trailer legs

scanny77 · 21 July 2005 19:40

i have been warned that i cant drop a loaded trailer in case it drops on its knees even with the legs down. i would have thought that the legs were designed to support the trailer at its full laden weight. apparently, the problem is when the trailer is being tipped ie back to front. when the weight is at the front, the trailer will drop.
opinions/advice?

dafman · 21 July 2005 19:50

Since when. so if you did how would you do a trailer swap.

scanny77 · 21 July 2005 19:53

thats what i thought. maybe its their dodgey old wrecks. the units are 03 regs but the trailers are all registered in 1987. i didnt think it sounded right

dratsabasti · 21 July 2005 20:02

The trailer legs should be rated to about 25t, if they are worried about them tipping over when being unloaded, haven’t they heard of trailer stands to prevent this happening.

scanny77 · 21 July 2005 20:04

i havent heard of them so they will not have them

they use a stack of pallets under the king pin ‘just in case’

robinhood_1984 · 21 July 2005 20:38

scanny77:
i havent heard of them so they will not have them

they use a stack of pallets under the king pin ‘just in case’

I’ve seen that done before and because the trailer was loaded wrong and it was front heavy, by the time the driver came in his truck to collect the trailer, he couldn’t get underneath it because the trailer has sunk down making it impossible to remove the pallets.

wylie · 21 July 2005 20:40

sounds like a quality outfit
better than useing old bricks i suppose

convoy · 21 July 2005 20:43

I haven’t heard of trailer stands either

liberace · 21 July 2005 20:57

They use them at Quaker, Southall when they put the forklift onto the front of your trailer. As for trailers tipping over, have you ever seen a see saw with one person on it - that ought to give you some idea .

convoy · 21 July 2005 21:00

Found This -
tmi-pvc.com/dock/trailer.html

coffeeholic · 21 July 2005 22:13

On a lot of ferries they put trailer stands under the front of the unaccompanied trailers.

hitch · 22 July 2005 05:44

sometimes you see on the side of trailers " trestle support " …

those trailer supports look a lot better than the thinks that Gefco and DFDS use

paul_b · 22 July 2005 06:52

you can’t drop a loaded trailer? that would put about ten shunters in the steel works out of a job! saying that, there has been one or two that have been dropped part loaded and tipped up!

magic_mel · 22 July 2005 18:22

Dratsabasti:
The trailer legs should be rated to about 25t, trailer quote]

Jost Modul type landing gear has the following: (if it helps)
Lifting capacity 24 t
Static load 50 t

www.jostgb.co.uk

dratsabasti · 22 July 2005 20:31

Thanks Mel, I knew they were rated, but couldn’t remember the actual figures.

scanny77 · 23 July 2005 15:37

one of our trailers is really useful. if the load reaches the rear axle, it dumps almost a quarter of the air every time i release the handbrake. its fine if the load does not reach that far though
the original question does not relate to full loads. i have gone out with only 6 tonnes or so but all at the front. what is the advice on this situation? so far i have refused to drop the trailer like that unless someone else takes responsibility of the consequences ie i am ORDERED to drop it

wheel_nut · 23 July 2005 21:43

scanny77:
one of our trailers is really useful. if the load reaches the rear axle, it dumps almost a quarter of the air every time i release the handbrake. its fine if the load does not reach that far though
the original question does not relate to full loads. i have gone out with only 6 tonnes or so but all at the front. what is the advice on this situation? so far i have refused to drop the trailer like that unless someone else takes responsibility of the consequences ie i am ORDERED to drop it

Avoid VOSA weighbridges Although 6 tonne may be ok, but you are still putting a lot of weight through the pin when there is no need

Is this why so many trucks are being turned over on roundabouts and sliproads?

bikemonkey · 23 July 2005 21:54

They use the trailer stands at PFE in Witham to tip the containers.
I’ve heard of trailers tipping forward also.

alix776 · 23 July 2005 23:16

if its a 38 tone unit then 6t at the front should be fine but wouldnt drop it as there would be to much weight forward ot the legs

eddie_snax · 23 July 2005 23:38

Take a leaf out of the tug drivers hand book, bang under the trailer at a rate of knots, crank it right up at the front then, race round the quay full speed up the linkspan onto the ferry, by this time the load will all be at the back of the trailer and no worries about dropping it for shipping, also if it didnt exit through the side door after this then a force 9 will be no problems.
There is alot of places now that insist on a jack or stand of some description under the front of the trailer if its being dropped for loading, its all part of the hi-vis jacket mentality, you should be able to load a standing trailer from the head board, and if you get enough weight in front of the landing legs to tip it up, then you would probably be overloading the pin on any truck picking it up. More inportant is to make sure its on hard standing level ground, and some tarmac surfaces are not up to scatch in this hot weather, and if its on the slope oneside then that may bring it over.