Dropping your trailer?

I pick #2 for a hundred alix I have 24.5 lo tires and when a lazy arse with 22singels dose a#1 it leaves the trailer to low for my tires to fit under. I would never do my fellow driver that way it's easier to lower than to raise

 

I have always just put the landing gear on ground till resistance is noticed and called that good. Then I pull forward a few inches to get kingpin out of the fifth wheel jaws, then dump air and slowly pull forward. I generally stop before the frame clears the trailer just to make sure the landing gear is going to hold. True, it is easier to lower than to raise a trailer, but it is hardly an issue for me since I usually dump the tractor bags before backing under a trailer (mostly to keep trailer from scraping grease off 5th wheel) then I reinflate the bags and get out and check clearance, then continue on back for the hookup.

 

....I usually leave 2 or 3 inches from the ground and slowly drive away. Then when I go to hook back up it already off the ground and I don't have to use low gear! Plus it give me a little security that no one else can back into my trailer because their tires usually hit the trailer because my truck is so low.

 

I crank until I start hearing the airbags hiss. My truck doesn't have a dump valve.

 

Wait.....Were supposed to crank the landing gear before unhooking?

 

Mr wallbanger your such a smart ace love it

 

I vote for Cowpies method. We have a few different makes of tractors, and the fifth wheel heights are different, especially on mine, it's a Star Car, and is a bit higher than our T8's. When a guy with a T8 drops, they usually don't deflate the suspension, and lower the gear to where it just is firmly on the ground, so, when I hook, I drop the bags, back under the apron and reinflate. Sure makes a huge difference with 86k in the trailer.
When I drop, I lower the gear to where it's within an inch from the ground, pull up a bit, dump my air, then get out from underneath. It helps the guys with the T8's to minimize cranking, and I'm good to go if I have to go back and rehook that trailer.
It also helps when everyone knows how each other does things, in a fleet situation, good luck, it always seemed to me the guy that dropped the trailer could care less about the next guy.

 

My vote is with Cowpie. That is the correct way of doing it anyhow. Any other way is fine too as long as you are the only one hooking and unhooking that particular trailer. Nothing is worse than a fully loaded trailer that is too low! Of course that's the trailer that has low gear stripped out too!

 

i crank the legs down till they just touch the ground, drop air bags then pull away