Currently studying for cat C and have bought the DSA pack etc etc and am learning slowly.
However driving/riding to work i take a huge interest in the LGV/HGV’s on the way and noticed 2 things…
firstly, apparently there are 3 suzies (generally) which are red/yellow/blue (emergency/service/auxilary).
But a few of the lorry’s I’ve seen have all black ones…Why are they all black?
Secondly, I saw a HGV pulling a huge trailer but the middle axl of the tractor unit had the tyres raised off the road…
My first thought was maybe to save ware and tare, but surely putting more weight on the other 2 axl’s would increase tyre ware on them■■?
Can any experienced drivers clear this up for me please.
Currently studying for cat C and have bought the DSA pack etc etc and am learning slowly.
However driving/riding to work i take a huge interest in the LGV/HGV’s on the way and noticed 2 things…
firstly, apparently there are 3 suzies (generally) which are red/yellow/blue (emergency/service/auxilary).
Blimey three line connections did they have taps too.Proof of time travel.
Currently studying for cat C and have bought the DSA pack etc etc and am learning slowly.
However driving/riding to work i take a huge interest in the LGV/HGV’s on the way and noticed 2 things…
firstly, apparently there are 3 suzies (generally) which are red/yellow/blue (emergency/service/auxilary).
Blimey three line connections did they have taps too.Proof of time travel.
I’m having 5 minutes reminiscing of blue lines and taps, and also no c/c, no limiter…
Currently studying for cat C and have bought the DSA pack etc etc and am learning slowly.
However driving/riding to work i take a huge interest in the LGV/HGV’s on the way and noticed 2 things…
firstly, apparently there are 3 suzies (generally) which are red/yellow/blue (emergency/service/auxilary).
But a few of the lorry’s I’ve seen have all black ones…Why are they all black?
Secondly, I saw a HGV pulling a huge trailer but the middle axl of the tractor unit had the tyres raised off the road…
My first thought was maybe to save ware and tare, but surely putting more weight on the other 2 axl’s would increase tyre ware on them■■?
Can any experienced drivers clear this up for me please.
Many Thanks, Rob
Regarding the suzies, dont worry about it, just learn what they want you to know for the test! Some of the test questions seem to be a bit out of date! Each suzie has a different end connector and will only fit on one trailer connector so you can tell what it does by that.
As for lifting axles, you’re quite right. It is to reduce wear and tear as well as reducing rolling resistance which increases fuel efficiency. As you should be aware, your vehicle will have axle weight limits. You can therefore drop your axle to spread the weight on heavier loads.
I did hear some RDC talk about it being a legal requirement to have your axles down whenever you’re loaded regardless of weight, but not sure how true that is. (RDC ■■■■■■■■ is covered on day two of your lessons!)
Hope that helps.
Cavey.
PS forgot to say, better to ask a daft question than not ask and do a daft thing!
Good luck in your tests and see you on the road soon.
Just to add to the axle in the air (midlift thingy), as a noob you will quickly learn that traction is king both for stopping and progressing, now a non drive midlift is essential to have raised whenever possible (obviously providing axle weight limits arent exceeded), trucks of today wont allow it to lift if weight on unit is too much -this varies from truck to truck.
What can be a pain in the ■■■■■■ is having a load on that is just on the cusp of stopping the midlift raising so when pulling away you will notice excessive wheelspin in slippy and wet conditions also having to take it easy and trickle the power in on bendy bits etc.
Cant beat a downpour after a hot spell to give the old ringpiece a workout on the slimey roads.
My actros has a override button so I can force the midlift to raise at low speeds even when heavy, very usefull on tight turns and steep gradients in slippy conditions.
Oh and I think I also started the RDC bullcrap about having to always run with the midlift down even if partially loaded.
Edit: As mentioned the only daft question is the one that isnt asked. Unless its about POA, in cab kettles, satnavs, boots, or working for maritime.
You aren’t green mate , I didn’t even know what a suzie was !
Airlines , there you go , they say you learn something new everyday !
Your question was technical compared to what I will be asking in the coming weeks an months …
Years ago when I went for an assessment, there was a group of four of us, one chap asked the trainer " are you going to show us where the curly wires go"! and he already had his class 1. Never saw him again oddly enough.
Brilliant !
Don’t you worry though Billy , I will no doubt beat that sort of question for stupidity . Its guaranteed and I hope you lot rip the micky out of me about it as well when I do
Provisional just arrived funnily enough . Onto the theory test revision next !
In addition to load spread and traction issues already covered above, there is another problem with lift axles in that they can make manoeuvring heavy going. With the extra axle down and a heavy load on, the steering gets very resistant.
Mention has already been made of the button in the cab to manually raise the lift axle, but there is sometimes also another button that doesn’t lift the axle completely, it just moves enough to redistribute some of the weight onto the drive axle and reduce the drag of the lift axle for manoeuvring. The symbol tends to be a picture of the two wheels with a curved arrow above pointing from one to the other.
Blimey three line connections did they have taps too.Proof of time travel. 
