Do you use the trailer brake?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

del949:
I am a bit puzzled by th several references to trailer brakes that go on automaticaly.
If these are the ones that I am used to pulling, then even though the brakes are applied there is still a valve/button to operate if leaving the trailer.
Or is there some new system?

On some trailers when you disconnect the red line the park brake button pops out automatically rather than you having to pull it out yourself. You still have to push it back in when you hook the trailer, it doesn’t go back in when you couple the red line for obvious reasons.

22

Thanks, haven’t seen any of these!

23

del949:
Thanks, haven’t seen any of these!

When I was on the agency and used to go into Asda at Bedford their new trailers were all coming with this system fitted.

24

Always, always, always.

I’ve seen so many silly accidents from my shunting days that could all have been prevented by use of the trailer park bake.

Sheer laziness and lack of any care in your work if you don’t use it.

Was in a queue at an RDC run by Wincanton on behalf of a supermarket chain the week before last. Watched a driver reverse part way under a loaded trailer, connect lines, then reverse further back to engage the pin. At no point did he check the park brake. Which is a pity. It was off.

I watched in horror as he then pushed the whole lot back and nearly squashed a pedestrian between the rear of the trailer and the warehouse. If there had not been safety bars on the ground I’m sure the pedestrian would have been a gonner.

Said pedestrian turned out to be another driver and was not amused. He tried dragging this guy out of his cab. I went over to try and calm the situation. Would you believe it? It turns out the idiot who was trying to split couple was Romanian.

The guy who nearly got squashed said he was going to report the incident as a ‘near-miss’ and took my details as a witness.

Be careful out there guys n gals.

25

Without fail,100% every time.

I don’t care if the ground is level.

I don’t give a toss if a shunter doesn’t like it.

I don’t care if it’s at a changeover and the trailer will be moving again in a few minutes.

I don’t care if anyone says not to do it.

And…

I do make sure it’s on before I go under a trailer,because I prefer to split couple.

I do care about my safety.

I do care about anyone elses safety.

I do care that if I leave a trailer with it on,I’ve done my job right.

At the end of the day,I was taught to put them on when I passed my C1 in 1996,and have worked for some companies that insist that it’s done,and I make sure I comply,therefore I can sleep in my bed at night knowing that my attention to detail is second to none,and that as a result of it,no-one will get hurt during the course of their working day,using a trailer that I used last.

Not only that,I know because of my action,I won’t end up in court on some inquest or prosecution,which is a result of what I have or haven’t done.

Ken.

26

always
you wont get lynched if you do

27

I tend to use it solely to wind up the shunters

28

not using a trailer brake KILLS before i uncouple i make sure its on . and when i pickup i make sure its on even on change overs .i dont care if i upset another driver i check my life not his/hers youll only get it wrong once

29

tallyman:
One large snack company insists on it - last I heard it was written warnings if you don’t & they catch you out. Personally i always do & I always check before coupling up simply because I always have done so.

Yes I assume you mean Walkers.

We are well used to it now its second nature to make sure the park brake is always on.

I dont even see why it would bother drivers having to put in on anyway as you have to go there to do the legs so is pulling a button really much more effort?

Sure if everyone left them off we’d move a few more trailers but then when someone is killed or there is tens of thousands of pounds of damage you’d think were those extra 2 trailer movements a day worth it?

In my opinion its best not to take a risk and always use the park brake.

30

I dont even see why it would bother drivers having to put in on anyway as you have to go there to do the legs so is pulling a button really much more effort

this goes back to the comment that the position of the buttons should be standardised.
On our fleet they are usually by the legs but xome are on the other side, at the back or on the headboard.
On one batch they were on the front offside corner and kept fouling the airlinesand so were moved to be near the legs.

31

must hold my hands up never use them when droppin trailers all ours have got spring brakes on. the only time i do use them is hooking up so i can put the lines on before backin into the pin to save gettin coverd in oil off the fridge bad habit i know but worked fine for me so far

32

can someone enlighten me as to what / where this trailer brake you speak of is?

maybe we got different trailers in australia, but i just back under them, connect the lines, wind up the legs and away we go, same for dropping.

in saying that, very rarely do i pick up or drop a loaded trailer, but ive no idea what yous are talking about.

33

Immer !!

34

Yeah it can be a pain in the ■■■ that the brakes are sometimes in weird places like right near the rear doors…

However I find the majority of newer trailers have them next to the legs and a lot have automatic parking brake that applies if you pull the red airline off.

The ones that really do my head in are the rare few that have the shunt button, park brake and rear axel steering button all in the same place and all the same colour…

Some sort of standard would be nice but I cant see it happening… some manufactures seem to like being awkward

35

Sure if everyone left them off we’d move a few more trailers but then when someone is killed or there is tens of thousands of pounds of damage you’d think were those extra 2 trailer movements a day worth it?

To most companies,the extra 2 trailer movements a day is worth it,until something goes wrong,and they turn around and say to the judge,‘Well he was told to use the trailer brake at ALL times.’ :angry:

Ken.

36

beattun:
can someone enlighten me as to what / where this trailer brake you speak of is?

To start from the beginning, the U.K. Construction and Use Regs prohibit the parking of a trailer ‘on air’. Sensible really, as when the air pressure depletes, the brakes disengage.

This was the case until the late 70’s, 80’s (ish), when Spring Brakes became the norm.

You no doubt understand that a Spring Brake consists of two air chambers, an actuator rod, and, as the name suggets, a bloody great spring.

In normal operating conditions, the Spring, which would otherwise act on the diaphram and actuator rod thereby applying the brake, is held ‘off’ by a certain amount of air pressure. Typically, about 6 bar.

In normal operating conditions, when applying the brakes, an imbalance of pressure in the two chambers allows the actuator rod to extend, thereby applying the brakes.

When uncoupling, the normal action of removing the air line allows, (and this is where I get confused as to the difference, and will gladly be corrected) the air ‘holding off’’ the Spring to be depleted, thereby applying the brake. However, if there were to be a constriction or a defective component that prevented the air exhausting, the wheel would remain ‘unbraked’.

The ‘Trailer Brake’, essentially an Air Valve, uses the reservoir of air in the trailer tank to ‘imbalance’ any residual air that is holding off the Spring, and thereby applies the brake.

The difference between ‘removing the red line’ and ‘applying the trailer brake’ has been explained elsewhere on these forums, but I am a loss to find it. :blush:

37

Must admit in my early days of artic driving I was told by another driver that you didn’t need to use them as the brakes locked on when you took the red line off. Stupidly I took that as Gospel, perhaps because I was still so green at the job. Didn’t have any problems at all for around 12 months until one day when I went to hook up to a trailer and all that happened was that the unit pushed it straight back into a wall :open_mouth: . No damage done but it shocked me. I discovered the trailer brake to be off, but also the shunt button was engaged too, meaning the only thing that had been stopped it rolling away were the feet on the bottom of the legs!

Ever since then I’ve always checked the trailer brake before coupling and always make sure it’s on before pulling out from under.

38

welcome back RK :slight_smile:

39

Driveroneuk:
welcome back RK :slight_smile:

Thanks Jon :laughing: :slight_smile:

40

Having a trailer with a park brake off is one thing but finding one with the shunt button engaged is a much more dangerous situation and I dont think anyone would leave one in this state unless they wanted a manslaughter charge.

I never use the shunt button my self even for very short movements like pushing back a trailer that is not quite on a bay properly as the accident caused by leaving it off is likely to be very severe.