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Dropping Trailers

Discussion in 'Averitt' started by Jeepman1, Jun 28, 2014.

  1. Jun 28, 2014 #1
    Jeepman1

    Jeepman1 Light Load Member

    79
    45
    Dec 24, 2009
    FLORIDA
    0
    To all you NOOB's and other drivers who never thought of this..Avrt trucks have different fifth wheel heights. When you drop a MT trailer at a customer or at a SerCtr to avoid a possiable issues for the NEXT driver, lower your landing gear until the foot is about a inch from the ground, then drop the air from your suspension and pull SLOWLY out. If you have a Columbia, just SLOWLY pull out.
    Believe it or not after a trailer is loaded the load will cause the rear of the trailer to drop and the front to rise. This practice will also keep you from bending the landing gear legs when you don't hit the KING PIN SQUARE ON! When dropping a loaded trailer lower landing gear until the foot JUST touches the ground.....then drop your suspension air and PULL AWAY SLOWLY!
    You will DEFINATELY understand once you run the KING PIN over the top of your fifth wheel.....or when you have stiff landing gear when putting the landing gear up or down in the RAIN/SNOW standing in the MUD!
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Jeepman1, Jun 28, 2014
    Jeepman1, Jun 28, 2014
    #1
    Vito, Jay_da_trucker, Alaska76 and 4 others Thank this.
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  3. Jun 28, 2014 #2
    Jeepman1

    Jeepman1 Light Load Member

    79
    45
    Dec 24, 2009
    FLORIDA
    0
    Another pet peeve of mine...are people who when dropping trailer, slide the tandems back and do not LOCK THEM IN. When you do not do this, the ONLY thing holding the trailer in place are the landing gear.....so guess what gets the beating or fails eventually. The same goes for the clips that hold the suspension on to the rails...you don't lock them in and the yard dog gets under it and pulls it with a load on it the rails and clips get bent because of the tandems sliding back and forth. So the issue here is ...GET OFF YOUR FAT LAZY ARSE and walk back there and lock them in.
    [​IMG]
    Believe it or not, I've seen these bent straight up or the rails ON TOP of the clip.
     
    Jeepman1, Jun 28, 2014
    Jeepman1, Jun 28, 2014
    #2
    Alaska76, riverwander, Nukem and 4 others Thank this.
  4. Jun 28, 2014 #3
    Nukem

    Nukem Road Train Member

    1,237
    1,447
    May 11, 2014
    0
    Good advice, Thanks!
     
    Nukem, Jun 28, 2014
    Nukem, Jun 28, 2014
    #3
  5. Jun 28, 2014 #4
    freightlinerman

    freightlinerman Road Train Member

    1,287
    535
    Mar 4, 2011
    Florida
    0
    It doesn't matter if a trailer is loaded or empty, I ALWAYS drop 1-3 inches off the ground.

    1. Lower landing gear till it is 1-3 inches from the ground
    2. Pull tractor forward a foot AFTER disconnecting the air lines and such from the trailer. IF YOU DON'T, the tractor frame will lower and the fifth wheel will get caught on the head of king pin.
    3. STOP, lower your suspension! Look out and WATCH the trailer legs lower to the ground. You can even put the truck in gear and slowly let up on the clutch half way. Believe it or not, as the air bags deflate and the weight returns to the trailer legs, the tractor will pull out because there is little to no resistance.
    4. IF YOU'RE HIGH HOOKING A TRAILER, well you've got problems as does the guy who cranked it up to high. If you can't figure out a trailer is to high of the ground and you high hook, you got a problem.
    5. When you hook to a trailer, it is supposed to RAISE off the ground slightly.
    6. If the Columbias don't have an air dump valve, from what you suggest, lower the landing gear till the landing gear till you feel resistance, then STOP. Then, pull out SLOWLY to avoid the loaded air bellows from slamming up too high.

    By leaving the landing gear 1-3 inches from the ground, you prevent injuries to your back and reduce the risk of a high hook or worse. PLUS, some places you go to, there is NO ROOM to crank up the landing gear because the trailers are so close together. In this situation, lower the landing gear 1-3 inches off the ground before you back the trailer in, then pull the pin and lower the air bags.

    FINAL TIP: When you back under a trailer, it may take a few minutes for the air bellows to inflate if the load is heavy. Hook up your air lines and pretrip, this way when you go to crank it up you don't have to use much effort, as the landing gear should be off the ground once the air bellows fill up.
     
    freightlinerman, Jun 28, 2014
    freightlinerman, Jun 28, 2014
    #4
    Dark_Majesty_06, Jeepman1, Alaska76 and 1 other person Thank this.
  7. Jun 29, 2014 #5
    MichiganOutLaw

    MichiganOutLaw Light Load Member

    113
    32
    Jan 15, 2008
    Michigan
    0
    Too much common sense in this tread :)
     
    MichiganOutLaw, Jun 29, 2014
    MichiganOutLaw, Jun 29, 2014
    #5
    azcardnlz Thanks this.
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