I was told never to run with skelly closed to 20ft position. empty running only, i don’t know about not being legal but as a previous comment it takes the weight off the kingpin /fith wheel. as for the 5 axle splitter trailer i have used them and the front two axles of the trailer should be raised for travelling so i would think the driver of the redburn/deben
outfit was lacking some instructions■■?
sorry to ask a stupid question BUT what is the point of having a sliding skelly if you don’t/can’t/wouldn’t want to use it in the shortened position?
if you got a 20ft box on the stretched out trailer, how would it get tipped if you were backed onto a bay? you have to shorten it so the back of the box is at the bay doors.
It slides so that a middle postioned 20’ box can be slid to the back to enable unloading/loading. If it didn’t slide the doors would be ten feet from the back of the trailer.
mucker85:
sorry to ask a stupid question BUT what is the point of having a sliding skelly if you don’t/can’t/wouldn’t want to use it in the shortened position?
back up as close to the bay/ramp as possible then shorten the trailer.
ah, that makes sense. my only expeiance of boxes is lifting and shifting with hiab’s.
Think people are discussing running with the box like…
instead of …
Personally I always ran with it in its normal position. I was always told its running rules and regulations but
GEEK ALERT I loved being able to slide it so was never lazy on my side
do some not have a sticker on the chassis telling you what positions for what box size ? i’m sure i’ve seen one where it tells not to run in the closed position and not to raise any axle while closed up. 
hitch:
So in conclusion mostly company policy bans it (wisely it seems)
What would make it illegal would be over weight axles
Its not illegal (assuming its empty) and you wouldn’t have overweight axles. I always ran empty like that (maybe i’m stupid and lazy ! 
) I never had any problems. And i’m not seeing any issues as mentioned above.
glenman:
do some not have a sticker on the chassis telling you what positions for what box size ? i’m sure i’ve seen one where it tells not to run in the closed position and not to raise any axle while closed up.
so it does say not to run in the closed position.
glenman:
so it does say not to run in the closed position.
It says only take off in 1st gear in my truck but i never do !!!
i was always told not only never run with the trailer shortened but try and avoid turning too. line up, shorten, back onto the bay and stretch it out again as soon as i can. apparently there are stability issues when it is closed up which does make sense
i have pulled a 20 foot skellie once and havent even seen another 1 (not a split chassis with 5 axles). it was so old that it didnt have side markers and only had 3 suzie sockets
scanny77:
i was always told not only never run with the trailer shortened but try and avoid turning too. line up, shorten, back onto the bay and stretch it out again as soon as i can. apparently there are stability issues when it is closed up which does make sensei have pulled a 20 foot skellie once and havent even seen another 1 (not a split chassis with 5 axles). it was so old that it didnt have side markers and only had 3 suzie sockets
They used to be the in thing for shifting 20’ lift tanks, quite a few scary moments with them I can tell you 
Mike-C:
hitch:
So in conclusion mostly company policy bans it (wisely it seems)
What would make it illegal would be over weight axlesIts not illegal (assuming its empty) and you wouldn’t have overweight axles. I always ran empty like that (maybe i’m stupid and lazy !
This ^.
This thread comes up approx every 6 months. There is nothing illegal about running in the closed position but only a stupid person would run with a loaded 20’ in that position as there’d be BIG weight distribution and stability issues, not to mention screwed tyres if running with axle 1 down. Like Mike, I’d always run with it closed up if empty (+ axle 1 lifted) and never once had any weight, stability or traction problems in the several years I was doing boxes. When empty they handle just as well closed as they do extended under normal driving conditions, imho.
Companies that ban their drivers from running like that clearly don’t have any faith in their driver’s abilities.
I remember when I did a month for Roadways and I was on the Ciba night trunk loading IBCs in 20’ boxes on their high and short 20’ tandem skellies 
. Those required a far steadier hand when driving than a 20’ on a 30’ skellie.
Mike-C:
glenman:
so it does say not to run in the closed position.It says only take off in 1st gear in my truck but i never do !!!
ooooh you rebel you
I bet you swallowed your chewing gum, ran in the corridors and did bombs in the swimming baths eh Mike
billybigrig:
Mike-C:
glenman:
so it does say not to run in the closed position.It says only take off in 1st gear in my truck but i never do !!!
ooooh you rebel you
I bet you swallowed your chewing gum, ran in the corridors and did bombs in the swimming baths eh Mike
Yeah, and i smoke in it and blow rings !!!
loads of crap spouted on this subject so far, running in the closed position will not be illegal until the weight in the the box gets higher, ie 25/26/27/28 ton which will take a 3 axle unit and a 3 axle trailer close to the 44 ton limit where the axle spead is an issue, when it comes to law as there is a minimum distance between the centre of the pin and the centre of the rear trailer axle to run at full weight
as the distance from the pin centre to rear axle centre gets less so does the maximum weight allowed end of !!!
this applies to all trailers other than stgo, i run a rear steer flat trailer at 33ft long and thats about as short as you can go and still run at 44 ton
moose
If the trailer has a 20’ loaded position then the trailer must be set up in that position whilst on the road even when its only six inches from the 40’ loaded position. The trailer usually has a plaque pointing out the various positions and they are there for a reason and VOSA will enforce them (if the VOSA officer knows what he is doing 
).
Before anyone points out that the container was empty, remember that an empty container is a load.
schrodingers cat:
Before anyone points out that the container was empty, remember that an empty container is a load.
Exactly the point missed, when they were arguing about which pins to use on a 45’ unit