Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
The only time I’ll pull the red valves when I’m stopped, is if one of the red glad hands has a small air leak. You seasoned drivers know all about this, so this is for the newer guys.
That snubber, that provides extra tension between the front trailer and the eye of the dolly, will always stay engaged. Until it doesn’t. With some trailers, when you have a leaky hand valve, the air will drain completely. Usually this isn’t a problem. In most cases, the snubber stays glued to the eye of the dolly. But sometimes, if the air pressure gets too low, or the air bladder that holds the snubber in, can, at times, leak. And when it does, the snubber goes back into the trailer.
I work nights, and sleep in the tractor like a baby. But nothing wakes me from a deep sleep, more than when that snubber releases, causing the dolly and the back box to move forward those few inches, into the front box. The first time it happened, I thought someone rear-ended me. And I my racing heartbeat prevented me from getting back to my beauty rest.
Nothing irritates a night driver more than being woke up.
The good thing, is usually you’ll notice this during your pre-trip, so you know whether or not to release your red valve during your nap.
By the way, you can drive with a broken snubber, it’s just not a lot of fun. You’ll feel something different. That’s the back box bumping up against the front box. Lots of times, it means you just forgot to engage the snubber. Pull over and check.
One last thing, if it is below freezing, and wet, in rain or snow, never pull your red valve when you stop. I made that mistake once, during a nap in a snow storm. When I got ready to get back on the road, my rig wouldn’t move. I called someone, and they told me, most likely, the brake pads were frozen to the drums.
They were right. And the only way to fix it is to crawl under the trailer, with a hammer and beat on the pads until you release them.
Nothing worse than waking up from a warm sleep, to laying on freezing, wet ground, hammering metal on metal for 15 minutes.
That will never happen again.
That snubber, that provides extra tension between the front trailer and the eye of the dolly, will always stay engaged. Until it doesn’t. With some trailers, when you have a leaky hand valve, the air will drain completely. Usually this isn’t a problem. In most cases, the snubber stays glued to the eye of the dolly. But sometimes, if the air pressure gets too low, or the air bladder that holds the snubber in, can, at times, leak. And when it does, the snubber goes back into the trailer.
I work nights, and sleep in the tractor like a baby. But nothing wakes me from a deep sleep, more than when that snubber releases, causing the dolly and the back box to move forward those few inches, into the front box. The first time it happened, I thought someone rear-ended me. And I my racing heartbeat prevented me from getting back to my beauty rest.
Nothing irritates a night driver more than being woke up.
The good thing, is usually you’ll notice this during your pre-trip, so you know whether or not to release your red valve during your nap.
By the way, you can drive with a broken snubber, it’s just not a lot of fun. You’ll feel something different. That’s the back box bumping up against the front box. Lots of times, it means you just forgot to engage the snubber. Pull over and check.
One last thing, if it is below freezing, and wet, in rain or snow, never pull your red valve when you stop. I made that mistake once, during a nap in a snow storm. When I got ready to get back on the road, my rig wouldn’t move. I called someone, and they told me, most likely, the brake pads were frozen to the drums.
They were right. And the only way to fix it is to crawl under the trailer, with a hammer and beat on the pads until you release them.
Nothing worse than waking up from a warm sleep, to laying on freezing, wet ground, hammering metal on metal for 15 minutes.
That will never happen again.
ty Mack
