How do you know when to and when not to slide tandems?

Hehe. Like he/she will know what that means.

Forklifts are heavy. Forklifts are even heavier when they are moving loaded pallets.
If the tandems on the trailer are too far forward, the person loading or unloading with the forklift will bounce when going from dock to dockplate to trailer and vice versa.

Too much bouncy bouncy makes an unhappy forklift driver.
You will also run into some forklift drivers who just like to bi*** about anything.

With the tandems all the way back on the trailer, the forklift won't bounce so much (if at all) when loading/unloading.

 

I can't say that having an automatic affected my sliding much, but the air actuated slides can be as inconvenient as they are convenient depending on circumstances.

 

That's a great diagram for beginners, the only thing I see "wrong" is that the trailer tandems are going to be affected by your load gross and distance between holes.

 

we were all rookies at one time. some people forget that. lol

 

You weren't born with a shifter?

 

the job i retired from, i hauled loads that barely reached 10,000 lbs.

but i can assure you, that my 2 downtown Boston deliveries, (Chinatown, and Southie) REQUIRED me to have my tandems all the way forward on that 53' trailer. tight Boston city streets, require this.

some loading docks want you to slide the tandems all the way back, to prevent extreme bouncing when you are backed into the dock.

you would need to scale out your load, and slide those tandems in accordance to the weights allowed on the axles.

 

Many companies or trainers will give you a rule-of-thumb like "weigh any load over 35,000 pounds (listed on Bill of Lading or BOL). That's one clue you may need to slide tandemsvafter you are loaded.

My practice for the moment, if I know the weight of the load I am picking up, and if the customer doesn't require trailer tandems at the rear for loading, is to slide tandems to the 6th through 10th hole in the frame rail. It's easier to slide when trailer is light. 6-10 is about where or loads need to be with the freight we pull. Just count the hole in the rail and remember the weight until you notice a pattern.

When unloading I look at other trailers backed into dock doors. If all of them are to the rear, I'll put minebto the rear. Customers that require this will usually tell you or have a sign posted.