The best advice I can give you on snow and doubles is to drive quite a bit slower than the super trucker and keep a lot of following distance! I never had the opportunity to drive a set with ABS, and I'm sure that helps tremendously, but you really have to keep the space to be able to keep the trailers straight if they start wanting to go goofy on you! The more space, the more times you can get off and back on the brakes to keep everything straight. its hell when you have to get and stay on the brakes and see the trailers start to "accordian" on you. Just keep a lot of distance and take your time, and when you see something goofy up ahead when all else fails start slowing down!!!

 

a tip for snow is to open your blue line about one quarter turn on the back wagon...less brakes but they won't lock up and slide that wagon.

 

Good tip, Best to use duck tape to keep the glad hand from coming completely off.

 

there is no glad hand, just a valve...at least on our trailers

 

Jed we have been known to reduce or cutoff the flow to the back trailer by closing the valve behind the lead. This way you still have full pressure on the lead which is your heaviest. I only do it when my rear is an empty to keep it from locking up and sliding out. By opening the valve on the rear aren't you reducing braking power on both trailers? I dont like to make this suggestion to others because some feel that cutting braking power to any trailer could cause the set to push the tractor into a spin. I prefer to let people decide for themselves. But seen as how you brought it up we may as well discuss it!

 

Thought you were talking about the glad hands. I have also heard tips of putting a nickel or a quarter on one of the sides of the gladhand so air will leak out when the brakes are applied.

 

i should clairfy to day that is what i do. whether or not it is the best way i do not know. i understand what you are saying, i have never thought about doing it another way. the way i do it you have to remember that you do indeed have less braking power therefore longer to stop, but i ahve never have trouble getting stopped and sliding anything sideways. however there was this one time i was going up hill with two light trailers, one was in the left mirror, the other was in the right mirror...very interesting.

 

Except for the fact that IF you're stopped by the DOT and he hears hissing from your airlines you're gonna catch it.

 

Yeah, that wouldn't go over very well with DOT.

 

LOL Copy the right mirror left mirror! I guess the thinking is that in the event the rear is considerably lighter than the front it would lock up and slide out first so the idea is to reduce the brake pressure to the rear. Plus as yoopr pointed out there is no air loss when you close the lead valve. By opening the rear valve it seems the only effect would be equally reducing braking on both trailers which I'm not sure is desireable. The rear would still theoretically lock up before the lead if it was an empty or alot lighter. In any event I think all of this would raise serious issues if there was an accident and someone found out which is why I usually hesitate to give advice on closing air valves. I'm not sure of the legalities involved. As Sgt Schwartz said...I know nothing! :lol: