Part of my new job requires me to drive on a landfill site which at the moment the access to it is wet muddy and very slippery
The 1st day i had another driver with me (i drove) and he told me what to do, Which was this…
Once off the weighbridge engage Diff lock pull away in 2nd high get your speed up then shift into 3rd high and as you round the right hand bend foot to the floor and keep it there flat out all the way up the bank.
Now on monday it was persistently raining so it was no real surprise to either of us that we wasn’t making it over the last final bit of the brow (wheels spinning and us coming to a bouncing halt) No problem just wait for the big metal wheeled bulldozer to tow us over the brow so that we could then do a 3 point turn and then we’d get towed backwards to the exact point where they wanted the load ejected
Ive been up there 9 times now but only twice i’ve managed to break over the brow (after coming to a halt then managing to get it going again by to-ing and fro-ing pressing the button on the dash that temporarily takes the weight off the mid-lift and trying to gently ease it to move without too much wheelspinning) and its really starting to pee me off especially as the other driver (not the one who was with me monday) is doing it every time
Our units are the same Daf CF 430 6 x 2s (6 x 4’s are on order apparently) But mine has the weightsaver small wheeled non steering mid lift and the other one has the normal sized steering mid lift and we both are running in at full weight 44t
His advice was to lift my tag but unlike his unit my tag wont lift when its loaded
And to add insult to it i think i might be damaging the tyres too 
So is there something im missing? Is there a knack i need to know? If you know your offroad stuff please please advise Thanks guys
(and please if you’ve no knowledge of and have never offroaded do us both a favour and save yourself the time and energy by not responding 
)
See told you i didnt know everything 
I was going to ask a similar question this evening.
I’ve been in the quarry today to collect some tonne bags.
I stayed on the relatively hard bits but had a good view of the 8 wheelers going up and down the banks in the mucky bits.
I’ll stay tuned to the answers…
Reef:
(and please if you’ve no knowledge of and have never offroaded do us both a favour and save yourself the time and energy by not responding )
Andyroo:
I was going to ask a similar question this evening.
I’ve been in the quarry today to collect some tonne bags.
I stayed on the relatively hard bits but had a good view of the 8 wheelers going up and down the banks in the mucky bits.
I’ll stay tuned to the answers…
This however is acceptable (just 
) We eagerly await together m8
I would go easy on the right foot just give it enough rev so you don’t stall
if you got air suspension, try lifting the mid axle and pumping more air into the drive axle ( no idea what this does to the suspension - but I haven’t broke mine yet) - should give you a little more weight on the drive axle
Reef:
Reef:
(and please if you’ve no knowledge of and have never offroaded do us both a favour and save yourself the time and energy by not responding )
Andyroo:
I was going to ask a similar question this evening.
I’ve been in the quarry today to collect some tonne bags.
I stayed on the relatively hard bits but had a good view of the 8 wheelers going up and down the banks in the mucky bits.
I’ll stay tuned to the answers…
This however is acceptable (just ) We eagerly await together m8
Of course it’s acceptable, I wouldn’t have written it otherwise.
Failing that we could have a “my offroad thread is better than yours” contest.
Have you both got identical trailers, if not his might be putting more weight on the unit aiding traction, also if he can lift his axle clear of the ground he’s got more of an advantage.
When your trailer is being loaded, try to get more weight at the front.
As Dennis says, lift the rear suspension on the unit, and if you can, dump the air from the trailer so that it rides on the rear axle moving more weight to the unit.
6x2 artic units are crap at off road work, especially midlifts. Anything with double drive will run rings round 2wd.
Denis F:
I would go easy on the right foot just give it enough rev so you don’t stall
Perhaps its because its quite a steep climb (steep for 44t anyway) because both drivers said the same about flooring it and also ive noticed the bin and skip wagons do it also
Denis F:
if you got air suspension,
Yep bulk standard 03 plate 6 x 2 Daf CF
Denis F:
try lifting the mid axle
Cant mine wont lift when loaded
Denis F:
and pumping more air into the drive axle ( no idea what this does to the suspension - but I haven’t broke mine yet) - should give you a little more weight on the drive axle
Thats just reminded me that the other driver (not one who was with me monday) told me to dump the air dont know why
You can also try pressing the ASR switch (centre panel on dash) this will stop the engine management cutting so much power when it detects wheelspin, it sometimes helps to keep the momentum up!
Denis F:
if you got air suspension, try lifting the mid axle and pumping more air into the drive axle
I’ve always found the exact opposite in that dumping the air from the drive axle give more traction in slippery conditions. 
Used to go on landfill with a vacuum tanker at 44 t got a right telling off for giving it the right foot hard down theory. The roads on landfill are normally ■■■■■■■■ covered in a small covering of rubbish, when you start spinning you should stop and let the dozer pull you up.The ■■■■■■■■ and tyre combination will make you popular with Vosa and the tyre company
When you say you dump the air from drive axle do you actually get the remote control and press the down arrow to dump all the air out of suspension? Because if you do there is no way it would give you better traction! If however you are pressing the weight transfer button on dash (two wheels and a curved arrow pointing from one wheel to the other) this dumps the air from centre axle putting more weight on drive axle and does give more grip.
Reef:
So is there something im missing? Is there a knack i need to know? If you know your stuff please please advise Thanks guys
[quote edited for emphasis]
(and please if you’ve no knowledge of and have never offroaded do us both a favour and save yourself the time and energy by not responding )
The advice you’ve been given is all good, except the words “cart” and “horse” spring to mind.
Health & Safety Law clearly provides for just this situation.
-
There must be a risk assesssment for this activity.
-
Reference to the site owner’s “safe system of work” would explain how this job is to be carried out SAFELY.
If we sort out the “cart” and “horse” and put them in the order that they should be, then what I’ve suggested comes first, then the other good advice comes next.
Beware of the person who says something like “well that’s the way we’ve always done it,” because that MIGHT not be the safest possible way to do it.
That’s why H&S risk assessments are required to be continuously reviewed.
mikermhh:
When you say you dump the air from drive axle do you actually get the remote control and press the down arrow to dump all the air out of suspension?
Yep, that’s exactly what I mean and it has given me more traction, for example where I was unable to move on snow for instance after dumping the air I was able to. A yard I use to run out of required backing into when driving an artic as there was little or no room to turn round. The road you had to reverse down had a nasty camber and slope on it and because a lot of the trucks used to spill diesel from the their tanks when they pulled out, due to drivers overfilling the tanks, traction could be a problem. Reversing in the wet with an empty tail-lift trailer resulted in the wheels spinning as the trailer went down the slope and the unit was still on the flat bit. However, dump the air from the drive axle and away you went. It worked every time without fail.
mikermhh:
If however you are pressing the weight transfer button on dash (two wheels and a curved arrow pointing from one wheel to the other) this dumps the air from centre axle putting more weight on drive axle and does give more grip.
Not if you aint got a centre axle it doesn’t. 
The above examples were with 4x2 units.
marcustandy:
dieseldave:
Health & Safety Law clearly provides for just this situation.
- There must be a risk assesssment for this activity.
That’s why H&S risk assessments are required to be continuously reviewed.
You want to be careful, Dave!!! Health & Safety and Risk Assessments are (very) dirty words to some people on here!!!
A fine observation marcustandy
However, it’s not as dirty as one would get if they were in the doo doo with the HSE, that’s when it stops being funny.
When all’s said and done, I think everybody can see the need for it. It’s only some people that support employers who break the law. Tell you what, how would somebody feel towards that “type” of employer if they were seriously hurt at work?
Would they still have the same sense of loyalty to the firm? I doubt it. All of a sudden, they be after compensation and shouting loudly from the treetops. Why be seen as a turncoat, because that’s just what it would be. The former loyalty turned to enmity. The very definition of “turncoat.”
Play it safe, do the job the right way, then you can live to enjoy your pension.
Play it in some other way, and you might not live to regret it.
Like Clint Eastwood says in a film “do you feel lucky?”
the 8 wheelers going up and down the banks in the mucky bits
Most 8 wheelers are double drive, only a few are 8x2. A nice heavy bogie with 8 wheels for traction.
Wheras yours has got all the weight at the front and what looks like a lightweight body.
montana man:
With a 4 x 2 however the opposite applies i.e. lowering the drive axle to increase traction so if you can gat the mid lift to stay up try lowering the drives a bit as you are now effectivley in 4 x 2 territory
That’s what I do with the 6x2 Scania’s I drive at the moment whenever I encounter traction problems. Up with the centre steer axle and dump the air to the drive, works every time.
mikermhh:
You can also try pressing the ASR switch (centre panel on dash) this will stop the engine management cutting so much power when it detects wheelspin, it sometimes helps to keep the momentum up!
I had to do that in a hire car to get me out of some snow I got stuck in when I visited germany. Floor it and hold on for dear life was my solution.
