Drawbar & Drag.

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi all,
Got myself a few weeks work next month on a drawbar & drag (2 x 20ft boxes), bloke asked me if I was ok with it and I, of course, said “no probs, done it before”.
Well, I have but it was in 1979 ((A furniture pantechnicon (SPELLING) with a four wheel- one at each corner - trailer and an unlockable A frame, and I was the driver’s mate!))
Any of you out there that do this all the time give me a few pointers i.e. answer stupid questions like;

  1. Do the suzies etc stay with the unit or the trailer.
  2. Does the trailer “cut in” more than with an artic.
    Just basic answers to deadhead questions like that, for a driver who should know better!!
    Tin hat on!..
    :confused:
2

could be worse steveo, might have been a drawbar “in drag” hehe!

Mal.

3

I haven’t driven the newer centre axle drags…only the A-Frame ones but I do know the suzies stay with the trailer. Really can’t say about the cut-in …know on the old A-Frames, the trailer followed wherever the wagon went like a faithful puppy

4

steveo999:

  1. Do the suzies etc stay with the unit or the trailer.
  2. Does the trailer “cut in” more than with an artic.

:confused:

  1. the suzies stay with the trailer

  2. both draw bars & A frames follow better than semi’s. but you have to watch out for the rear end swing out with the draw bar type, especially when turning sharply

5

And you can soon knock the corners off reversing in somewhere tight. You forget where the back of the truck is as you line the trailer up.

Worse place is on a loading bay or the services if a truck parks too close to you

6

I spent around 5 yrs doing drawbar before I went self employed, our drawbars had the suszies etc that disconected fully so you could take em with you, however, did homeworthy and their suszies uncoupled from trailer and just plugged into blanks on the truck.

I think you’ll find it depends on the companies choice, if you leave them on the trailer there is more chance of them going missing :unamused: :unamused: :unamused:

Reversing is pretty easy though when centre mounted axles like a caravan, hitch up is easy just line the back of the front box with the front of the back box.

Only thing I found bad was high winds due to the gap between the pulling unit and the trailer, it would give a little extra sway, apart from that enjoy yourself :laughing: :laughing:

7

Thanks y’all so far… :slight_smile:

8

suzies stay with the trailer and the trailer doesn`t cut in as much as an artic.
the drawbars with centre axles are a piece of peace to reverse but the a frame drawbars take a lot more getting used to :blush:
if you can get the horse through the carriage will follow :laughing: :laughing:

9

Remembere :unamused: d yesterday why you should always carry a plastic sheet in the cab…ended up with a wet backside sitting on the floor in the rain as I was struggling to connect the lines yesterday morning at Coventry.