why do people feel the need to put the air right up on the unit before they drop a trailer,instead of dropping it at RIDE HEIGHT which I was always told to do and to be honest makes sense 
or is it some kind of legendary HILARIOUS trucker joke that I seemed to have missed.
I was only caught out once a year ago,only cracked the offside light lens,but I hitched upto one yeaterday which was wound right up.just glad I have the extra 3 feet behind the cab to the trailer.
there training to be shunters 
the crabbit bit they learn on the job
bikemonkey:
why do people feel the need to put the air right up on the unit before they drop a trailer,instead of dropping it at RIDE HEIGHT which I was always told to do and to be honest makes senseor is it some kind of legendary HILARIOUS trucker joke that I seemed to have missed.
I was only caught out once a year ago,only cracked the offside light lens,but I hitched upto one yeaterday which was wound right up.just glad I have the extra 3 feet behind the cab to the trailer.
You’re spot on, the only thing ( i think) is some guys drop one at ride height, or near enough then pull out as is when heavily laden and without lowering the suspension gently down, trailer legs crash down on floor, operator gets a bill and then tells everyone to drop trailers with legs fully extended !!!
Almost everywhere now has a different procedure, as you say ‘ride height’ is common sense.
Mike-C:
bikemonkey:
why do people feel the need to put the air right up on the unit before they drop a trailer,instead of dropping it at RIDE HEIGHT which I was always told to do and to be honest makes senseor is it some kind of legendary HILARIOUS trucker joke that I seemed to have missed.
I was only caught out once a year ago,only cracked the offside light lens,but I hitched upto one yeaterday which was wound right up.just glad I have the extra 3 feet behind the cab to the trailer.
You’re spot on, the only thing ( i think) is some guys drop one at ride height, or near enough then pull out as is when heavily laden and without lowering the suspension gently down, trailer legs crash down on floor, operator gets a bill and then tells everyone to drop trailers with legs fully extended !!!
Almost everywhere now has a different procedure, as you say ‘ride height’ is common sense.
Mike you have agreed with something I have said
But surely then the operator will be getting the bill for drivers smashing the unit into the trailer legs or back of the cab whichever comes first.
I park up as normal ,do all the bits etc,wind the legs down to 1" from the ground and pull out whilst lowering the air.
so the next person can come under the trailer at ride height and the legs will be slightly off the floor,for easy leg winding etc 
cause most units nowadays are of a similar height
our mercs ,scannys ,man’s and dafs with a hi-cube trailer on are all 14’ 6 thus implying to me the same fifth wheel height.
Like I say,seems common sense to me
bikemonkey:
Yeah, don’t rush me !!! LOL !!
bikemonkey:
But surely then the operator will be getting the bill for drivers smashing the unit into the trailer legs or back of the cab whichever comes first.
It cost me £40 to find out they don’t !!!
never had it happen to me get out and check instead of banging under it ffs
then light,s wont get damaged
teddy_0781:
never had it happen to me get out and check instead of banging under it ffs
Ooooh lucky you
you seem to have missed my point entirely though
if you compare a swedish skip to say a daf or volvo when empty and middle axle up the, the scania sit’s a bit higher we have a few scania’s in our yard and we have the same problem some of the scania driver’s get a bit over excited when dropping trailer’s so the best bet is as you are backing under lift your suspension as you are going under an that should give it enough so you dnt miss the pin 
I had to pick up a tank from the Devon Cider Co, once, and it was up so high, I couldn’t get the pin to reach the fifth wheel. I had the air right up on the unit and it still went underneath.
Eventually I had to bugger around with the trailer suspension (lift axle) for 15 minutes to get more weight on the front and bring it down a bit. But then because it only just caught the pin, I couldn’t pump the unit up to take the load off the legs. Nearly 40 minutes just to hook up a trailer 
So, leaving it high can be a real pain sometimes. Especially when its empty and gets loaded before the next bloke gets there.
Would it not have been quicker to pop the legs in low and drop the front
montana man:
:shock: Would it not have been quicker to pop the legs in low and drop the front
You don’t think I tried that ? Watching the bolt start to bend as I tried to turn the crank gave me a hint it was too heavy. Maybe the legs were bent as well .
Watching the bolt start to bend as I tried to turn the crank gave me a hint it was too heavy
with the leg winder in low gear? (pushed in) Sounds strange.
Was there not a shunt tug around who had left it at that height who’s driver you could have asked to pick it up whilst you wound the legs up a bit?
Driveroneuk:
Watching the bolt start to bend as I tried to turn the crank gave me a hint it was too heavy
with the leg winder in low gear? (pushed in) Sounds strange.
Was there not a shunt tug around who had left it at that height who’s driver you could have asked to pick it up whilst you wound the legs up a bit?
Yes and no, in that order.
The point is, it should never have been left up that high in the first place.
smoker:
Driveroneuk:
Watching the bolt start to bend as I tried to turn the crank gave me a hint it was too heavy
with the leg winder in low gear? (pushed in) Sounds strange.
Was there not a shunt tug around who had left it at that height who’s driver you could have asked to pick it up whilst you wound the legs up a bit?
Yes and no, in that order.
The point is, it should never have been left up that high in the first place.
You’re right. I’d love to see what they have to do to drop them that high?
Mike-C:
You’re right. I’d love to see what they have to do to drop them that high?
I think the cider being pumped in made it sit up a bit, but the legs were still hard on the ground - Plus the air had probably dropped a bit in the suspension, tilting it back even more - that’s what I did in the end, connected the air lines up and gave it a few minutes of revving to get some control over the back end.