when to use trailer handbrake?

good for sliding tandems too.

 

All i have ever used it for was pre/post trips and testing the 5th wheel and trailer breaks. Thats how i was taught in trucking school and how i was trained.

 

How about this situation:

You are going down the road and suddenly a 4-wheeler cuts you off....you see the rear axle of your trailer trying to become the front....instead of continuing to jam on the brakes...which will result in a jackknife.....pull the trolley and just brake the trailer.... The forward motion of the tractor combined with the braking action on the trailer will straighten you out....it's a matter of physics.....

 

makes perfect sense. why they teach NEVER to use the trolly to control a skid is beyond me. unless they consider that "advanced technique" not suitable to teach qa new driver

 

That's just like the B.S. that you should always double-clutch....
Never "blind-back" and yes.....You can use the Engine retarder in rain, snow and even ice if you use it wisely.....

I wish there was a skid pan close by that drivers could use to master all sorts of techniques like roll-over prevention ect...
When I was learning how to run end-dumps....this older driver had me raise the bed up and drive around in the yard over the potholes, over skids... to get to the point where my A-z-z would start to pucker....
Drivers need to learn respect not fear.... of the equipment...

 

I hate the spring loaded ones that are often in the newer trucks. The ones that don't fight you and stay where you put them are more useful to me. Its difficult to apply light, steady pressure with a spring loaded johnson bar when your bouncing around the cab all it wants to do is get away from you.

 

Think about it...Your trailer starts to get away from you...If you continue to apply all the brakes...The action of stopping the tractor doesn't guarantee the trailer will stop in-line with the tractor.

If you apply a pulling force on the trailer with the tractor and brake the trailer...the tractor will pull the trailer straight..

The best way to prevent a jack knife is to drive (or not to drive) for the conditions...
After awhile...you'll get the feeling for driving in snow and ice and know when it's time to pull-over and wait it out.

You can drive in icy conditions....but what about the other drivers???
If you have to pull off in a area other than a rest stop or a truck stop...pull-off as far as you can from the highway.....

Like one time the 80 out of Rawlins was iced....I couldn't pull-in to the rest stop since it was full..so I kept a slow and steady pace...passed up all of the Fed-Ex single-props that were sliding or just "spinning" trying to climb up the grade near the rest stop...and found the truck parking down the grade about 5 miles out.
I pulled into the right hand side and in about the middle. So during the rest of the night when all of the "Super Truckers" were still out and about...I had protection from the trucks parked near the highway side and the trucks behind me....

Loads btw get paid for delivery and being intact....a load that's laying in a ditch isn't doing anybody any good....

 

My truck ... company trailer.