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Trailer brake - when I went to uncouple I was stumped at the first hurdle of B for Brake. Apparently, there wasn’t a pull handle, it’s automatic when you pull the suzie lines (is that specifically the red line■■?). So how much do you have to search around for the trailer brake before you assume it’s automatic? Are they all automatic in the sense that if the red line is not connected the trailer brakes are on even if there is a pull handle?
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Lifting axle - in this case there was a mid lift on the unit and I was running empty oop north and 30T darn saff again. Can I just ignore the button on the dash and assume it will sort itself out as required?
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Strapping pallets in a curtainsider - the curtains stated rated XL (or at least so I thought) tried to ascertain what everyone else was doing (not using internals afaik) went to try to use the internals and found the first was trapped (not under a load, but part of the trailer) so I just shut my curtains. When I arrived the TM said I would have lost my licence had I been caught.
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Cruise control - DAF CF 15’plate - cruise ctrl topped out at 51 - I went through all the settings in the rotary wheel / dash menu and couldn’t find any way of changing it. Ran with Eco Off on the gearstick the whole way. The downhill control was set at +8mph to whatever CC was set, so was that my issue? should I have reduced that to +3? I didn’t touch the middle right steering wheel button - was that the solution?
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Overspeed - I have subsequently (and previously participated) in the old threads on here, so am aware of the general consensus that 57-59mph is acceptable unless your specific TM makes it a problem. But I’m not sure if I exceeded 60 or whether I should be worried if I did. Anyway, 5 overspeeds were recorded for the day. Is that too many? or not enough? will post a pic and you can tell me what they say - to me, it looks like they were for zero minutes and no speed recorded.
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I inadvertently pressed some heater button on the dash. I thought it was just heat rising from the engine as I sat there being loaded. Anyway set the Aircon on full the whole way back, only to see the heater switch when I arrived [emoji23]
Thanks for any answers, and hope this helps someone else as they transition from learning to working. 
Hey Stu, hope you enjoyed your first day! Nice of them to give you a decker to start in ha ha.
I will leave the questions to the experienced heads in here, but I wouldn’t worry about the overspeeds.
Also, wondered how you managed to rack up 6 hours of break?
^^^Hi mate, yes it was great on the whole. Steep learning, but good when I settled into it. Both the pickup and drop were close to the motorway network so no more delivering to individual houses and businesses in class 2, or handballing [emoji16]
The 6hrs rest includes from midnight to 5am UTC
Ah yes of course, sorry! Much nicer than handballing for sure
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Most new trailers will automatically apply the trailer brake when the red air line is not connected, but older trailers will not always do this. NEVER assume that trailers brakes either go on or off automatically, always look for the button. It will usually be either at the front by the airlines or on the chassis by the winding handle for the landing legs, however this isn’t always the case so you might have to check round the entire trailers, and if in doubt, ask someone. (Otherwise you could look a bit foolish trying to pull away with the trailer brake still on!)
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Lift axles again are not always automatic and should be raised when running empty, check for the symbol appearing on the dash to see if it has raised/lowered automatically, if not then do it manually by pressing the button.
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Even with an XL trailer, internal straps are only any use for pallets under 400kg, anything heavier legally has to be secured properly, in your case this will be with ratchet straps.
4/5. Many modern wagons will default to eco mode which will mean you can’t set the cruise control to the maximum speed. There will be a button or switch somewhere that you can press to turn it out of eco mode and set the CC to the maximum, again ask other drivers and they will be happy to tell you where it is.
As for overspeeds, ideally you don’t want any, as it shows a failure to properly control the vehicle. This is where you should be using the exhaust brake to slow you down when going downhill.
- Sounds like you’ve put the night heater on, this is normally used to keep the cab warm when the engine is off, as it uses hardly any fuel compared to running the engine, but it’s pointless having it on when the engine is running so remember to turn it off.
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Thank you Terry for the reply, much appreciated. However I am going to post it in the other section in the hope of more answers. As you say, ask other drivers, that’s what I’m trying to do. I did ask one IRL saying it was my first day, he didn’t say a lot more than “so you don’t have a clue?”