Has anyone done any shunting work recently ?
and if so are there any tips or tricks you could pass on, as I have a 12 hour shift tommorow evening 
Should be fun 
If its in a proper tug…
REMEMBER - they use taps on the airline. Remember to turn them on once you’ve hooked up and turn it off before you take the red line off.
Don’t bother winding up trailer legs, just raise the fifth wheel up. REMEMBER that if the place has speed humps, if you raise the front too high, the rear of the trailer will be virtually on the floor so it can hit the speedbump with the bumperbar. This is also important on Radcliff type tail lifts (the ones that don’t fold under) where if you lift it too high, the vertical runners dig into the ground or hit speed humps.
When dropping your trailer…
Reverse to where you’re going to drop it. Pull off red line. Press button to release fifth wheel lock then slowly drive forward and as you’re driving forward, lower the fifth wheel. After a bit of practice, you’ll get it to the point where the legs are landing on the ground just as the fifth wheel clears the trailer.
DO NOT lower the fifth wheel with the brakes on on the tug as you’ve basically got the fifth wheel pushing back on the pin whilst the trailer is pushing forward on it. Doesn’t do the tug or the trailer any good.
Also…if you reverse up to a bumper bar in the trailer park, pull forward a bit so the rear mudflaps clear it. That way if the air drops out of the suspension, when moron driver picks picks it up and pulls off with the suspension still on its knees, it wont rip the mudguard off.
If a trailer has a soft/flat tyre, please report it so it can be fixed before a driver picks it up. 
A tug has an unbelievably small turning circle so is way more manouverable when reversing than a unit. Makes reversing a breeze.
dont envy you having to do shunting
i am doing that at the moment cant wait to get out of there.
if you need experience,thats the job to get it on .just avoid nightshift in an rdc.
Where abouts is the job mate?
Conor:
If its in a proper tug…
Like this one…
Shunting in a normal unit is a nightmare.
I know.i do it 5 nights a week.In a 4 series scania.up and down all night long.
Tonyb
Many years ago, I was a yard shunter for Asda at Whitwood. We used a road legal FL10 and lifted trailers with the air suspension…who needs a Terberg Tuggie? No problems at all…all the trailers had to be no more than 3 inches apart or we’d never have got them all in the yard!
Happy daze!
A few years back, I remember sitting at Cairnryan waiting for my trailer and I was fascinated by the tugs they used.
They looked pretty much normal when driving forwards with a trailer…but when on the return trip back into the boat, the shunter had spun his seat round and was effectively driving forwards…but the tug was facing backwards…ie the shunter was driving forwards looking over the fifth wheel.
How do they work then?
I have just done a few months part time shunting. On a normal tug i was fine but when in a unit it was murder. 100 times a day climbing in and out has left my knee in pain 
Shrek:
Many years ago, I was a yard shunter for Asda at Whitwood. We used a road legal FL10 and lifted trailers with the air suspension…who needs a Terberg Tuggie? No problems at all…all the trailers had to be no more than 3 inches apart or we’d never have got them all in the yard!Happy daze!
Nearly the same for me - 18 years old, no licence, night yard shunter for National Carriers Leicester - trailer space was so tight that they had ‘rubbing strips’ on the side of all their trailers - the shunter unit was a Ford D series scammell unit which took a fifth wheel plate attachment on top and ran on red diesel
Was fun doing a year of shunting 40 footers with single rear (I mean right at the rear 
) axle, scammell 15 foot trailers and rigids especially with pillars every 25 feet - no expanse roofs on buildings in those days
Shrek:
Many years ago, I was a yard shunter for Asda at Whitwood. We used a road legal FL10 and lifted trailers with the air suspension…who needs a Terberg Tuggie? No problems at all…all the trailers had to be no more than 3 inches apart or we’d never have got them all in the yard!Happy daze!
When you’re doing 40-50 trailer movements a shift, a Terberg is a godsend.
One point with tugs.
Never used one but an agency driver in our yard was driving one, went under pin with 5th wheel down and failed to connect properley.
climbed onto catwalk and put his red line on whilst his foot was on the edge of the 5thwheel.
Airline connects and trailer brakes release causing trailer to kick forward as air suspension had dropped.
pin then dropped onto 5thwheel and trapped his foot, result ,no foot !
Shunting… I hate it!!!