Dangerous Bobtail?

The answer to the original question is easy it is because you loose 40% of your brakes when you drop your trailer !

Five axles loaded or empty will stop faster than three !

 

There is a simple answer here. SLOW DOWN A BIT when you bobtail.

 

Nope.
Old trucker's tale.
You are rewriting the laws off physics when you make that statement.

 

Well this truckers tail can tell the difference .....lol

 

Mine can too, I really don't care to drive "Bobtail" in poor conditions , rain, snow, washboard roads etc. Bobtail can be quite skiddish in
such conditions, and even on dry pavement if forced to emergency stop due to teeth jarring cab rattling wheel hop etc.

When I do operate bobtail I drive slower at all times and MUCH slower in poor conditions and maintain "AT LEAST" the same following distance "IF NOT MORE" than I would if @ 80,000 with a wagon on. Why? because I've looped a bobtail merely trying to stop at a stoplight in the rain when only traveling approx. 35 mph. (granted that was long before ABS) however that said, ABS will keep you strait and allow you to steer by preventing wheel lockup. it generally WILL NOT reduce stopping distances, *that is a function of tire adhesion "friction" between them and the road surface.

*assuming brakes are functioning properly

 

When I first started driving. I was driving a roll off empty without a box on the back in the rain and my trainer told me to make a right turn here. The truck did spin out and I recovered without hitting anything. It was on a deserted rural road. My trainer then asked me if I learned anything.

 

Braking is several forces.
1°the weight off the vehicle wanting to go forward.
2°the contact off the tyres with the groundsurface.
3°the force which the brakes apply to the tyres.

The lower the weight off the vehicle the less forces needed to stop.

What you guys are confusing is the fact that you have 2 disadvantages when bobtailing.
1° the twinscrew.Useless when no weight is on it.
2°you have brakes that brake to hard when no weight in on the tyre.

Hence the reason why Europeans only buy twinscrews for off road.

Run your twinscrew with a lifteble tag axle instead off that second drive axle and then see how it handles.

And i hope that you get EBS soon.You will be amased at how quick you can stop,loaded or empty,wet or dry.