Hi guys,
Please could anyone confirm for my education the corrcet use, action, requirement for the ‘Shunt Button’ on the trailer.
Cheers
J
My understanding is that its there to overcome any failure of the air system, so that the trailer can be moved (off a bay for example) to maintenance
Jim
Well I’ve learnt something never knew what that was for…now if it had a big red sign near sayin DO NOT PUSH, well then I would have
Yep, i have heard that it is used for that, if the lorry brakes down etc, i believe its also used at depots to move trailers round with the ‘shunters’, not sure how it works in conjunction with the trailer brake and red air line etc…and should i be using it?
J
As has been said, once it’s pushed it releases the brakes, making the trailer movable without needing to connect the red line. The brakes are re-applied by pulling it back out. Should only use it as it says…to shunt a trailer out the way of another etc. Once the red line is back on the valve resets. Pretty sure that it pops out again auto if once dropped you forget to pull the shunt button out.
This link has more about it:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10587&hilit=shunt+button
Chopsticks:
As has been said, once it’s pushed it releases the brakes, making the trailer movable without needing to connect the red line. The brakes are re-applied by pulling it back out. Should only use it as it says…to shunt a trailer out the way of another etc. Once the red line is back on the valve resets. Pretty sure that it pops out again auto if once dropped you forget to pull the shunt button out.This link has more about it:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10587&hilit=shunt+button
Nope, the brakes will still be off. Nothing quite as amusing as a trailer going for a jolly round the yard when you pull the pin 
get under your trl the way you do it,put the clip on jack unit up,wind your legs up a couple of turns just in case the ground is un-even,push shunt button it will only work if there is air in the tanks,if it dosn’t put your red line on.if it does, move your trl to where ever,level your unit out,wind your legs down a couple of times,pull the park brake, do your clip pull the pin.
im assuming you know to put handbrake on in the cab before you leave it.
im assuming you no how to use park button on trl and to check it
using your clip or not is down to you
winding your legs up or down is up to you
pullin your red line off after putting it on is down to you
using the air to lift trl up as you are picking or dropping a trl is up to you
but you will thank the driver if he has,as the legs tend to wind up better, some drivers are stupid and tug forward with 26 pallets of heavy whatever and bend the legs you know the ones, the unit looks like its straining at the leash and jerking forward complete with lots of needless reving and a very loud bang as they hit the pin, the airkit, back of cab, them two blobs of grease on the trl thats someone who dont use the air suspension properly and hit the trl with the 5th wheel,they usually have a hi viz coat with one yellow arm and one black,normal drivers just slide under, lift the trl using the air controls which vary truck to truck,you will hear 2 distinct clicks all normal wagon drivers know the noise as they have learnt to feel it and hear it as they are not goin under the trl like they are going to beat it to death.oh sometimes they bend them right back coz they forgot to wind the legs up,always someone elses fault, init. 
It will also only work if the trailer has enough air in the tanks. If the air drops below a certain limit, you need to use the red air line.
it’s very handy for those of us on W & D’s with tight access to farms, drop the trailer and hitch a farmers tractor then push the shunt button and they can take the drag in places you would never get 
( only do this with a farmer you trust though!! )
On mine the button pops out when you attach the red line.
Denis F:
it’s very handy for those of us on W & D’s with tight access to farms, drop the trailer and hitch a farmers tractor then push the shunt button and they can take the drag in places you would never getOn mine the button pops out when you attach the red line.
LOL been there done that. Only need to once though, dropped trailer. Got truck turned round went passed trailer up drive a bit. Got in teleporter and spun the trailer through 180 degrees in a couple of goes.
Cheers guys, great info, much appreciated.
J
i did a couple of deliveries to b and q (i think it was them anyway)couple of weeks ago, and you turn in a very tight turning circle in the yard, you have to jackknife round to turn, so to save stretching the airlines to their limit and possibly breaking them, i took all the lines off, pressed the shunt button on the trailer and turned until i got straight again, then put my unstretched airlines back on, by putting them back on it knocks the shunt button back off.
So basically if you are going to do a very tight turn, take your airlines off and press shunt button to save your airlines.
You will often see it used in yards where the firm use a lot of Wag & Drags and they use a fork-lift to shunt trailers on and off bays, I see it a lot in a Tuffnells depot…
use a name:
get under your trl the way you do it,put the clip on jack unit up,wind your legs up a couple of turns just in case the ground is un-even,push shunt button it will only work if there is air in the tanks,if it dosn’t put your red line on.if it does, move your trl to where ever,level your unit out,wind your legs down a couple of times,pull the park brake, do your clip pull the pin.
im assuming you know to put handbrake on in the cab before you leave it.
im assuming you no how to use park button on trl and to check it
using your clip or not is down to you
winding your legs up or down is up to you
pullin your red line off after putting it on is down to you
using the air to lift trl up as you are picking or dropping a trl is up to you
but you will thank the driver if he has,as the legs tend to wind up better, some drivers are stupid and tug forward with 26 pallets of heavy whatever and bend the legs you know the ones, the unit looks like its straining at the leash and jerking forward complete with lots of needless reving and a very loud bang as they hit the pin, the airkit, back of cab, them two blobs of grease on the trl thats someone who dont use the air suspension properly and hit the trl with the 5th wheel,they usually have a hi viz coat with one yellow arm and one black,normal drivers just slide under, lift the trl using the air controls which vary truck to truck,you will hear 2 distinct clicks all normal wagon drivers know the noise as they have learnt to feel it and hear it as they are not goin under the trl like they are going to beat it to death.oh sometimes they bend them right back coz they forgot to wind the legs up,always someone elses fault, init.
And now in English?
Explain
Why my company fits a shunt button, when they are fitted with an automatic park brake, which applies the red button as soon as the red air line is released.
Meaning you can only use the shunt button when the red air line is on and over rides the need for a shunt button 
I worked, for 3 months, as a shunt driver and the Shunt button allows the trailer to be moved without ANY cables or Suzzi leads. I always attached the emergency break connector and did not use the Shunt button. There were too many people walking around, and cars driving through, the yard to be safe!
The Shunt button is used for …shunting, 
How hard can it be?
Work Shy:
ExplainWhy my company fits a shunt button, when they are fitted with an automatic park brake, which applies the red button as soon as the red air line is released.
Meaning you can only use the shunt button when the red air line is on and over rides the need for a shunt button
Ours are like that just push both the shunt and parking brake button in to move
the old alternative to move it was to scramble underneath the trailer and open the drain valve, then 3 days later watch someone sit for 2 hours revving the nuts off the unit until they realised the valve was still open
Shunt Button.
I’m not a wagon driver and I’m no mechanic either. I work in Health and Safety. Ohhh … here we go, I hear you all say. Although I wouldn’t dream of trying to tell you how to do you job, far from it, I would like to tell you of my recent experience with a Shunt Button. So, here goes:
We had a very near miss with a Wagon & Drag the other day where a trailer with a fully loaded box set off down our yard and impacted the building. The draw bar went straight through the cladding and breeze block wall. This resulted in substantial damage to the box, the building, some equipment and a vehicle inside. More to the point, a mechanic working inside the building had moved away from the impact area just moments before. Had he still been there, he could very well be dead now. The shunt button had been used as a short cut to help adjust the level of the trailer, rather than manipulate the brakes or air suspension at the cab. The raise/lower valve wouldn’t quite take the trailer high enough to get the box legs off the ground in one go so, rather than take the time to go to the cab, the driver kicked the red line off and pushed the shunt button which released some pressure on the axle allowing the wheels to articulate slightly and the trailer/box to raise a couple of inches. A simple fix to a simple problem you might say. As he was leaving the box where it was, no need to couple up the lines so, pop the pin, in the cab he jumps and off he goes, jobs a good’n. However, he’d neglected to pull the shunt button back out. So, as he pulled off and turned to the right, the trailer set off on it’s merry journey with no way of stopping it.
The driver is now in a disciplinary and could lose his job.
The FTA say that the shunt button should “under no circumstances” be used for anything other than shunting and maintenance.
I know there are different circumstances, and I know Artics are different.
Don’t be fooled by the shunt button. Don’t use it. Always couple and hitch up properly.