More great stories - thanks for sharing guys.
Yes I wondered about driving out from under the trailer without putting the legs down, altho in that scenario I was on the hard shoulder of the M1 and I wonder if there’d then be a chance of the trailer tipping over into traffic. I really don’t know how possible that is.
I had a hub…
Cook up once. It turned the wheel the yellow wheel stud markers into string cheese.
Wheel Nut:
I have always thought dropping a trailer that is on fire is common sense, even if you can’t get the legs right down, airlines off, pull pin and gone.They sort of teach that on ADR [emoji846]
Look after number one. At least you have a bed and all your stuff.
Yep, just pull the pin, then jump in and floor it, if it’s taking hold fast. Couple of wing tops and a set of suzies is definitely cheaper than the alternative and definitely better than a cab full of my tramping kit going up.
I had a brake drum rubbing going up Reigate M25 clockwise… It was raining that night, and I didn’t notice any smoke until I got to the crest of the hill, and out of the rain. Then I could see it pouring out my kerbside in the mirror.
Stopped, hazards on, walked down the side, and could feel the heat like a radiator coming out of the entire tri-axle assembly. The smoke, was coming off the hot axle itself though, and might have heated up to catch fire to the wooden board floor of the trailer above, had I not pulled up for much longer.
Took the breakdown an hour to come out, and another 2 hours to fix it. All done on the hard shoulder, with traffic coming on from J8 whizzing by us.
Own Account Driver - thanks for that. I had wondered about that option myself. It would actually be kinda fun too haha.
Slightly off topic but in response to the thread title, I had a complete brake failure (all wheels suddenly locked up) on a rigid back in the 90s. It sent the truck skidding all over the motorway, coming to a rest across the carriageway blocking the shoulder and 1st two lanes, couldn’t budge it.
Luckily it was 6 in the morning but rush hour about to start so police coned it off but still caused mayhem.
Turned out an air line got a hole melted in it by the exhaust, frightened the hell out of me.
One of our drivers had that happen on the M4 in a rigid. Rear axle locked at 56mph due to the airline either breaking or melting and he did a 180. Caused a fair old tail back for an hour or two.
Happened a few weeks ago to me just started smoking then popped the tyre by the time I got to the hard shoulder, had just come out of lymm services, locked on just getting on the slip road north, had burst by the time I got to the hard shoulder, rubber marks still there if you go past, saw them yesterday.
I will look out for them. I saw what looked like the same thing today. A rigid with four dark tyre marks behind it half on the hard shoulder of the M1 southbound with the driver standing away from the vehicle.
A guy I worked for had a hub/wheel/bearing/brake problem while heading into Rungis.Serious smoke everywhere,so did as most of us would do-drop the trailer,as it appeared it was going to go up.It did.
Upon form filling and insurance inquiries,he was told his CMR insurance was invalid,as,it was treated as an unaccompanied trailer.Don`t know how it ever turned out,but that was the initial response.
Had a red hot brake drum on one of our ex NF VanHools a while back. Removed the wheel and had to sledge hammer the drum off. The shoes had disintegrated jamming up the brake. Removed the shoes and blocked off the brake chamber and had it repaired in Zarragoza where no parts were available until next day. Turned out the drum was also warped out of shape…
Some poor sod locked up near Warcop yesterday morning. Cab was covered in guts. Can still smell it now…
not brakes locking up, but the silliest brake immobilisation. Guy Big J, the small feeder line to the dash pressure gauge melted and the resultant air loss locked everything up Couldn’t build the pressure up even revving the nuts off. Middle of the morning rush hour on a blind bend up a hill. Lots of fun !
More great stories! Whiplash that insurance thing really makes you wonder…
Cab was covered in guts. - nickb67, I’m trying to work that out! Can you elaborate? Sounds awful whatever it was!