King Pin Question

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
41

catalanboy:
correct procedure for coupling up should be raising the unit to the correct height reversing slowly under trailer , hearing bar clunck and lock and shunt unit twice forward , then getting your torch and doing a visual check underneath the trailer to make sure bar is completely across kingpin. I was taught all these safety measures by the best training school In the country tate & lyle silvertown before h&s was invented back in the 70s… sadly no longer around.

Spot on.
I was taught to do it that way by my Dad.

42

catalanboy:
correct procedure for coupling up should be raising the unit to the correct height reversing slowly under trailer , hearing bar clunck and lock and shunt unit twice forward , then getting your torch and doing a visual check underneath the trailer to make sure bar is completely across kingpin. I was taught all these safety measures by the best training school In the country tate & lyle silvertown before h&s was invented back in the 70s… sadly no longer around.

I’ve done assessments in poorly lit areas before, and part of my coupling checks would be to shine my torch around underneath to see there was no gap between the 5th wheel and underside of the trailer.

After passing the assessment, I’ve been told that "I fail a lot of people that come in here, not for omitting that check, but for not producing a torch when one is clearly needed in this yard to make that check."

Remember your torch folks - it is a legal requirement to carry one with you “at work”. :sunglasses:
“Poorly Lit” can mean “heavy shade in daytime” as well as pretty much anywhere at night. Most assessments are done in daytime, which might lead some to thinking that their “torch is not required on days”. You’ve still gotta carry one though. :wink:

43

Winseer:
Remember your torch folks - it is a legal requirement to carry one with you “at work”. :sunglasses:

Seriously? I’ve never read or been told this!

44

This has been covered on the thread here: Torch in cab - THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE) - Trucknet UK

Part of your roadside checks is to do things that are not possible in poor or no light - even in daytime.
Ever had trouble reading through that clouded plastic cover to see things like MOT writing for instance?
Without a torch it’s all too easy to just say "Naw. Can’t read a word of that smudge… I’ll just tick the “MOT VALID?” box as OK…
Then when I get pulled up by VOSA, they’ll ask me why you didn’t check your MOT, which they know you’ve not done, because they can’t read it themselves…
At this point, you say “I can’t read it without a strong light source” and your face sags as they hand you a £60 FPN… :grimacing:

Ergo: Did you get a fine for not having a torch, or not doing your roadside checks properly, unable to do so because you didn’t have a torch?
…Or are you going to admit “driving without due care and attention” and get an endorsement into the bargain? :open_mouth:

A really nice grey area this one isn’t it?

Here’s the magazine referred to in the thread, for those of you that cannot open PDFs…

Magazine.jpg
Magazine.jpg658×930 89.8 KB

I think it’s a lot stronger for “being a requirement to carry a torch” than that old wind-up joke about £60 fine per turn made of the landing legs handle eh? :smiley:

45

A rather clever advertising ploy to sell torches I reckon, doesn’t anyone carry a ■■■ lighter or own a car? I have a torch on my mobile phone, doesn’t everyone?

I have read a couple of posts saying “I always get under the trailer”, but does everyone know what they are looking for?

someone else mentioned that you cannot wind a loaded trailer up on the landing legs, well the legs have not changed through my career but the suspension certainly has, when we had leaf springs, it was the only choice, unless of course you had dropped it on its nose and the legs have gone through the ■■■■■■■■ :slight_smile:

46

There’s a difference between a loaded trailer that’s a bit low to get under and one that’s been dropped on it’s knees though.

47

After watching a Jost video about 5th wheels and how they work (like a real sad act swat i know) I took the videos advice and check the Locking bar is across behind the pin and the pin not wedge on top somehow. I was never taught that on my training or on the job training back in t’ day

48

I tried raising a fully loaded trailer on low gear on the landing legs, as with air dumped the trailer was too low to not guarantee it wouldn’t clip mudguards on a nice new unit. I couldn’t budge it. Maybe it’s my puny strength but felt like the bar would bend before trailer would move. The shunter lifted it out of the dirt

49

I should clarify that when I say I wasn’t taught that I was taught to rely on the tug test and handle displacing inwards

50

Wheel Nut:
doesn’t anyone carry a ■■■ lighter

I’ve always found that a ■■■ Lighter is good for checking the Diesel Tank or even better- the ‘Petrol Tank’ :unamused:
Certainly confirms that there’s Petrol (or Fumes in the tank :laughing: ) WOOF !

51

Winseer:
The only bad habit I ever picked up with coupling up, was sometimes forgetting to jump out of the tractor before going under, to check the trailer brake was on…

More than once I’ve gone under, lifted it up with the suspension as I do, only to find I start pushing the whole thing back a foot before realising the red and blue buttons are both pushed in… :blush: :blush:

I never go under when anything or anyone is behind a trailer though, so no harm done.

:open_mouth: I’ve yet come across that thankfully, all our trailers are either backed onto a raised loading bay or we don’t drop them except for parking them up at the weekend in which case if we didn’t put the brake on we’d be picking them out of a swamp :laughing:

My procedure for dropping is back onto the bay parking brakes on, wind the legs down collect & stow the number plate, unclip the dog-clip & pull the king pin release, uncouple the suzis, draw forward a wee bit drop the unit suspension and ease out from under the trailer.

Hooking up is back up to the trailer, drop the suspension once the 5th wheel is just under the trailer raise the suspension so the unit is taking the weight of the trailer (makes it a lot easier to wind the legs up too) and back on to engage the king pin, check the position of the release lever and fit the dog-clip then walk under and check the locking bar on my way to raise the legs and release the brakes, back to the unit and put the suspension into ‘travel’ connect the suzis and fit the number plate.

The problems come in a normal single decker unit and the trailer was dropped by an old type decker unit and the trailer is up in the sky, have had to back partially under and wind the trailer down on the low gear until the weight is on the 5th wheel, no big deal but if you’re not looking for that then it’s easy to under-run the king pin & crunch the side deflecters, which I did the first time this happened :blush: :unamused: but only a little as I back on fairly gently.

Given winseers comment I may have to revise my routine, i.e. check the trailer brake before I back under

52

I was trained BLACK when dropping the trailer. brakes, legs, air lines, clip, kingpin.

And the opposite way when coupling up.

When coupling I back under the trailer until the 5th wheel is under the trailer, raise the suspension to the top then back under listening for the fontaine handle sliding across, perform the tug test, fit clip in and check the kingpin is correctly secured. Connect the airlines, wind the legs up and then knock the park brake off.

Uncoupling I back onto the bay, dump the air, apply the park brakes, wind the legs down, remove air lines etc, take the clip out and pull the fontaine handle out. Pull forwards slightly then lower the suspension on the unit and pull forward.

53

Sorry to bring up an old thread but Im a bit worried. Was doing my first run for a while yesterday (still a newbie really), picked up the trailer fine in the morning but when I came to drop it back off I did all the correct bits except I accidentally did the opposite to this and instead partly lowered the unit suspension off the kingpin then pulled away from the trailer. Stupid mistake but just wondering if I could have caused any damage doing it that way? :confused:

54

djt1881:
Sorry to bring up an old thread but Im a bit worried. Was doing my first run for a while yesterday (still a newbie really), picked up the trailer fine in the morning but when I came to drop it back off I did all the correct bits except I accidentally did the opposite to this and instead partly lowered the unit suspension off the kingpin then pulled away from the trailer. Stupid mistake but just wondering if I could have caused any damage doing it that way? :confused:

No problem with starting a new thread, even on an old subject. It happens. . .frequently.
Now what do you think you may have done wrong? Are you saying you lowered the unit suspension before pulling the handle? If so, dont worry, it may put a bit of strain on the pin but itll be within limits. If there was all the weight of the unit hanging on the pin it`d be a “hard tug”!

55

djt1881:
Sorry to bring up an old thread but Im a bit worried. Was doing my first run for a while yesterday (still a newbie really), picked up the trailer fine in the morning but when I came to drop it back off I did all the correct bits except I accidentally did the opposite to this and instead partly lowered the unit suspension off the kingpin then pulled away from the trailer. Stupid mistake but just wondering if I could have caused any damage doing it that way? :confused:

Almost impossible to do any harm to the king pin like that, i will be lowering the air when i drop a loaded trailer before i move forward to clear the pin, even when fully lowered when loaded the chances are that you won’t actually clear the rubbing plate entirely anyway unless you’ve raised the suspension before winding the legs down and dropping.
If you were dropping an empty yes you could clear it but the weight involved wouldn’t bother the king pin in the slightest.

Just to re-enforce the above posts, i always shine me torch up the fifth wheel’s bum to check the pin is located correctly, and i still do this even if my lorry is already loaded for me (most of the time) and the trailer has more than likely been on the back for several days, that way i KNOW the trailer is located properly and it aint coming adrift in my care.

The reason for this is i’ve known a driver drag an empty curtain sider near enough 200 miles only to have it bounce off along the London embankment, the king pin sitting on the closed jaws for the entire M4 journey thankfully no bump severe enough to chuck it off :open_mouth: , now had the trailer been loaded he could easily have driven to Inverness, reloaded and returned back to base with the trailer not connected for the best part of a week’s driving :blush:

56

^^^ Unlikely Dipper will leave that post alone :laughing:

■■■■■■■■… The clown has ruined my post :frowning:

57

eagerbeaver:
^^^ Unlikely Dipper will leave that post alone :laughing:

■■■■■■■■… The clown has ruined my post :frowning:

Ive slipped an edit in.. I could have said Ive slipped a red one I s`pose but…

58

Welshman:
Here’s one I had to lift this week ! he didn’t miss the pin but dropped it with about 27 ton of steel on soft ground.

That a Keedwell trailer?

59

Not as far as I can see, No

60

One thing I always question here in the far outdated USA is why we don’t have dog tags on the fith wheel ? I have dropped a couple of empty trailers during winter after travelling a few miles. When hooking up during winter here I now make sure there is no trace of snow on the mechanism and after backing under I always get a torch and shine underneath to see that the jaws are fully closed, the fact that the handle has returned completely to the ‘coupled’ position means nothing.