Do you use the trailer brake?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
61

Wheel Nut:

beattun:
right,excuse my ignorance if im being an idiot here but if i reverse under a trailer,put the units park brake on and then connect my suzies,how can any trailer move?

The reason you should put the parking brake on is to stop it moving as you do couple up. The bloke stood smoking behind the trailer because he is out of site of the camera has just been squished as you pushed it back into the fence.

But how’s it gonna move backwards (or forwards for that matter) with the unit park brake on? :stuck_out_tongue:

62

Its the time when you back up to it and before you catch it or chase it across the yard with the pin open

It was worse with lift ramps and steel suspension but as most shopping trolleys still use them, the trailer brake is needed.

Dont get me wrong. Im not condoning the use of it, just explaining why it ought to be used.

But otherwise I agree, once coupled it isnt going anywhere and neither will it run away when uncoupled. Hence the use of wheel chocks in the rest of Europe instead

63

All the time its part of a routine i use .

I don’t even like to be distracted when coupling or unccoupling…however thats not to say I havent forgot to do it in the last twenty years once or twice when something has distracted me… :open_mouth:

64

No, but then I dont have a trailer.

65

Always use them when dropping a trailer and always too lazy to check they have been applied for me when picking one up .
Only twice I have come across trailers with the shunt button left open , but then I don’t ram under them like a man possesed no matter how rushed I,am so in both circumstances noticed the trailer move slightly as I edged under .
So then I have to get out and put the brake on .
Had to pick a trailer up one night using the shunt button , couldn’t get anywhere near under it at the right angle to engage it , nobody about to move the stuff that had been stupidlt stacked too close to it .
Checked behind and around the trailer , went under as far as I could at an angle trying to avoid the stupidly stacked stuff . Hit the shunt button , left the legs down , raised the unit suspension and pushed the trailer back a couple of feet . Then had to get out put the brake on , drop suspension , come out and then go back under and hitch it up .
Not Ideal , but it worked .

66

On motorways there is no minimum speed limit in UK… only in northern ireland which is 30mph as far as I am aware.

The restriction is vehicles (which are not prohibed by other road traffic act law applying to motorways) must be able to reach speeds of at least 30mph… but dont HAVE to use this speed… sure it mentions this in the highway code

“Traffic on a motorway is required to keep moving at all times, except in exceptional circumstances (cases where traffic queues have built up, the vehicle has broken down, or the driver has been instructed to stop by a police officer). A minimum speed limit of 30mph does not apply in the United Kingdom unlike in the Republic of Ireland. Traffic lights are very rarely present on motorways, but where they are installed (for example, at Junction 3 of the M50 in Ireland), they must be obeyed as usual.”

"253

Prohibited vehicles. Motorways MUST NOT be used by pedestrians, holders of provisional motorcycle or car licences, riders of motorcycles under 50 cc, cyclists, horse riders, certain slow-moving vehicles and those carrying oversized loads (except by special permission), agricultural vehicles, and powered wheelchairs/powered mobility scooters (see Rules 36-46 incl).

[Laws HA 1980 sects 16, 17 & sch 4, MT(E&W)R regs 3(d), 4 & 11, MT(E&W)(A)R, R(S)A sects 7, 8 & sch 3, RTRA"

On a side note I am glad she was not given a longer ban… she certianly needs some help and now she will get it in the form of some tution I’d hope before she can again pass a driving test.

You have to take into account she has a terminal illness and has been treated (not very well though it seems) for fear of driving.

And come off it… is hoggin one of three lanes at a very easy to overtake speed really going to cause THAT much of a problem? Even a fully loaded HGV could overtake someone doing 10mph pretty easy.

67

LeicsShunter:
On motorways there is no minimum speed limit in UK… only in northern ireland which is 30mph as far as I am aware.

The restriction is vehicles (which are not prohibed by other road traffic act law applying to motorways) must be able to reach speeds of at least 30mph… but dont HAVE to use this speed… sure it mentions this in the highway code

“Traffic on a motorway is required to keep moving at all times, except in exceptional circumstances (cases where traffic queues have built up, the vehicle has broken down, or the driver has been instructed to stop by a police officer). A minimum speed limit of 30mph does not apply in the United Kingdom unlike in the Republic of Ireland. Traffic lights are very rarely present on motorways, but where they are installed (for example, at Junction 3 of the M50 in Ireland), they must be obeyed as usual.”

"253

Prohibited vehicles. Motorways MUST NOT be used by pedestrians, holders of provisional motorcycle or car licences, riders of motorcycles under 50 cc, cyclists, horse riders, certain slow-moving vehicles and those carrying oversized loads (except by special permission), agricultural vehicles, and powered wheelchairs/powered mobility scooters (see Rules 36-46 incl).

[Laws HA 1980 sects 16, 17 & sch 4, MT(E&W)R regs 3(d), 4 & 11, MT(E&W)(A)R, R(S)A sects 7, 8 & sch 3, RTRA"

On a side note I am glad she was not given a longer ban… she certianly needs some help and now she will get it in the form of some tution I’d hope before she can again pass a driving test.

You have to take into account she has a terminal illness and has been treated (not very well though it seems) for fear of driving.

And come off it… is hoggin one of three lanes at a very easy to overtake speed really going to cause THAT much of a problem? Even a fully loaded HGV could overtake someone doing 10mph pretty easy.

:open_mouth: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over? What has motorway speed limits got to do with trailer brakes? :confused:

68

Can anyone tell me as a class 1 novice…a few weeks ago…on my last class 1 agency shift…I had dropped my trailer on a bay and coupled up to the one next door as instructed. Did all my checks, made sure parking brake was off and went to pull away. Didn’t get very far as the very rear wheels were locked - I checked the suzzies and the trailer brake again and noticed that the shunt seemed to be pushed out with air pressure and couldn’t be pushed in at all.

The trailer also had a handle next to the brake button for lowering which was in the position shown on the diagram above it for general operation. No-one could give me any advice as weekend and no other drivers there so they had to move the load into the original trailer.

Had I done anything wrong which is obvious or might it have been a problem with the unit or trailer??

69

Brownie71:
Can anyone tell me as a class 1 novice…a few weeks ago…on my last class 1 agency shift…I had dropped my trailer on a bay and coupled up to the one next door as instructed. Did all my checks, made sure parking brake was off and went to pull away. Didn’t get very far as the very rear wheels were locked - I checked the suzzies and the trailer brake again and noticed that the shunt seemed to be pushed out with air pressure and couldn’t be pushed in at all.

The trailer also had a handle next to the brake button for lowering which was in the position shown on the diagram above it for general operation. No-one could give me any advice as weekend and no other drivers there so they had to move the load into the original trailer.

Had I done anything wrong which is obvious or might it have been a problem with the unit or trailer??

Air pressure in the tanks was probably down. If the gauges are under 7 bar then it’ll be reluctant to move because there isn’t enough pressure in the system to release the brakes. The shunt button is correct to be pushed out and it there should be a heavy resistance when you try to push it in.

Sometimes you can get a “blockage” (for the want of a better word) in the system. If you pop the red line off and back on again it usually clears.

Only other thing I can think of is that the trailer’s been stood a while and the brakes have seized on. That sometimes happens. If it won’t move forwards then engage reverse gear and try that way - that often works.

You did make sure there weren’t any clocks under the trailer wheels and there was nothing physically holding the trailer against the bay, yes?

70

Brownie71:
Can anyone tell me as a class 1 novice…a few weeks ago…on my last class 1 agency shift…I had dropped my trailer on a bay and coupled up to the one next door as instructed. Did all my checks, made sure parking brake was off and went to pull away. Didn’t get very far as the very rear wheels were locked - I checked the suzzies and the trailer brake again and noticed that the shunt seemed to be pushed out with air pressure and couldn’t be pushed in at all.

The trailer also had a handle next to the brake button for lowering which was in the position shown on the diagram above it for general operation. No-one could give me any advice as weekend and no other drivers there so they had to move the load into the original trailer.

Had I done anything wrong which is obvious or might it have been a problem with the unit or trailer??

I had a similar problem with a trailer I had just pulled for 150 miles with a brand new unit! Had to wait outside the building for a few minutes parked with the unit and trailer “bent”. When I was called in I couldn’t move - trailer was locked solid. Checked the park brake in case someone had put it on for a joke, but that was off. Then realised that the air lines are held up on a bungee to stop them catching the ratchet handles. One of the lines had become twisted, and because it had been standing at an angle had got a kink in it, stopping the air flow. As soon as it was straightened it was fine. I now check that the lines have no twists at all in them just in case.

71

Didn’t look for kinks…I’ll remember that next time. I did get a trailer abs warning light come up earlier in the day on a seperate trailer so I guess this might have something to do with it?

72

Brownie71:
Didn’t look for kinks…I’ll remember that next time. I did get a trailer abs warning light come up earlier in the day on a seperate trailer so I guess this might have something to do with it?

They come up all the time. If it’s a yellow warning light just ignore it as it’s an imcompatability fault. If it’s red then it’s still an incompatability fault :laughing: :unamused: :laughing: but you must not drive with it because if the Battenburg stops you you’ll get ■■■■■■ for it. Yellow you’re alright and they don’t care.

If you hook up with the engine running or ignition on, switch it all off for 5 or 10 seconds and then start her up again and more often than not it’ll have gone out, or will go out once you start moving and/or touch the brakes. The late model FM12s are bad for doing this in particular.

Re your locked trailer wheels, yes Gardun is right, you need to watch out for kinked lines but I’d ruled that out as you’d just brought one in and swapped over without any problems.

73

When this thread started, and as the discussion progressed, I knew I had read somewhere about the relative differences between applying the trailer brake and removing/reconnecting the red air line.

Finally, whilst looking for something else, I was on the SOE forum site when I saw what I had been hunting for. :slight_smile:

And guess what? It leads straight back to TruckNetUK HERE.

:wink:

The gist of the explanation is

I feel I must draw attention to an inherent design defect with some trailer brake systems which will allow the trailer to move even though the park brake is applied. This defect manifests itself during the coupling process particularly if the “split coupling” method is used and results in free movement of the trailer with potentially fatal results.

My attention to this problem was first drawn whilst investigating a trailer, maintained by my company, which had fallen off the tractor during coupling damaging its landing gear. The experienced and competent driver was using the “split coupling procedure”. He reported that he had carried out the first part of the procedure, with the trailer park brake applied, the tractor under the trailer and the landing gear raised. As he connected the red suzie, the trailer moved backwards off the tractor and onto its nose.

On initial investigation everything seemed OK with the brake system. However, when replicating the circumstances of the mishap I found that brakes were released for a period of time of approx 3-4 seconds when the red suzie was connected.

The trailer was fitted with spring park brakes which were not fitted with quick release valves. In order for the spring brakes to apply the whole quantity of air in the system had to exhaust through the park brake control valve mounted at the front of the trailer, typically taking around 20 seconds to fully apply.

When the trailer is disconnected from its tractor the driver first applies the park brake, exhausting the spring brakes. When the red line is subsequently disconnected the emergency system is activated supplying air to the diaphragms and, via the anti-compound valve, supplying air to push the spring brakes off; the trailer is now parked using the service system. When the trailer is reconnected the process is reversed - the red line is connected and the emergency brake releases, exhausting the service diaphragms. Simultaneously, via the anti-compound valve, the spring brakes are exhausted, re-applying the spring brakes. However, as the spring brakes have to exhaust through the park valve there is a delay of around 3-4 seconds when neither brake is applied allowing the trailer to move.

And will serve to answer the question that jonathan P.M.'d me about.

:sunglasses:

74

um, err, yes, (insert scratching head icon) i think so. thanks Ken.

75

krankee the only thing i think of RE that quote is, in the case mentioned there it says the driver was split coupling, why on earth would he put the legs up before connecting the suzies? anyone?

76

many do put the legs up prematurely when split coupling. I’ve seen it done often.

I think its stupid, i never put the legs up 'till that pin is safely locked in those jaws.

77

Driveroneuk:
many do put the legs up prematurely when split coupling. I’ve seen it done often.

I think its stupid, i never put the legs up 'till that pin is safely locked in those jaws.

i have to admit to never having done nor witnessed split coupling but i gather its shunting under the trailer a little bit just so you can connect the suzies (if theres a firdge or something)? throwing on the suzies and pushing back all the way under the pin?

why would someone wind up the legs before the pin is locked in? aside from a minor height adjustment

78

got no choice i just cant get in with a close couple on our trailers because of the fridges… so i was taught split couple…think i need to loose weight lol

79

as far as im aware its law to put trailer brakes on.if any one knows for sure let me know :smiley:

80

dreva:
as far as im aware its law to put trailer brakes on.if any one knows for sure let me know :smiley:

Almost correct. :wink:

An unattached trailer is not permitted to be parked ‘on air’, but as Spring Brakes have now been commonplace for a quarter of a Century, or more, then you are unlikely to have any dealings with anything on single diaphram actuators other than perhaps in connection with a Showman’s Vehicle.

For an explanation of Spring Brakes - see above.

:sunglasses: