Does rocking the trailer not make them retract? Usually if my pins are stuck just going forward and reverse slightly will get them to retract. I've only had 1 or 2 trailers that I've been unable to get retracted which I'd just send it to the shop to get fixed. Also sometimes parking on a slight incline/decline will help those stubborn pins.
Does rocking the trailer not make them retract? Usually if my pins are stuck just going forward and reverse slightly will get them to retract. I've only had 1 or 2 trailers that I've been unable to get retracted which I'd just send it to the shop to get fixed. Also sometimes parking on a slight incline/decline will help those stubborn pins.
Yes, I’ve done that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
I wonder if the axles on some trailers are not aligned properly.
This is a major issue for me because I do live loads, live unloads on almost every assignments. That means sliding the tandems frequently.
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".
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".
If you have a trolley brake (Johnson Bar) use that to hold tandems. Holds far better than the spring brakes. I used Blaster (liberal amount) to free stubborn tandems. On the Walmart account it was rare that I did not adjust tandem setting.
In all the years of running that account I can only recall requesting shop help twice. When attempting to free them be a tad aggressive when rocking the truck.
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".
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".
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
It all depends on your shop. Some are better about fixing the problem than others. I've worked for some companies where it never happened while at others you know if you're going to slide the tandems you'd better bring your hammer with you every time. You can list it on your DVIR but the next time you get the same trailer - same stuck pins! Bent rails, water in the air lines, road grit in the channels and other issues can all cause stuck pins.
As a driver your only options are to nag your shop or carry several cans of penetrating oil with you on the truck. Drain any water from your air lines and generously spray the penetrating oil on the pin and in the pin channel then rock the tandems slightly. Most of the time that will free up at least some of the pins to save you from playing whack-a-mole with them.
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".
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".
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Recently, I’ve had several trailers that I’ve had trouble sliding the tandems because one or more pins won’t retract. This is a serious problem for me because it requires multiple trips from the cab to the tandems and walking is a big issue for me until I get my knees fixed. I have purchased a 30” steel rod so I can use this and my two pound hammer to force the pins back from the side of the trailer without kneeling down and getting under the frame. BTW, several times before I bought the steel rod, I had to hammer the pins from under the frame and when the pins finally retract, the frame drops suddenly and I think that this could break an arm. I think it is very dangerous.
Anywho, what tips do you experienced drivers have on this subject? The trailer I’m pulling now works perfectly. Why do some trailers have bulky pins?
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".