I have no idea. How long have you been driving? We used to gross about 30,000 on a really heavy day. I never gave a second thought to sliding anything. I've only had to deal with this for the last three months now, so I'm a rookie in this respect. (I was a rookie on 53' trailers with full-sized road tractors too. I looked like a moron for the first month. Now people regularly say "Damn!" when they see me whip into a tight hole. I'm good at something, by Jove!Not mine. I got 4" extra. :lol:
Could be. I used to be a driver/lumper. Now I just crank dollies all day. I'm all Jell-O from the waist up.Yeah, or maybe jack it hard toward the blind side to counteract the usual forces. I thought that after I sent the last message.

 

30,000 is a "heavy" day? :lol: Try 44,400 of bottled Coke that only came to the 48' mark on a 53'. The tandems had to go forward or my drives would of been over.

There is a tool that will apply spring tension on the pull out handles of the tandems, so you can rock them back and forth, heard it cost about $100.

 

A spread axle anything is the way to go!!!

 

You guys work too hard trying to slide tandems. I have a easy cheap solution that I have been using for years and has never failed.

Buy yourself a 36" rubber strap with the hooks on the ends. I buy mine from Lowes under the brand name Task Force. Buy yourself a few extra ones because the rubber will get old eventually and crack. Find the middle of the strap and wrap it around the L part of the handle how many times you need to put enough tension on the handle. Even if the handle doesn't pull out all the way it is okay. Hook the ends on the side of the trailer edge. This is like if someone is pulling on the handle of the tandem. Go back in your truck set the trailer brakes and rock it back and forth. Go back out to your trailer and the handle should pull out all the way now releasing the pins. Been using this method for years. Don't need to ask for anyone's help.

Another trick is, if your handle pulls out but won't stay in the groove locked, get a pair of vise grips and pull the handle out to the point where it would lock in but doesn't and set the vise grip on the handle to prevent the handle from sliding back in. Works every time. Try these methods, it will work.

 

It used to be heavy enough to have me bitching about how hard it was to pull the hills. If I had to drop one gear on Afton or coming up Fancy Gap, it was too heavy.

I was so spoiled.

I pull ~45,000 every day now, but it's loaded a little past the 48' mark. I have to keep the tandems something like 2/3 of the way back. I think they're probably too far back to be legal with that kingpin thingie I remember from school, but everybody says nobody enforces that anymore, except Kalifornistan, and I just worry about making the weight right.

I see lots of reefers with the tandems allll the way to the very back.

I like the rubber strap idea better. Actually, what I should try is a cheap ratcheting strap, since I have several laying around. Throw one of those in the toolbox for next time, and I can hold a hell of a lot of tension on the handle while I try to jiggle the pins loose.

I have to say this part of being a Real Freighthauler(tm) rather sucks. Even the air gizmos are still a lot more trouble than something like this ought to be in the 21st century.

 

Great advice boneebone -- thanks!

 

I'm with you ssoutlaw. Be it on a flatbed, reefer, or van. Never seen one on a bull hauler.


kc0iv