What is the reason for damaged mudguards when uncoupling a arctic,vehicle set up?, driver mistake?, driver incompetence? Or a combination. Any other reasons??
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Not using the air suspension properly, that long dangly thing by the drivers seat.
Boris1971:
What is the reason for damaged mudguards when uncoupling a arctic,vehicle set up?, driver mistake?, driver incompetence? Or a combination. Any other reasons??Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mudguard damage where? On their tops? If so, as the other guy says - not lowering unit suspension when coupling/upcoupling (also not winding trailer legs fully down to the ground) so the trailer fouls them as you go in/out. Usually done by older drivers who still think it’s 1980 and the trucks are still on springs.
It’s one of my pet hates and if I was running a transport company it would be instant dismissal if I saw any of my drivers coupling/uncoupling like that. It’s why so few companies have colour coded mud guards because the drivers wreck them in 2 seconds.
And all the grease from the trailer on the top of the mudguards so when you use a brush to clean them ,the brush is covered in grease .
Tarmaceater:
And all the grease from the trailer on the top of the mudguards so when you use a brush to clean them ,the brush is covered in grease .
Yep, that, plus all the trailer grease being dumped in dog eggs all over the chassis around the fifth wheel and on the catwalk itself which would get on your boots then all over the cab and your car if you don’t spot it. 
Driver incompetence. You’re supposed to drop the suspension so that it both puts the weight on the landling legs gently before you pull out so they’re not being dropped on the floor which bends them and that the front edge of the trailer doesn’t rip or pull off the rear axle mudguards.
If you’ve ever wound up the legs on a trailer and they’ve got to a point where they start to get stiff it’s because they’ve been bent both by morons who don’t lift up the suspension enough to make sure they’re off the floor when going under them and who don’t lower the suspension when pulling out so 10-15 tonnes of weight is just instantly dropped on them.
Conor:
Driver incompetence. You’re supposed to drop the suspension so that it both puts the weight on the landling legs gently before you pull out so they’re not being dropped on the floor which bends them and that the front edge of the trailer doesn’t rip or pull off the rear axle mudguards.If you’ve ever wound up the legs on a trailer and they’ve got to a point where they start to get stiff it’s because they’ve been bent both by morons who don’t lift up the suspension enough to make sure they’re off the floor when going under them and who don’t lower the suspension when pulling out so 10-15 tonnes of weight is just instantly dropped on them.
Why drop suspension when uncoupling if legs are wound down to floor? And why will 10-15 tonnes drop on them if they are touching floor. And to clarify this is a ? Not a judgement on your methods.
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The beauty of dropping air suspension is that you can lay the whole weight of a loaded trailer onto the ground, gently, and the trailer fully self supporting with chassis forming its slight curve as some do when disconnected loaded, whilst you still have the safety of the tractor unit underneath, so if anything were to fail as you dropped it (leg, foot, ground) you have the chance of saving a catastrophy…thinking of those pics of trailer tipping fully nose down when loaded with say half a dozen heavy pallets at the front of an otherwise empty.
By the way, answering the jibe against older drivers in an above post, you will never see me going underneath a trailer with raised suspenion (unless its an empty i myself dropped previously when i know i can slide in and just riase it gently before actual hitch up) and you’ll never see me pull out without dropping suspension fully either.
Without fail the recent various pin misses ripped out airlines and other damage typical of negligent practices recently has been entirely the result of under 40’s rushing around like their arse is on fire, not to mention the grease wiped up the front of the rubbing plate and all over the catwalk especially after service 
, this is not to say older drivers can’t and won’t make mistakes but we aint that stupid that we still think we’re on steel springs.
Boris1971:
Conor:
Driver incompetence. You’re supposed to drop the suspension so that it both puts the weight on the landling legs gently before you pull out so they’re not being dropped on the floor which bends them and that the front edge of the trailer doesn’t rip or pull off the rear axle mudguards.If you’ve ever wound up the legs on a trailer and they’ve got to a point where they start to get stiff it’s because they’ve been bent both by morons who don’t lift up the suspension enough to make sure they’re off the floor when going under them and who don’t lower the suspension when pulling out so 10-15 tonnes of weight is just instantly dropped on them.
Why drop suspension when uncoupling if legs are wound down to floor? And why will 10-15 tonnes drop on them if they are touching floor. And to clarify this is a ? Not a judgement on your methods.
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A loaded trailer nose will still drop even if the legs are wound down 
Where I used to work we loaded with cement board cladding and tile board with most full loads weighing in it 25T upwards 
if you didn’t raise the suspension then lower the
Legs then drop the suspension you would rip the mudguards and rear lights off
the place i work at the shunters drop the trailers at those high heights they can achieve 
and you can see the legs just slam to the ground with no care in the world
TruckDriverBen:
the place i work at the shunters drop the trailers at those high heights they can achieveand you can see the legs just slam to the ground with no care in the world
Shunters are a special breed with should be avoided at all costs
blue estate:
TruckDriverBen:
the place i work at the shunters drop the trailers at those high heights they can achieveand you can see the legs just slam to the ground with no care in the world
Shunters are a special breed with should be avoided at all costs
Why do either of you presume that shunters have any interaction with trailer legs? Serious question guys.
the maoster:
blue estate:
TruckDriverBen:
the place i work at the shunters drop the trailers at those high heights they can achieveand you can see the legs just slam to the ground with no care in the world
Shunters are a special breed with should be avoided at all costs
Why do either of you presume that shunters have any interaction with trailer legs? Serious question guys.
I do not , I’ve seen them pick up a trailer , raise the fifth wheel and go for it
Absolutely mate. I shunt once every 13 weeks for a week and trust me, the only time I touch trailer legs is on the odd occasion that a Scania driving subbie has dropped one of our trailers and it looks like it’s pointing to the moon. Otherwise I leave the legs exactly as the previous driver has dropped it. I do enough work when shunting without ■■■■■■■ about with trailer legs just to upset other drivers.
Low fifth wheels,knacker them,aswell.
Especially when close coupled.
Being skidless causes damage to the tops of the mud guards.
Having skids will stop this happening.
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Oh no, for a certain someone hitching up his way and only his way is one of his obsessions
Boris1971:
Why drop suspension when uncoupling if legs are wound down to floor? And why will 10-15 tonnes drop on them if they are touching floor. And to clarify this is a ? Not a judgement on your methods.
Because there’s still some slack in the gearbox in the landing legs and the fifth wheel is also supporting the weight of the load in front of the landing legs until you pull out. It’s not a system designed to have a sudden load placed upon it.
We run at 43.5 tonnes when loaded with chipboard which is loaded in three stacks of two 4.5 tonne packs. There’s a 9 tonne stack in front of the landing legs. When you pull out from under the trailer you can see the front of the trailer bend down because of the weight.
The sign of a good driver is if their fifth wheel is flat after they’ve unhitched 
.
Gouged mud guard tops, fifth wheel grease on the ramps and dog eggs all over the chassis and catwalk = useless thick [zb].
You can tell at a glance what sort of driver someone is by looking at his air lines, if they’re a tangled mess then his wingtops will be manky, and vice versa.