I’m just curious to know how many of you lift your trailer while you hooking up with your unit so you get a good connection onto your 5 th wheel? Is it bad or good practice as I do it most days?
i back under the trailer to get the plate under the front, then lift the suspension to raise the legs off the ground, it stops any potential damage to the legs when you give it the tug to make sure you are connected
suspension down, go under then lift suspension, then fully back under once lifted. was told it stops the trailer legs getting bent
selby newcomer:
suspension down, go under then lift suspension, then fully back under once lifted. was told it stops the trailer legs getting bent
+1
happysack:
selby newcomer:
suspension down, go under then lift suspension, then fully back under once lifted. was told it stops the trailer legs getting bent+1
- 2
shuttlespanker:
i back under the trailer to get the plate under the front, then lift the suspension to raise the legs off the ground, it stops any potential damage to the legs when you give it the tug to make sure you are connected
Tis the only way, but it can all be done in one movement, as the fifth wheel goes under the plate, you start to lift until you hear that satisfying click. No need to stop and think!
Always do it as I work nights, trailers are generally fully loaded and in a dark area so if I’m not dead straight onto the coupling there’s a horrible grating sound as the legs get shunted sideways - lifting the trailer beforehand means the coupling slides in easily & quietly, plus I then know I haven’t got to struggle when winding up the legs. s’simple 
!
I find that most of the time as i reverse under the trailer that my unit is higher than the trailer so lift’s it’s legs clear , but where it don’t i usually will raise the ride hight so that it does, due to the fact that it’s easier to wind up the landing gear with no weight on it, as for bending the legs, if that happens then either the parking brake wasn’t set /checked first or it isn’t working as it should , if the later then that would not be pilot error,but a defect unless of course the red(emergency) Suzie was connected before hand 
Wheel Nut:
shuttlespanker:
i back under the trailer to get the plate under the front, then lift the suspension to raise the legs off the ground, it stops any potential damage to the legs when you give it the tug to make sure you are connectedTis the only way, but it can all be done in one movement, as the fifth wheel goes under the plate, you start to lift until you hear that satisfying click. No need to stop and think!
This^
tallyman:
Always do it as I work nights, trailers are generally fully loaded and in a dark area so if I’m not dead straight onto the coupling there’s a horrible grating sound as the legs get shunted sideways - lifting the trailer beforehand means the coupling slides in easily & quietly, plus I then know I haven’t got to struggle when winding up the legs. s’simple
Its how the Trailer is dropped.
We got said to leave 2 or 3 Inches from Trailer Legs to Ground,lower Suspension and drive out.
First is it easy to load Roll Cages as they dont run back when Trailer front is high,and second its easy and safe to pick them up,even if Suspension of Tractor is lowered.
Then, 
some of our Trailers have the King Pin on the Front,you would bypass if you have not the right high from begining.And bypass a Kingpin gives lots of Fat on your Clothes,as you cant pull out anymore
bald bloke:
happysack:
selby newcomer:
suspension down, go under then lift suspension, then fully back under once lifted. was told it stops the trailer legs getting bent+1
- 2
+3
reduces the risk of overshooting the pin, stops the leading edge of the trailer scraping all the grease off the 5th wheel and smothering the airline couplings (as it does if the plate is pitched downwards) and makes the legs alot easier to wind up
every time. it the only way to do it imo. and to lower it when pulling out. 
we all do it. but you have now created a problem.
some arswipe will read this, then relay it to junior management, they will relay this to senior management.
then the health and safety man will be informed, he will find a problem with it, you will get a memo, iran will be invaded, europe will be on the brink of war. we will win the war, we will give our country to europe, we will all be [zb]ed sensless, but you will never be allowed to lift a trailer in a sensible manner again.
Lower the suspension on the way back,(prevents hitting front of a low trailer and pushing grease off the turntable & making a mess) then as you get under raise and click,tug to make sure,check fully raised & hopefully the legs will be clear of the ground. As wheelnut says,it can all be done in one swift steady movement.
Dropping (don’t know why so many firms tell their drivers to leave the legs a few inches off the ground,mind you most places I’ve worked haven’t had silly,imho uneccesary, lead up ramps on the tractors anyway) I wind the legs down 'til they just contact the ground or plate,whichever they’re going to sit on,lines etc off & as she slips off the pin,air,down & watch the trailer settle,again it leaves the grease where it should be,no damage to trailer,legs or load from dropping to the ground & tractor air bags can’t pop off their seals due to sudden inflation caused by lack of imposed weight.
Just be careful, though, that by lowering the tractor suspension, you don’t miss the pin altogether. This is a special risk with loaded trailers, where there suspension may have lost some air and settled, causing the front to lift.
wildfire:
bald bloke:
happysack:
selby newcomer:
suspension down, go under then lift suspension, then fully back under once lifted. was told it stops the trailer legs getting bent+1
- 2
+3
+4
Most LGV training schools have air suspension units but do not use this method as the DSA test does not require it
This could be because there are still units out there which do not have this and so do it the ‘old way’
Perhaps the test will change in the future when virtually all the non air suspension units have gone - same as they did for double-de-clutching on test
You’re lazy or nuts if you don’t do it.
Always do it apart from damage to the legs it’s also much quieter. Lifting a fully loaded trailer with brute force into the 5th wheel creates that lovely bang sleeping drivers like so much.