Top Secret Trolley Brake

Yes sir. My truck has one.

Trailer hand valve works good for keeping everything straight if the trailer starts pushing you sideways when you're coming down a hill. Don't have to ride it down, just apply it as needed.

 

How many people know what a Wig-wag is anymore?[/QUOTE]

 

I was taught that the Trolly brake/Johnny bar was used in cases like was pointed out above. If anyone has ever come out of US Pipe in Lynchburgh Virginia knows that hill is a pain in the rear. busy rail tracks at the bottom, steep hill with stop light at the top. I use it in these situations where Its harder to use the service brakes to start out and no roll back. grandpa taught me that at a young age.

 

I was told one use for it is in an emergency.
Say someone's coming at you head-on, or its winter and you come upon one of those multi vehicle crashes we saw videos of last year. So if your best option you decide to avoid a collision is to put her into the rhubarb.
So I was told at this point you steer it into the ditch, put your right foot to the floor on the throttle and you pull down on the trailer brake all the way. This will help to keep you from jack-knifing. And just steer it straight until you lose all momentum.
Assuming your not going off a cliff or into a river, of course.

 

On the axle scales the T bar could pull about 800 lbs off the steer axle using about 20 lbs apply pressure. You had to hope they didn’t stop you with your steers on the scale, and had to smoothly release the brake before your drives got to the scale. I remember hauling a over gross (1400 lbs over) load of frozen raspberries from up around Marysville,Wa to United Grocers in Chicago using that method several years ago. One of my buddys got stopped with his steer axle on the scale one time and that is now one of our favorite drinking stories, lol.

 

i thought it was a special brake used by o/o's for burning up trailers.

been seeing a lot of that lately.

 

No offense meant to you, but whoever told you that is an idiot.

 

Safety guy at Concord Transport circa 1997.

 

use when sliding tandem on dry ground when tandem is stuck and doesn't want to break loose.

 

I'm glad that you didnt respond by saying that's what your dad taught you to do. But yes, your safetyman IS an idiot.