Smooth Bore Trailers

Down71 · Jun 29, 2012

RockinChair said: ↑

The secret to pulling a tanker - especially a smooth bore tanker - is being a good momentum manager. In other words, drive smoothy. If it feels like the motion of the load is helping you accelerate as it surges forward, and then hindering your acceleration as it surges backward, try to eliminate that feeling. I was once told to "drive as if there's a glass of champagne sitting on the dash, and an egg underneath the pedal."

Acceleration:
Let the engine's torque cause the truck to accelerate gradually. Press the pedal down just a little, and keep your RPMs low. Don't press the pedal down hard, and don't use the engine's horsepower to accelerate (there's a reason lots of tanker companies spec their engines with very low horsepower, and it's not all about fuel economy). This is especially important at lower speeds. Progressive shifting helps, but do not be in a hurry to get through the gears.

Shifting:
When it is time to shift, let off the throttle and shift smoothly, but DO NOT get back into the throttle until after the load hits the back of the trailer. Accelerating while the load is on its way backward will cause the load to hit the rear of the trailer with more force than it will if you stay out of the fuel - and you'll really feel it when it hits.

Deceleration:
Start slowing down WAY ahead of time. Use your jakes as you gear down, and don't touch the brake pedal until you absolutely have to - and when you do, apply it gently, but firmly. Don't use stab braking - if you do, the load will hit the front bulkhead hard, and your back will pay the price.

Driving around curves: Slow to a safe speed before you enter the curve, then roll into the throttle slightly, and let the truck pull the load through the curve without accelerating. Don't ever hit the brakes when pulling a tanker around a curve. If the load hits the front of the trailer hard enough, the trailer will try to continue moving straight ahead, and can push your tractor into a jacknife (except the tractor will be coming around, not the trailer).
Click to expand...

Nice, Thanks for this. Now I am kind of hoping to pull a smooth bore soon. Breaking and turning were not a issue for me, but I will be a better driver if I can follow the rest of it.
And Just a FYI the run I did with the smooth bore tank (Glycerin) was loaded at 5500 gallon in a 6800 gallon tanker. I weighed out at 12480, 33240, 33180 (78900). With 7/8 tank of fuel.
Thanks

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