Trailer Parking Break Out When Parked Not At A Door

Ok so there is a social media video platform called Tic-Toc some may have heard of it some maybe not... Well anyway some truckers on that forum have been posting videos showing that the trailer parking break should not be engaged when you are parked (Not at a door or unloading) because it says on the button "Not for Parking"! So they (Super Truckers) say only pull the tractor parking break. The way I Interpret it is don't use the trailer parking break alone I.E. pull the trailer break leave the tractor in. In the military just about every system has a safety redundecy so two safety systems are better than one. If you pull both breaks when parked if the wildest scenario happens and your tractor parking break fails the trailer break should hold or slow the movement of a out of control tractor! Hey that would make a great start to a disaster movie. A tanker truck filled with hazardous materials parked on a steep hill the brakes fail and the tanker careens down the hill in to a home filled with widows and orphans. So what does the TT community think both parking breaks pulled when parked or just the tractor? Discuss!

Both ALWAYS.

When you are parked for awhile - the air will eventually bleed down, the brake (trailer air supply) will pop anyways. The "emergency line", provides pressure to the spring brakes - releasing the shoes from the drums.

While one would HOPE the spring brakes on the tractor only would keep the entire rig from moving, why would anyone want to take that risk?

Likewise - I wouldn't just pop the trailer and leave the tractor pushed in while parking.

I was always taught you pop both, and leave the tractor in gear (for manual trans - and obviously with the engine off), and the rig isn't going anywhere.

Rick

I never pull the trailer brake when I park. And I'm not a "super trucker" to use your words.

Exactly how do you think the tractor brakes would all fail at the same time, causing the truck to "careen down the hill in to a home filled with widows and orphans"? When your brakes are set, it is a mechanical brake. You would need each of the 4 springs (1 on each set of wheels) to break, before the truck would start rolling.

Also, did you know that in wintertime, truck drivers are encouraged to not set the trailer brakes, due to the brakes freezing? Why would it be OK in the snow and ice, but not OK at other times?

Rick Said Wrote

Both ALWAYS.

When you are parked for awhile - the air will eventually bleed down, the brake (trailer air supply) will pop anyways. The "emergency line", provides pressure to the spring brakes - releasing the shoes from the drums.

While one would HOPE the spring brakes on the tractor only would keep the entire rig from moving, why would anyone want to take that risk?

Likewise - I wouldn't just pop the trailer and leave the tractor pushed in while parking.

I was always taught you pop both, and leave the tractor in gear (for manual trans - and obviously with the engine off), and the rig isn't going anywhere.

Rick

Rick I totally agree with you I always pull both! When I first started driving a school bus I forgot to pull out the parking break and the bus started to roll back. Scared the hell out of me. From then on I always check at least three times I've pulled the parking breaks before I get out of the tractor.

I never pull the trailer brake when I park. And I'm not a "super trucker" to use your words.

Exactly how do you think the tractor brakes would all fail at the same time, causing the truck to "careen down the hill in to a home filled with widows and orphans"? When your brakes are set, it is a mechanical brake. You would need each of the 4 springs (1 on each set of wheels) to break, before the truck would start rolling.

Also, did you know that in wintertime, truck drivers are encouraged to not set the trailer brakes, due to the brakes freezing? Why would it be OK in the snow and ice, but not OK at other times?

Keep in mind - only one axle on the tractor has spring brakes, and usually on one on the trailer does also.

Out of curiosity - does your air bleed down overnight and pop the trailer air supply anyways?

Drivers are advised in cold/wet winter scenarios not to pop their trailers, to discourage the pads from freezing to the drums as they cool. You're also advised to use Air Line Anti-Freeze in the winter, to prevent ice in the air lines from moisture (another reason why you're supposed to drain water from your tanks regularly).

I'd be interested to see how many other members here, leave their trailer air supply ON when parking.

Rick

I never pull the trailer brake when I park.

Chris, what advantage does that give you? How do you benefit by not using both systems?

Also, did you know that in wintertime, truck drivers are encouraged to not set the trailer brakes, due to the brakes freezing?

In my opinion the better way to handle this is to drag your brakes to heat them up enough that any water on the brakes will evaporate. It's also important to make sure your air dryer is working properly to prevent moisture from entering the lines.

Chris M wrote:

I never pull the trailer brake when I park. And I'm not a "super trucker" to use your words.

Exactly how do you think the tractor brakes would all fail at the same time, causing the truck to "careen down the hill in to a home filled with widows and orphans"? When your brakes are set, it is a mechanical brake. You would need each of the 4 springs (1 on each set of wheels) to break, before the truck would start rolling.

Also, did you know that in wintertime, truck drivers are encouraged to not set the trailer brakes, due to the brakes freezing? Why would it be OK in the snow and ice, but not OK at other times?

Chris I was not trying to offend you or anyone so my apologies for the "Super Truckers" Comment as for the comment about the tanker careening in to a house full of widows and orphans is just a bit of humor. I'm just bringing up a topic for discussion. I've have and always will use every available safety device that's available to me. You are right a secenario where the mechanical break and fail is highly unlikely but then again Air planes are not supposed to crash but sometimes they do.

I've have and always will use every available safety device that's available to me.

I do the same, as does anyone who understands proper risk management. Kudos to you.

Anyone who has done anything risky for a prolonged period of time knows that things will happen sometimes that you never even considered. So it's not just about preparing for the things you know may go wrong, it's also about being prepared for things you hadn't considered.

The key element in risk management is the risk/reward ratio. Almost everything you do is a compromise. Even having one redundant safety system is a compromise because having two or three redundant systems becomes too costly and burdensome. So to be good at risk management you have to be able to assess the risk/reward ratio of every decision.

Not using both parking brakes to me is a major fail when it comes to assessing risk/reward because there is no reward for not using both systems. You're taking on additional risk without any benefit whatsoever. That must be avoided at all times or it's going to bite you sooner or later.

If we aren't meant to use both when parking, then why do they both pop when you pull the tractor brake? Seems pretty obvious to me. I can only speak for the trucks I've driven.

I never use the trailer brakes strictly for parking. My main reason for this is that I have had the trailer brakes lock up in the Winter, necessitating getting out there and using the hammer and punch.