caledoniandream:
On the continent we never had the 3 line suzie with the dead man’s handle, but we had the trailer brake handle into the nineties.
This operate the trailer brake through the service line.
In Volvo and Scania (F10/12, 141,142, 143) the handle would not lock and was one the dashboard.
On the Daf 2000, 2300 the handle was under the steering wheel and would stay in position you put it in.
Was driving ferry trailers that time (tilts and reefers) and was told by the gaffer only to use the trailer brake if possible.
His thoughts where, I pay for my brakes, and the trailer companies pay for theirs, so may as well wear theirs.
With the introduction of ABS they stopped this system as it is not compatible with ABS.
They where very handy for tug test in the trailer after hooking up.
I have noticed that some new Volvo’s have a button to put trailer brakes on.
Strange one that, ive had a F7/10/12 and 16 all lhd, the earliest was the F7 and none of them had the trailer brake handle.
Different specs for different countries possibly?
gingerfold:
As well explained earlier the “dead man’s handle” was a misnomer. It was an early type of secondary braking system and was a compulsory requirement after the introduction of the 1965 Construction and Use Regulations. From 1969 It was a legal requirement on pre-1965 goods vehicles that had to have secondary air braked systems fitted to comply with newly introduced braking standards for annual Testing and Plating. With such a system the vehicle could either operate at its original gross vehicle weight, or in some cases it could be up-rated to a higher gross vehicle weight if the vehicle manufacturer had factored in potential weight increases in its original design weight. On rigids so converted the secondary braking system operated on the rear wheels, actuated by either an air-assisted handbrake, or more commonly a hand operated handle. For artics it was a hand operated handle that activated the trailer brakes and the front axle brakes of the tractor unit. I had a 1965 Seddon rigid with a design weight of 16 tons (imperial) that was converted to secondary braking with a “dead man’s handle” and it operated at that weight (then the maximum for a 2-axle rigid). It also had a ratchet pull handbrake that would meet the braking standard as well, but it was not legally acceptable as a secondary system. We also uprated a 1959 Leyland Super Comet from 14 tons gvw to 15 tons gvw by fitting a secondary braking system, again with a “dead man’s handle”.
Sounds like my My Dennis it has a ratchet hand brake ,if you lift the leaver up after half way the air assist valve comes in and locks the drive axle
peterm:
As far as I remember, the Fodens were on the left of the column and the 12 speed range on the right. Am I right ?
Yep, S39 was like that, S40 and S80 the range change was on the gearstick.
S80 didn’t have a dead man as such, the parking brake was to the right of the driver’s seat, bloody good positive in use Clayton Dewandre unit, pull it straight back for secondary brake (presumably still steering axle and trailer only) or push it forward then to the right and then lock it back for parking brake, gave an almighty whistle from the valve when you either applied or released the parking brake, which i liked cos you knew for sure it was on.
I can’t remember what S40 had cos i only had one for a few months while before getting an S80 , me first artic with power steering, yay
Thanks. My memory’s as sharp as ever then. Artic with power steering ! Next thing you’ll be telling us is that it had a heater as well.
The independent trailer brake handle on the dashboard of 2-series Scanias (and other makes too, including early Euro-spec ERFs) was a god-send in its time. If used judiciously, it could prevent a jack-knife if you anticipated trouble and kept your feet off the pedals . Also, if you were parked on a slippery road with a steep camber, bungy-strapping the handle in ‘on’ position could prevent the trailer from sliding off the road . Picture shows driver’s view from a Scania 112 I was driving through Bulgaria (that road is way steeper than it looks!). Robert
robert1952:
The independent trailer brake handle on the dashboard of 2-series Scanias (and other makes too, including early Euro-spec ERFs) was a god-send in its time. If used judiciously, it could prevent a jack-knife if you anticipated trouble and kept your feet off the pedals . Also, if you were parked on a slippery road with a steep camber, bungy-strapping the handle in ‘on’ position could prevent the trailer from sliding off the road . Picture shows driver’s view from a Scania 112 I was driving through Bulgaria (that road is way steeper than it looks!). Robert
0
Absolutely correct Robert. I had an AEC Mercury artic one day and the “dead-man” was mounted on the right hand side of the instrument binnacle in an Ergo cab. I was descending a hill in snow one morning and the trailer started to swing round. A gentle application of the “dead-man” brought it back into line beautifully.
robert1952:
The independent trailer brake handle on the dashboard of 2-series Scanias (and other makes too, including early Euro-spec ERFs) was a god-send in its time. If used judiciously, it could prevent a jack-knife if you anticipated trouble and kept your feet off the pedals . Also, if you were parked on a slippery road with a steep camber, bungy-strapping the handle in ‘on’ position could prevent the trailer from sliding off the road . Picture shows driver’s view from a Scania 112 I was driving through Bulgaria (that road is way steeper than it looks!). Robert
0
Absolutely correct Robert. I had an AEC Mercury artic one day and the “dead-man” was mounted on the right hand side of the instrument binnacle in an Ergo cab. I was descending a hill in snow one morning and the trailer started to swing round. A gentle application of the “dead-man” brought it back into line beautifully.
Series 2 and early 3 series with trailer brake handle was handy for taking advantage when pulling hire trailers also
Yes great for the dreaded jack knife …pull on the dead man and accelerate at the same time…would always straighten her out…shame we got rid of the blue airline stystem…i like 3 better than 2…ha ha
truckyboy:
Yes great for the dreaded jack knife …pull on the dead man and accelerate at the same time…would always straighten her out…shame we got rid of the blue airline stystem…i like 3 better than 2…ha ha
Artic with power steering ! Next thing you’ll be telling us is that it had a heater as well.
. Picture shows driver’s view from a Scania 112 I was driving through Bulgaria (that road is way steeper than it looks!). Robert