down and the pin won’t be all the way in lift the leg a bit so as not to bend it and pull forward and hit the brakes hard and it will go all the way in
I had a few years on a drag but with a moffett also doing building sites. I’ve gone the other way and am now on bulkers. I personally wouldn’t go back, bulkers is a POP in comparison.
I hadn’t driven a drag before my last job, they’re pretty good at getting into tighter spots than artics despite being longer although you can’t screw them round as tight. We had a new recruit try on a mini roundabout and snapped the ring off the draw bar!
All the advice given in the previous posts was given to me and is all sound advice. It takes a while to get used to how responsive the trailer is to inputs when reversing but once you’ve got it it’s surprising where you can get them, the worst part probably is the prime mover length for not being able to get it straight if you’ve got an obstacle in front of you.
Also, hopefully you’ll have rear steer on the prime mover because that’s a massive help, just when you think you’re trailer is too close to something on the inside, just wait until the wheels are near it then give it loads of lock TOWARDS the inside and just watch it pull away from the obstacle! Totally counter intuitive to artic drivers but it works!
Good luck.
I’d say that’s an MTE trailer ? 
nomiS36:
Punchy Dan:
nomiS36:
MTE?
Massey truck Engineering
Micra in Wakefield.
A but poor that ,we put more weld on than that when shortening them ,can’t believe how many so called professional s don’t V out first
To be fair, we never had the problem before or since. He jack knifed so tight the beam hit the end of the pm chassis so you can imagine how much leverage was put on the ring.
nomiS36:
To be fair, we never had the problem before or since. He jack knifed so tight the beam hit the end of the pm chassis so you can imagine how much leverage was put on the ring.
Yes hence my advice further up 
Punchy Dan:
nomiS36:
Punchy Dan:
nomiS36:
MTE?
Massey truck Engineering
Micra in Wakefield.
A but poor that ,we put more weld on than that when shortening them ,can’t believe how many so called professional s don’t V out first
Professional? There’s Bugger all penetration in that weld, all that was holding it together was the bead laid over the top of the join.
Cheers 8wheels, most helpful
Thats some force been put on the drawbar. Will definitely look out for that
