Set your trailer brakes?

You know.... I never noticed that.

 

Let's look at the definitions.

Parking brake system. A mechanism designed to prevent the movement of a stationary motor vehicle.

Emergency brake. A mechanism designed to stop a motor vehicle after a failure of the service brake system.

Emergency brake system. A mechanism designed to stop a vehicle after a single failure occurs in the service brake system of a part designed to contain compressed air or brake fluid or vacuum (except failure of a common valve, manifold brake fluid housing or brake chamber housing).

FMVSS 121 Parking brake testing has two purposes. It must hold the truck in all kinds of loading and unloading applications. It must hold the truck parked on a 20% grade.

I always use them except two conditions. In extreme cold or if the dock is too high I'll leave the air bags inflated and dump the tractor airbags which cantilevers the back of the trailer up. Other than that I'm not losing sleep over it. You have to go out of your way to pop one and not the other as they are designed to pop together for a reason. Plus I'm sure diaphragms and springs will last longer if not stressed all the time. Let the babies relax.

Loading and unloading it can be unsafe for the forklift operator if you don't have your wheels chocked and the parking brakes released. You can watch the truck inch forward every time he enters and brakes.

 

Just want to add here, the not for parking thing on the red knob is a left over from the days before maxi brakes. While most otr general commodity drivers will never see one, there are still a lot of those older trailers out here.

 

my red nob and Johnson both say not for parking on an 06 Columbia. Some old trailers still dont have spring brakes and thus depending ont he trailer that nob may, or may not be used for parking.

 

right you are. Tho I don't think I'd ever trust a Johnson, they have a tendency to back themselves off. I'd also never advise the average driver to use the trailer as a parking brake. For every one of us that owns or pulls the same trailer everyday, there is a thousand guys working for Large carrier constantly dropping and going to trailers that haven't seen a grease Gunn touch a slack adjuster in a year or more.

 

Trailer breaks freezing?!?! Carry spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol squirt those babies good see what happens.

 

I only set the trailer brakes when shipper or receiver asks me. I also set them when I have to burp the tank when hauling wine or any other food grade liquid that contains alcohol. Oh and I also set the trailer brakes my trailer is level or the front is lower than the back as the airbags deflate when the trailer brake is set.

 

I only set them when unloading or loading of course I have to I pull an rgn. But even if I go over the back I set them other wise I dont

 

There are no trailers on the road now without spring brakes, they have been against the law for years, probably before you were born.

Further I see no logical reason, other than very cold weather to not set the breaks on the tractor and trailer.

How many sets of breaks are set up when you only pull out the yellow button. On a lot of tractors t is only the right rear, that is not enough holding power to hold a tractor and trailer against the dock the way some fork lift divers run in and out of a trailer.