how high does your trailer feet have to be off the ground?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by zoekatya, Mar 31, 2015.

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  1. zoekatya

    zoekatya Medium Load Member

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    how high does your trailer feet have to be off the ground?
    sometimes I run across ones that haven't been greased in 50 years so can I crank it half way legally?
     
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  3. SLANT6

    SLANT6 Road Train Member

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    Yeah leave it halfway down. Eventually they will never need grease as they will be bent and laying on the ground, as you will have hit something.
     
  4. STexan

    STexan Road Train Member

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    I'm not exactly sure what the OP means. What does grease and how far the pads are off the ground have to do with one another? If you mean it's hard to crank, so you don't want to crank it all the way down ... grow up, get into better shape, and crank it down to the dirt, + 3 or 4 more low-speed turns. If this is forbidden in your union contract, then disregard. Don't need the NLRB making a federal case of my advice :biggrin_25523:
     
  5. Mark Kling

    Mark Kling Technology Contributor

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    I think the OP is referring to how high does the landing gear pads have to be height wise off the ground/road to be legal.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2015
  6. Allow Me.

    Allow Me. Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    This is a "common sense" question. Even when the landing gear (first time I've ever heard of landing gear referred to as feet) are all the way up, they're still subject to bottoming out. So, halfway up isn't a good idea.
     
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  7. joseph1135

    joseph1135 Papa Murphy

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    All the way up. They need to be able to clear the road. Not to mention the occasional railroad tracks.
     
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  8. Mudguppy

    Mudguppy Degenerate Immoralist

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    Riiiiiiight. So according to your logic, my RGN trailer that I haul loads grossing up to 160,000 lbs with, and is only 6"-8" from the ground to the trailer bottom, shouldn't even make it out of the yard without "hitting something"? What about all those parking lots (car haulers) you see every day even lower than that? I guess they must "hit stuff" constantly. Wow. I guess I must have dreamt that 80k miles that were put on my odometer last year. Go figure.

    OP- Crank them up as high as you can (while you're at it, try squirting some grease in them; it's amazing what that stuff does....lol). I would say try to get them at least 10"-12" off the ground if possible. Then, just watch where you drive (ie- avoid potholes, deep humps in road, steep railroad crossings, etc.)
    Be safe out there driver..... And get your shop/company to fix them landing gears ASAP!


    ETA- Look here, and offroad even!

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2015
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  9. STexan

    STexan Road Train Member

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    Oh, ok I get it now. Nothing wrong with the gear or amount of grease. Wait until next February when it's -10F and he's trying to crank the gear down at a d/h, and we'll hear back from him wondering how LOW he needs to crank it down before he stops cranking.

    But to the original point ... crank it half way up, run across some RR track that have a high grade from normal terrain then report back the results. And, no, I will not help reimburse the tow-truck costs or the truck/trailer/load totaling costs if a train decides to move through.
     
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  10. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    Stiff landing gear is part of the job. Some trailers have not been maintained that well.
    You get it up as far as you can, and sometimes a bit more effort is needed.
    In cold weather, more effort is ALWAYS needed. That grease gets very stiff below freezing.

    How high is high enough?
    High enough to clear any obstacle that might come your way.

    Ask the same question to drivers that are still alive after getting stuck on a railroad crossing.
     
  11. Captain Canuck

    Captain Canuck "Captain of the Ship"

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    How high do the landing gear feet HAVE to be? High enough that you have no risk of them getting caught on anything like railroad tracks, potholes, blown tire carcasses, etc. Yes, stubborn landing gear is a real pain in the butt, but you should still crank on em until they won't go any further, even if that means cranking for a half hour in low gear (and that's only a SLIGHT exaggeration). Next time that trailer gets to a terminal or company shop, make sure they know to fix it so the next guy doesn't wind up with the same problem.
     
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