Squaw brake handle

Yes in older trucks the handle would stay where you put it.

 

Mine stays where you put it, don't use it much like it when I do use it.

 

In the old iron there are some trolleys that will stay where you put it making it somewhat useful for certain specific maneuvers.

Otherwise in modern trucks they are spring loaded to return to off and release the brakes in a few moments.

I consider them very important to have. Any company that fails to have this installed in the tractor I will not drive for.

 

"squaw handle"?

Been driving since the mid 80's and never heard that one. lol.

Trolley, johnny bar, among others yes.

Each area has a name, I guess.

 

I've always called it a spike.

 

So you can apply trailer brakes independant of the tractor.

 

One situation was a stop sign at what I would call a 100 foot 10% grade facing straight up. Having to turn onto a banked (high on your side) 4 lane divided on a downgrade. It's one of those situations where you cannot roll backwards and you cannot start off from dead idle in any gear because shifting will cause a stall and now you are in the way of the oncoming highway traffic at speed from both directions.

Apply trolley lock trailer brakes, shift into a suitable gear in this case 1st add power and remove clutch straight out as the trolley is taken off. You should have your full pulling applied and moving when that thing releases the trailer.

Once moving you must not stop or shift until you drag the entire deadweight off that hill. Once free of it you can go ahead and go up your shifting.

Another situation would be on snow or ice capable of sliding by gravity slope your trailer off the lane you are in. Apply a few pounds of trolley and hold it just so. It stretches the trailer against your 5th wheel making as far as possible a solid unit of your entire rig. The trailer will stay in line with the drives but you are dealing with maybe 3 pounds application which varies a little bit so it's very light touch. Too much you lock trailer then it goes into jackknife or try to.

It's relatively rare but it is good to have it there.

Some of the old iron had three buttons, one for the tractor brakes only. You could use that one to create a anchor on really bad downgrades for short periods of time. But Im happy not to deal with that anymore. It's risky. This would be off road on a farm on a field of boulders on a significant grade where a certain braking here or there on a particular rock long enough to spin the wheel over to begin the next crawl onto the nearest rock over. We were rock crawling on two farms before it became a sport.

 

Mine stays put as well in my Pete. Never use it to park though. Even says so.