K5Project:
Probably don’t need to say this but don’t use the engine brake when on snow or ice I watched a guy at my last job do it he jacked knifed pushing his cab into the fence
he was a know it all driver and didn’t ask nor listen so had it coming
This is total crap !
as mentioned countless times, keep the engine brake in use, if the drive wheel locks when the engine brake comes on at least all the other wheels keep turning and you have some control, if the wheels does lock then there is no way your foot brkes will slow you up without locking up everything, been there, doen that a thousand times and usuing the engine brake is a far safer option, … years of experience in far deeper snow that the UK can imagine has taught me that.
selby newcomer:
Cheers Harry, it’s defo a 6x2 then as it’s only driven by the rear axle. Hope I ain’t coming across as thick, maybe should have knew all this, but am wiser after askin a few questions, thanks for putting me straight
Good God, no, nobody is born knowing how truck axles are configured, anything you don’t know, just ask, either on here or ask another driver when out and about.
I don’t mind askin a question, better I look silly askin than lookin even sillier makin a mistake
Harry Monk:
No, because you assume that the four wheels on the drive axle are only two wheels for the purposes of this.
A three axle tractor unit which is driven by one axle only is a 6x2. Some trucks have three axles but are driven by the two rearmost axles, that would be a 6x4. However, it’s impossible to imagine that you would be driving one of those without knowing it, and they are used mainly on heavy haulage, forestry etc where traction is important.
The rearmost axle is called the drive axle, the one up the front is the steer axle and the one in the middle is called the lift axle, as the name implies this axle can be lifted to temporarily provide more traction, or to save tyre wear when running empty.
How many wheels does this trailer have?
Harry
Can I use that assumption if I get nicked for a slightly bald tyre. After all there is tread across 75% of the “wheel.”
For UK C&U rules, 4 on tractor, but if them wheels on trailer are less than 460mm apart, it’s 1
Harry Monk:
No, because you assume that the four wheels on the drive axle are only two wheels for the purposes of this.
A three axle tractor unit which is driven by one axle only is a 6x2. Some trucks have three axles but are driven by the two rearmost axles, that would be a 6x4. However, it’s impossible to imagine that you would be driving one of those without knowing it, and they are used mainly on heavy haulage, forestry etc where traction is important.
The rearmost axle is called the drive axle, the one up the front is the steer axle and the one in the middle is called the lift axle, as the name implies this axle can be lifted to temporarily provide more traction, or to save tyre wear when running empty.
How many wheels does this trailer have?
Harry
Can I use that assumption if I get nicked for a slightly bald tyre. After all there is tread across 75% of the “wheel.”
For UK C&U rules, 4 on tractor, but if them wheels on trailer are less than 460mm apart, it’s 1
That is a proper Four in Line setup, the one that caused drivers and tyre fitters to hang themselves from the nearest tree if someone had stuffed the nuts up
K5Project:
Probably don’t need to say this but don’t use the engine brake when on snow or ice I watched a guy at my last job do it he jacked knifed pushing his cab into the fence
he was a know it all driver and didn’t ask nor listen so had it coming
This is total crap !
as mentioned countless times, keep the engine brake in use, if the drive wheel locks when the engine brake comes on at least all the other wheels keep turning and you have some control, if the wheels does lock then there is no way your foot brkes will slow you up without locking up everything, been there, doen that a thousand times and usuing the engine brake is a far safer option, … years of experience in far deeper snow that the UK can imagine has taught me that.
straight to the point pat!.. i use the engine brake in snow/ice and have done for years without any problems
its a good tool for slowing the truck without the need for touching the brakes, infact if it locks up under engine braking you know to keep off the foot brake! (you get a feel for the road conditions before braking)
if the trailer starts to come round on you need to get off the brake pedal and onto the power to straghten the thing out
selby newcomer:
Right I might get shot down for not knowing this, but if I don’t ask I will never know.
I have heard of diff lock, but how do I engage it and how do I turn it off■■?, is it just a switch on the dash??
Unit I drive is an 2009 merc actros 2544
It will be a switch on the dashboard showing an axle, it will be protected against accidental use by a locking tab, which you push downwards before engaging it. To turn it off, just move the switch back to its original position.
Thank you, I have seen the switch your talking about and have wondered what it’s for, I think on my unit there are 2 switches with axles on, would 1 be to turn it off and the other be to turn it off??
One of those switches will be to raise and drop the lift axle and the other, if it isn’t the diff lock switch, will be a weight transfer button. That one has a pictogram of two axles with a curved arrow pointing from one to the other. It will adjust the air so more weight is going through the drive axle and can be used when you cannot get the same effect by raising the lift axle because there is too much weight on for the lift axle to raise.
selby newcomer:
Thank you, I have seen the switch your talking about and have wondered what it’s for, I think on my unit there are 2 switches with axles on, would 1 be to turn it off and the other be to turn it off??
What unit? is it 4x2, 6x4 etc?
Do you know what, I honestly don’t know if it’s a 4x2 or a 6x4
Is that bad, should I know stuff like that??
You should really… basically, a 6x2 means that it has six wheels, two of which are driven (being pedantic, a 6 wheel unit has 8 wheels as they are doubled up on the drive axle) a 4x2 has four wheels, two of which are driven. And of course, a four-wheel-drive car is a 4x4.
Unit I drive has 8 wheels, driven by the 4 across the back, so would that be a 6x4■■
This was a post I made in the Newbies forum when this topic came up, it might help so I have copied it below.
Coffeeholic:
bigfoot:
Hi
This may sound silly, but i have never quite understood the configuration of a 6x2 or 4x2
Is a 4x2 with only 1 rear axle on the unit and is it because there are only in effect 4 wheels on the back?
Silly question but thought id ask!
Ben
First number divided by 2 is the number of axles. Second number divided by 2 is the number of driven axles.
First number is the number of wheels with a pair of wheels on the same end of the axle only counted as 1, so 4 wheeler, 6 wheeler or 8 wheeler, even though a 4 wheeler has 6 wheels, a 6 wheeler 8 or 10 wheels and an 8 wheeler 12 wheels.
Second number is the number of driven wheels with again a pair of wheels on the same end of an axle counted as 1.
to clarify when i said get the diff lock banged in, i didn’t mean run around with it in, i meant when you see a hill coming up then lock it before you start going up it and unlock it once over the top.
do brake or accelerator tests to determine grip levels.
on the exhaust brake front, i also use it to test grip level, i always run with it on, but don’t use it when cornering. when it starts to lock up (it should automatically knock itself off when it detects slip) then that’s the time to turn it off. despite what some people say, 1 axle wont stop you as effectively as 6, so use the foot brake when very slippery. the american argument doesn’t hold a lot of water with me as generally the units have a much longer wheelbase than euro trucks as well as the double drive setup and the shorter wheelbase the easier to it is to jackknife.
Thanks for all the advice everyone, the only trouble I had this morning was getting the pin to lock properly so I could put the clip in, took alot of mucking around sorting it out but got there in the end. Got out of the yard with no probs and just shovelled away the snow from around the trailer and threw some salt down before I went under the trailer.
selby newcomer:
Thanks for all the advice everyone, the only trouble I had this morning was getting the pin to lock properly so I could put the clip in, took alot of mucking around sorting it out but got there in the end. Got out of the yard with no probs and just shovelled away the snow from around the trailer and threw some salt down before I went under the trailer.
Told you that’d be the only part that you’d struggle with.
It’s the only thing that’s bothered me anyway, well, except nearly jack-knifing about 4yrs ago, unit and trailer brakes weren’t set up correctly (rental trailer…) so I was getting 1/2 second of trailer braking, then the unit brakes came on and the weight of the trailer started to push the unit round.
Thought I was going in a field that day, but managed to get out of it ok (more luck than judgement).
The road was coming back from Kidde Fire (Angus Fire) in Higher Bentham for those that know it, not the road under the bridge, the other way - had a 15’ trailer on, so had to go the crappy way round.
The actual road in and out of that place is a pain in the arse anyway, anyone who knows the job will tell you that. Easier with a container than a 45’ taut.
Talk to your bosses about getting one of these brilliant Swedish inventions!.. It’s a grit-spreader mounted on both sides of the truck in front of the drive-wheels.
Or even better, a pair of these!
I have tried both and they are amazing when you need them.
SwedishSteel:
Talk to your bosses about getting one of these brilliant Swedish inventions!.. It’s a grit-spreader mounted on both sides of the truck in front of the drive-wheels.
I have tried both and they are amazing when you need them.
Is that not just like the sand box on early steam trains that dumped sand in front of the dive wheels. I’m sure someone with an anorak will soon confirm this
The driver of the Ryder 18T truck this morning must have had a very lucky escape (if they survived), the truck came off the south bound A1 at dishforth, ploughed through the armco, went through the wooden fence, then went through the armco on the A168, crossed the A168 and ended up in the ditch next to the airfield.
On the opposite side was a Wilkos arctic, in the field, and a UK mail arctic that was jacknifed.
It took me 2hrs to travel from J46 to J49 this morning
The driver of the Ryder 18T truck this morning must have had a very lucky escape (if they survived), the truck came off the south bound A1 at dishforth, ploughed through the armco, went through the wooden fence, then went through the armco on the A168, crossed the A168 and ended up in the ditch next to the airfield.
On the opposite side was a Wilkos arctic, in the field, and a UK mail arctic that was jacknifed.
It took me 2hrs to travel from J46 to J49 this morning
It was like an icerink on that stretch over night and this morning, heard on the radio that 20 trucks had jack knifed, wether that’s true or not I don’t know, maybe 20 trucks, rigids and antics had different incidents
selby newcomer:
It was like an icerink on that stretch over night and this morning, heard on the radio that 20 trucks had jack knifed, wether that’s true or not I don’t know, maybe 20 trucks, rigids and antics had different incidents
Antics when the roads are in that condition is just downright irresponsible.
selby newcomer:
It was like an icerink on that stretch over night and this morning, heard on the radio that 20 trucks had jack knifed, wether that’s true or not I don’t know, maybe 20 trucks, rigids and antics had different incidents
Antics when the roads are in that condition is just downright irresponsible.
Thankyou.
bloody predictive text on my iPad, some of the stuff I have put elsewhere don’t make sense because of it
