Dropping your trailer?

ditto
I do the same

 

Loaded - dump air in trailer, lower landing gear until it they touch ground, dump tractor air pull away...

Unloaded - dump air in trailer, lower landing gear until about 1" away from ground, dump tractor air pull away..

All of our tractors are the exact same heights... With loaded trailer I do it this way because trying to get under a trailer that has 22-41 ton inside is a pain in the ### if it's been dropped with landing gear not touching ground before it was dropped... It's even harder to do it if the legs have sunk into the pavement because the trailer is heavy and has been sitting there for a few days loaded...

I don't have to worry about dropping and hooking to different trailers ... I never unhook my trailer anymore.. When I do have to unhook I am the guy that will be hooking back up to it anyhow.. I like to drop my empty with legs about 1 inch up because when I back under it the legs are already of the ground and pressure is already relieved so I can just use the second gears..

 

Since I drop and hook X times a day (X being 4 or greater) I just crank it down and inch from the ground and pull out. Dumping air is a waste of my time. Not needed.

 

Appears many here don't do a lot of drop/hook on snow and ice (and assume it will not snow heavily after the trailer is dropped) and many don't give a #### that the next driver may not have air dump.

 

Release trailer air supply, disconnect glad hands.
Crank landing gear until I hear air hiss from the tractor suspension.
Pull away, leave tractor suspension aired up.

All of the trucks in my fleet have the 5th wheel at the same height, and this method keeps the trailer at the perfect height for the next guy.

 

You win the prize for the correct answer. Stand by.

 

What is this trailer you speak of? Is that the thing that's been following me around?

Crank landing gear till the feet touch
drop bags
wait
drive off

My tractor's rear cross member has some pretty bad damage from the previous driver banging the kingpin on it.

 

Dumping air is a waste of time?? It takes literally seconds to dump the air in both the trailer and tractor.. Even at your 4+ time as day.. It wouldn't take that much time out of your day..

Not to mention it's not good for the dollies... Not dumping the air in the trailer and leaving air in the bags can damage the dollies.. Over time the air will release from the bags pushing the trailer forward putting stress on the dollies.. If its a loaded trailer that is even worst.. I have seen it happen at my work guys forget to dump the trailer air and next thing you know the legs/support bars are all bent .. Sometimes the damage is really bad...

I also wouldn't be leaving the dollies up an 1" or so and just drive out with dumping the tractor bags... Your dropping all the weight (empty or loaded) on the legs.. Over time I don't think that is gonna be good on the landing gear.. So each there own I guess..

 

I never crank a landing gear down tight to the ground. I always leave about an inch under the feet load or not. I have never had a problem with this. But I have had trailers that were to high.

Its not a problem with being lazy, I was taught 20 plus years ago to drop a trailer and let the next tractor pick it up when it backs under it. I rare occassion I have had to raise them but very rare.

 

I'm thinking Alex just lets it slam onto the ground. Nice.

The feet touch the ground and I dump the air. I drop empty and pick up loaded. If it's cranked all the way plus two more, I'm messing around with 4x4s and air suspension, jacking up the trailer to take the weight off the dollies. I don't care who ya are. Cranking down a near gross load is no fun.

If an empty is dropped low, the nose of the trailer rises about an inch to two inches as the load places pressure on the tires. On a spread, this does nothing. On a tandem, the dollies act like a fulcrum and the nose of the trailer comes up. All of our tractors have air dump. I would rather dump the suspension to get under the trailer and pick it up with the frame than hand crank the dollies down to the right level.

But we've had this discussion before and the final conclusion was there are several "right" ways to drop a trailer and as long as equipment isn't getting damaged, your way is right.

There are many preferred methods. The one described above is mine.