Air ride trailers that dump when parked.

Well that's a new one on me. I also have an '07 Great Dane; got it in June, manufactured in February, and it doesn't drop it's air unless I pull the valve back by the tandems. A friend of mine has an '05 Dane and it doesn't have the optional dump valve so it won't even dump at all.
rx

 

The "dump" trailers work out best at places that have large forklifts loading heavy things. Champion paper is one place they work out good.

The rolls of paper and the forklift are so heavy the rear of the trailer drops all the way down making the rear unsteady and prone to lean to whichever side the lift is on, where if the trailer is sitting on solid stops the rear is much more stable.

I have seen quite a few air drop trailers that had swing arms that rotated down between the frame and axle when the park brakes are applied, allowing the trailer to drop only an inch or two.

 

The last co I drove for had Stoughton air-rides with an auto-dump, that would activate everytime you set the trlr brakes. But, the trailer wouldn't sink too far down, because it had those little support legs ( Like stranger was talking about) that flip down automatically when the susp. dumps.
Sounds like the trlr you have been pulling doesn't have those supports, so you may need to stay hooked up while being loaded (with just tractor brakes set).

 

What do you do when the shipper/receiver comes out and locks out your red glad hand?

 

The dock plate should adjust for the gap, when you drop a loaded trailer with air in the suspension as the air leeks out of the system over time(a few hrs or so) it will move the trailer a good 6 inches forward due to the geometry of the suspension. It is very hard on the landing gear and can bend it or cause it to fail. That's why most trailers are going to a fool proof system.