Steve-o:
Surely if you’re able to pull the pin then the trailer isn’t pulling back? Are you saying even if a fully loaded tri axle trailer is pulling back from the unit then you can still quite easily pull the handle back? Doubt it
Correct me if I’m wrong but if I’m uncoupling from a trailer that is braked and I pull the pin first, what reason does it have to roll back? On my truck if the unit brake is on and the suzis are plugged in then the trl brake is applied also. Why would it ever roll back? Unless the brakes are shot? In which case you would be able to tell from the drive you just done.
I’m not saying it’s the right way to do it, I certainly don’t pull it first, but if the trailer is in good working order and you can freely pull the lever out then how is it going to roll? If it’s going to roll then it will be very hard to pull out the lever in which case you know something isn’t quite right. How many of us have had to go put the trailer brake on then try and reverse against the trailer and flick the brake on in order to stop the pin pulling from the the unit so you can pull the lever?
If you don’t do it that way then why are you arguing the toss?
Steve-o:
Surely if you’re able to pull the pin then the trailer isn’t pulling back? Are you saying even if a fully loaded tri axle trailer is pulling back from the unit then you can still quite easily pull the handle back? Doubt it
Correct me if I’m wrong but if I’m uncoupling from a trailer that is braked and I pull the pin first, what reason does it have to roll back? On my truck if the unit brake is on and the suzis are plugged in then the trl brake is applied also. Why would it ever roll back? Unless the brakes are shot? In which case you would be able to tell from the drive you just done.
I’m not saying it’s the right way to do it, I certainly don’t pull it first, but if the trailer is in good working order and you can freely pull the lever out then how is it going to roll? If it’s going to roll then it will be very hard to pull out the lever in which case you know something isn’t quite right. How many of us have had to go put the trailer brake on then try and reverse against the trailer and flick the brake on in order to stop the pin pulling from the the unit so you can pull the lever?
the reason you should leave the pin till last is simple if the trailer brakes fail and it does start to roll you’re stood near the front not the back taking the plate off and it can only drop as far as the legs.
i used to back under raise suspension, lift trailer, back the rest of the way home, few tugs get out check handle has gone in ‘l shape’ latch has dropped down, have a butchers underneath, then airlines, legs, no, plate while doin all i check the lights blah blah then off i go !
I’ve had a disaster when hitching so I now stick to me routine and if I get distracted I start from scratch.
Back under trailer pary way
lift it up and back rest of the way in
Give a couple of tugs
Check hand brake
Check dog clip
Connect suzzies not letting go of red till I’m sure the world hasn’t moved
Do legs
Do number plate
Walk up drivers side and check the jaws are closed
Dropping a trailer I do the same in reverse leaving the pin till last.
Steve-o:
How many of us have had to go put the trailer brake on then try and reverse against the trailer and flick the brake on in order to stop the pin pulling from the the unit so you can pull the lever?
Once the trailer brake is on, if the pin won’t pull, try releasing the unit park brake for a moment, then re-applying it. Then try your pin again
i used to jump out off cab and pull pin 1st (being lazy as it was a trip around the unit less)
untill one day i jumps out off cab pull pin,duck under trailer to get to brake n legs and whilst i was under noticed trailer moving threw myself onto pavement as trailer rolls back n crashs onto its knees stretching all my sussies to there limit,(trl was partly loaded and on a slight slope)
managed to wind legs down to eventually raise it high enough to get underneath(only 1 leg working other was goosed)
phoned boss to tell him what a c**t i was and he agreed with me lol
needless to say never done that again…to this day i count my blessings i looked up at trailer as i was nipping under to get to brakes n legs or i would be squished like a road kill
brake legs plate clip pin sussies(sussies last as it fridges im on n cant squeeze in between trl n unit)
Steve-o:
How many of us have had to go put the trailer brake on then try and reverse against the trailer and flick the brake on in order to stop the pin pulling from the the unit so you can pull the lever?
Once the trailer brake is on, if the pin won’t pull, try releasing the unit park brake for a moment, then re-applying it. Then try your pin again
44 Tonne Ton:
How many times have you done it then? Just a rough answer will do if you’re not sure and correct me if I’m wrong you’re fairly new to artics I think?
3/4 times but I havent done it recently
In my defence, before doing my trunk run I never hardly had to couple to a trailer and took me 10/15 minutes to do it, but now it takes 10/15 seconds
The problem was I dropped the units air suspension to go under a trailer and the pin went straight over, now I dont bother dropping the suspension…
We have a much simpler system over here, none of this jumping out the cab to apply the trailer brakes. We have a valve (push button) that cuts off the air supply to the trailer, which has no airtanks btw, which means that the spring brakes are applied instantly. It also means that if you forget to apply the trailer brake in the cab, as soon as your airline is disconnected, the brakes apply.
used to work at a firm where the tm was a [zb] for changing his mind at the last minute, you would always be ready to pull out from under the trailer when he would come racing out the office screaming not too drop it and to get on your way with it, needless to say sometimes fully loaded trailers got dropped on there knees
FarnboroughBoy11:
Past my class 1 last month. I dont think i’ll ever forget uncouple/couple, i done it over and over.
This is how it is on the test now…
(Unit parking brake on at all times when leaving cab)
Uncouple.
Number Plate
Trailer Brake
Legs
Suzies, Red airline FIRST
CHECK trailer brake
remove dog clip
pull pin
drive forward watching in mirrors
park unit along side trailor
Then the examiner said to me “George, i want you to couple up to a trailer that you’ve never seen before”
Perform trailer check, MOT, Tyres, brake is ON, bodywork.
Reverse unit up to trailer and stop before going under.
check allignment and height
reverse under and wait for the clunk
check u got it, 2 tugs forward
attach dog clip
connect suzies red FIRST
raise legs
trailer brake off
Number plate
check lights
rolling brake test
“right George that is the end of the test and im pleased to say you’ve passed”
Failed in my book… Always red off first and on last. The reason is that when the red line is off the trailer brakes are on (they are spring loaded and need air pressure to release them). If you put the red line on first the service brake isn’t connected so the trailer can run away.
44 Tonne Ton:
How many times have you done it then? Just a rough answer will do if you’re not sure and correct me if I’m wrong you’re fairly new to artics I think?
3/4 times but I havent done it recently
In my defence, before doing my trunk run I never hardly had to couple to a trailer and took me 10/15 minutes to do it, but now it takes 10/15 seconds
The problem was I dropped the units air suspension to go under a trailer and the pin went straight over, now I dont bother dropping the suspension…
so you now scrape all your grease off the 5th wheel onto the trailer lip so it gets all over your suzies and legs/sleeves/arms?
its easier to back under with your suspension lowered then raise before the pin gets near the 5th wheel, no grease on the trailer lip, no grease on the suzies from when you need to spin it round
and the grease on your 5th wheel will last a lot longer. i hate being covered in grease all the time from people that just slam under without lowering then raising it, especially if they have had to go in at a wierd angle (jack knifed) and its on the side of the trailer. really winds me up
Before uncoupling check that the ground is firm and level enough to support both the landing legs.
Apply the parking brake on the trailer.
Lower landing legs and secure handle.
Remove and stow air lines and electric lines.
Remove safety chain.
Pull king pin release lever.
‘B L A C K’ Brake — Legs — Air lines — Clip - Kingpin
Draw unit forwards clear of trailer (watching trailer in mirrors).
Park the unit alongside the trailer about a doors width away, switch off engine and leave cab.
Check that the landing legs are not sinking into the ground.
Check trailer park brake.
Remove number plate.
RE-COUPLING
Reverse the unit up to the trailer stopping about 1 metre short of the trailer, using the mirrors to line up.
Check the trailer parking brake is on and MOT is current, check the trailer over, in particular that lights are fitted and not broken, tyres are legal (1mm tread), wheel nuts secure (walk round checks).
Check the height of the king pin is the same as the fifth wheel.
The unit should be reversed slowly under the trailer, with the ‘kingpin’ lined up to the locking mechanism (watching trailer in mirrors). Listen to hear the fifth wheel lock onto the ‘kingpin’.
Do a ‘tug test’. Try to drive forward slowly in a low gear to check that the fifth wheel is engaged (do this twice).
Make sure that the parking brake of the unit is applied.
Switch off engine, switch on sidelights and hazard warning lights and leave the cab.
Inspect the locking mechanism to make sure it is secure.
Fit safety clip (dog clip).
Connect all brake hoses (twisting collars so that the pin doesn’t stay lined up) and the electrical supply to the trailer (susie’s). Check that they are secure.
Wind up the landing legs on the trailer and secure the handle.
Release the trailer handbrake
Fit the number plate and check that the lights work.
Ask examiner to check brake lights for you.
Drive forward a few metres and check the brakes are working.
There is no particular order of removing or replacing the susies, although I do suggest connecting the red airline first as it is probably the most difficult and as has been mentioned in a previous post, susies get greased up, and therefore is is much better to ‘struggle’ with the red airline whilst keeping all the others off your trousers!
BTW on the one occasion I overshot the fifth wheel there was no air suspension on the unit, and I had to use a bit of brick to lift the back end of the 5th wheel to allow me to draw forward!
Before uncoupling check that the ground is firm and level enough to support both the landing legs.
Apply the parking brake on the trailer.
Lower landing legs and secure handle.
Remove and stow air lines and electric lines.
Remove safety chain.
Pull king pin release lever.
‘B L A C K’ Brake — Legs — Air lines — Clip - Kingpin
Draw unit forwards clear of trailer (watching trailer in mirrors).
Park the unit alongside the trailer about a doors width away, switch off engine and leave cab.
Check that the landing legs are not sinking into the ground.
Check trailer park brake.
Remove number plate.
RE-COUPLING
Reverse the unit up to the trailer stopping about 1 metre short of the trailer, using the mirrors to line up.
Check the trailer parking brake is on and MOT is current, check the trailer over, in particular that lights are fitted and not broken, tyres are legal (1mm tread), wheel nuts secure (walk round checks).
Check the height of the king pin is the same as the fifth wheel.
The unit should be reversed slowly under the trailer, with the ‘kingpin’ lined up to the locking mechanism (watching trailer in mirrors). Listen to hear the fifth wheel lock onto the ‘kingpin’.
Do a ‘tug test’. Try to drive forward slowly in a low gear to check that the fifth wheel is engaged (do this twice).
Make sure that the parking brake of the unit is applied.
Switch off engine, switch on sidelights and hazard warning lights and leave the cab.
Inspect the locking mechanism to make sure it is secure.
Fit safety clip (dog clip).
Connect all brake hoses (twisting collars so that the pin doesn’t stay lined up) and the electrical supply to the trailer (susie’s). Check that they are secure.
Wind up the landing legs on the trailer and secure the handle.
Release the trailer handbrake
Fit the number plate and check that the lights work.
Ask examiner to check brake lights for you.
Drive forward a few metres and check the brakes are working.
There is no particular order of removing or replacing the susies, although I do suggest connecting the red airline first as it is probably the most difficult and as has been mentioned in a previous post, susies get greased up, and therefore is is much better to ‘struggle’ with the red airline whilst keeping all the others off your trousers!
I bet you can guess where the above quote is going
(see signature below)
Steve-o:
How many of us have had to go put the trailer brake on then try and reverse against the trailer and flick the brake on in order to stop the pin pulling from the the unit so you can pull the lever?
Once the trailer brake is on, if the pin won’t pull, try releasing the unit park brake for a moment, then re-applying it. Then try your pin again
Or reversing back a touch
You seemed to have missed my point. Its a lot less trouble to just release the brake & re-apply it than it is to reverse. Don’t even need to sit in the seat.
The problem was I dropped the units air suspension to go under a trailer and the pin went straight over, now I dont bother dropping the suspension…
Well you should otherwise you slobber 5th grease all over the lip of the trailer swivel plate, so other drivers then get it on their trousers when connecting suzies.
The correct way is to lower, reverse part under, then lift up the suspension so that the legs are clear of the ground. If they aren’t and you are not quite inline and the unit pushes the trailer sideways, this puts a tremendous strain on the legs and can bend them, making them difficult to wind.
Also it ensures that when you come to wind the legs up, its an easy job because there is no weight on them.
Dropping the trailer should be a reverse procedure. i.e. Pull part way out, then drop suspension. Again this prevents slobbering grease all over the plate lip.
If the unit doesn’t have riser rails on the chassis, (some Irish ones) you MUST do this.
As regards which order to connect suzies: usually 5 lines in total. Start furthest away and work towards yourself. Opposite for dropping. Don’t turn the collar on the red line until you’re sure the ground hasn’t started to move!
The order of connecting the suzies up only depends on which side of the truck the catwalk steps are on, unless you want to lean over the black grease if it is a shared unit.
Does nobody except me raise the unit suspension a few inches prior to winding down the legs? Then drop all the air out of the unit after winding down the landing gear? It ensures good clearance and saves the mudguard tops from being covered in grease and being scraped. Depends on the trailers but some of them really sag at the front when loaded.
n crashs onto its knees stretching all my sussies to there limit,(trl was partly loaded and on a slight slope)
i looked up at trailer as i was nipping under to get to brakes n legs or i would be squished like a road kill
