Tandem placement and turning radius

Without a preventable accident

 

At the Truck Driving School I graduated from, they did not teach the students how to drop trailers. All they taught us was how to pass the CDL written test to get a permit, how to do a pre-trip inspection, how to pass the CDL driving test, and how to pass the CDL backing tests. That's it.

My trainer taught me everything about how to drop a trailer except for dumping the air bags. I drove for about a year and a half as a team driver. I had several teammates during that time. I don't remember any of my teammates dumping the air bags when they dropped a trailer. So I had no way of knowing that I am supposed to drop the air bags for all the 7 years that I drove. Since nobody ever taught me, and I never saw anyone else drop the air bags, how was I supposed to learn that I am supposed to drop the air bags? It is very possible to drop the trailer without dumping the air bags. Try it sometime. What was I supposed to be, psychic?

I have read the entire CDL Manuals issued by DOT in IN, AL, and GA, and none of them say anything about dropping the air bags when you drop a trailer.

How does dropping the air bags when dropping a trailer help? My guess is that dropping the air bags helps because it lowers the fifth wheel, eliminating or greatly reducing the friction between the fifth wheel and the trailer apron, but that's only a guess. My guess is that pulling out from under a trailer without dropping the air bags is hard on the transmission or the engine, but, again, that's only a guess.

I'm asking all the questions to try to learn this stuff. What's wrong with that?

 

On what planet does the fact that a trucker has been driving for several years means that he knows everything about trucking and does everything right all the time? Be observant at truck stops. We all know that all drivers are supposed to do a pre-trip before they start their shifts, and they are supposed to do a post-trip at the end of their shifts, but I rarely see any drivers do a pre-trip or post-trip inspections at the truck stops. Most drivers don't even open up their hoods at all before they start their shifts. My first trainer is the only trucker that I have ever drove with (other than students) who did a pre-trip before all his shifts. The only exception to that is my students, but they only always did a pre-trip because I instructed them to. Now that they are out on their own, they probably don't do pre-trips most of the time too. I estimate that 90% of truckers don't do a pre-trip before most of their shifts. I've had about 8 teammates (not students) when I was a team driver, and none of them did a pre-trip on most of their shifts.

I used to be a trainer. I am not a trainer any more. I had to stop training because that would entail having to sleep while my students drove, which would entail drinking a lot of caffeine and energy drinks. I developed stomach ulcers that make it so I cannot drink caffeine or energy drinks any more. So I had to stop being a trainer. I am a solo driver now.

 

So why describe my posts trying to learn this stuff as trolling?

Sometimes when I drop trailers, I get the orange colored "TC" warning light, and the bobtail truck moves really slowly like there is something wrong with the transmission.

I don't understand the part of your post that I highlighted in bold-faced green font. Why does air go into the air bags when I dropped a trailer? I don't really know how they work. I was never a diesel truck mechanic. A lot of owner-ops learn how to diagnose and repair truck defects, so they can fix their own trucks. I have never been an owner-op, so I never learned this stuff over the years.

 

Then you would lose the bet. I made an A in every semester of Geometry when I was a sophomore in high school. I made A's and B's in Physics when I was a senior in high school. I never was in any special ed classes.

 

I bought two semi-truck driving instruction books on Amazon.com to help remedy my lack of CMV driving knowledge.