2nd Day CDL School. Got A Couple Questions
Topic 32556 | Page 1
The only two times I've seen a trailer separate because the kingpin broke was a result of major crashes. At that point it really didn't matter because not much more damage was going to occur.
Some trucks do have an accessory control to apply braking to the trailer system only. It's usually referred to as a trolley brake or a Johnson bar.
Use of the trolley brake will most likely lock-up the trailer brakes. Many carriers have stopped configuring tractors with this system for that very reason. I used mine for moving the tandems. Never while moving.
Trailers typically get squirrelly in bad weather especially when empty; high wind, pooling water on roads, snow and ice. Best way to prevent jackknifing is to reduce speed in bad weather, finesse the brakes in wet or snowy conditions, or if extreme, park it.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Okay… so I missed the content about a breakaway.
High-hooking will cause the trailer to come unhooked from the tractor. When this happens, trailer emergencies lock the wheels… unfortunately the trailer is out of control for a brief time and “dark”… can cause massive amounts of damage.
High-hooking can be prevented by making sure there is no gap between the fifth wheel plate and upper coupler and getting under the trailer to check locking jaws are engaged around the kingpin.
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TT Gurus, So, I drive a 6.7 L F-250 that came with the towing package. This towing package has the electronic braking controls which allow me to tap the trailer brakes controller (separate from brake pedal) if the trailer gets "squirmy" behind the truck thereby allowing the trailer to slow the truck and re-aligning everything.
1. Why don't Combo's have a similar feature that in the event the trailer should get "squirmy" or start "jackknifing" that you have a controller in the Tractor that allows you to apply some brakes to the rear wheels of trailer and perform similarly to what my daily driver does? Yes, I understand we are dealing with air as opposed to electronic, however it is 2022.
If the answer is that all that weight in trailer has the ability to snap the King Pin off the trailer and break it loose from the receiver;
2. Trailers that I hook to F-250 have a tag line that should the trailer break loose of hitch for any reason it will apply the trailer breaks so it eventually stops instead of running away. Again, its 2022, why isn't that an option on a big rig?
The teacher was unable to give me an answer to this question.
Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge and looking forward to learning something else today I didn't know yesterday.
Make it a Great Night.
Jon
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.