Transporting trailer with inoperative brakes.

[Jeff D.]

In the mid 90's I had to pick up a load of scrap in Vermillion SD and haul it to St.Paul Mn to be recycled. It was mid Jan, and very very cold. I arrived at Vermillion, got loaded up to 80klbs, and headed towards my destination.

I didn't make it very far and I noticed my truck was pulling very hard. I was running normal boost (30psi), and the engine seemed to be running right, but I was gradually slowing down even on the flats until I could barely hold about 40mph.

I pulled off on the shoulder of interstate I29 to see if I could tell what was going on, and noticed the trailer brakes were starting to smoke. There must have been moisture in the trailer air system that froze in the extreme cold and it was blocking the supply line. I put alcohol in the system but it just wouldn't thaw. I thought I'd try and muscle the trailer to the next exit, but the brakes had completely clamped down tight by this time. So I called a trailer service place in Sioux Falls to come out and fix it.

They arrived about an hour later, and tried everything they could without any luck. The frigid temps were making their efforts harder, and they needed to warm up in the truck every 15minutes or so. Finally, after not being able to fix the brakes yet the mechanic asked me if I'd pull the trailer to their shop if he were to cage the brakes. It was my decision, and he didn't push the subject. I thought about it and said yes, thinking I'd still have 3 axles with brakes(my truck) and would just take it real easy.

So he cage the brakes, and just before I headed out he said "Make sure you push you emergency valve in to supply the trailer". I said ok, and shut the door. Then I thought about it, and thought what difference would it make to supply the trailer, the brakes are caged, it doesn't need air now. So I didn't push the red valve in, and headed out. The mechanic followed in his shop truck.

I took it real easy up the interstate to I90 and headed east. Their shop was at the first exit east of I29. Long before I got too the exit I started backing it down and getting on the binders since my truck didn't have a jake. I topped the ramp at maybe 25mph and really started pushing on the pedal but it wasn't slowing down very good at all anymore. By the time I was at the bottom I was still doing about 10mph, and I had a red light...................I just couldn't stop!!!!!

I got on the airhorn, and tried to make a right turn as tight as I could. Somehow, by the grace of God all the cars going through the intersection were able to avoid hitting me, and I finally was able to get it stopped on the shoulder. The mechanic pulled in behind me, and I jumped outta the truck still shaking. He came up to see what had happened, and we saw my steer brakes were smoking. I said "The steers must've been the only brakes I had working, WTF!!!!"

He asked "Did you supply the trailer like I told you?". I hadn't, I didn't think it made a difference.:Banghead

He then explained to me how the system was designed to greatly reduce the drive axle brakes when the trailer is not supplied with air, being the semi should be bobtailing when set like this. It's to prevent the drive axles from skidding with no weight on them.

I had been running with my steer brakes doing almost all the work of trying to stop 80klbs.:Banghead

What did I learn? Alot!!

1) I should not have moved the trailer without it having operating brakes unless it was absolutely critical to do so. It was not in this instance.
2) I should've listen to the mechanic instead of "thinking" I knew better than doing his recommendations.
3) I should've tested my braking ability and had a better idea of how poor my brakes now were as soon as I had a chance from leaving the original breakdown point.
4) I probobly should've put the truck into the ditch before entering an intersection with traffic while going thru a red light.

There's no amount of time too long I could've sat on that shoulder with my brakes frozen up, had the situation ended up where I'd ran over a car, or killed someone. I made many bad decisions in this situation. Had I simply done #1 above and waited however long it would've taken for them to fix it in the cold, no one would've been put at risk.

 

[skata]

that's life, you learn from your mistakes. just try not to do too many though.

 

[Jeff D.]

that's life, you learn from your mistakes. just try not to do too many though.

Thanks.
Although I rarely make the same mistake twice, I've learned too much the hard way. I should be learning it the "right way" more often.

I don't like it when people are put in danger on account of my learning.

I've been very lucky thus far.

 

[BrianHay]

enjoyed the story Jeff :thumbsup thanks for sharing it with us

 

[digger242j]

I think the story points out the value of taking those few extra seconds to be sure everybody understands why something needs to be done a certain way.

I'm sure you and the mechanic were strangers to each other, so he had no way of knowing whether you knew the importance of that little tidbit, just as you had no way of knowing he wouldn't give you an unnecessary instruction. He could've taken a second longer to ask, "Do you know why I want you to do that?", and the most hazardous part of the situation would have been averted.

That extra effort to insure everybody is on the same page beomes even more important when you're doing things that are not routine.

 

[Squizzy246B]

Thanks for sharing Mr D. As you would be well aware I thought of many smartbackside remarks to post here when I read your story........ but I actually have a semi-related question (get that..."semi-related" ). What was the first thing that went through your mind when you realised the brakes where frozen?....

I'm putting $100 on Burn the Trailer

 

[Jeff D.]

Thanks guys!

Digger, good point on making sure everyone is informed of "why we need to do something" when an out of the ordinary circumstances come our way. It shouldn't relieve me of any responsiblity, but would've helped prevent future problems.

Squizzy, I don't remember what the first thing that ran through my head was, it very well my have been "Burn the trailer".

At the time I was a "very recently new owner operator", so it also might have been "Thank goodness it's not because of a truck problem" cuz I have to pay for those. Being it was a trailer problem the $$ for the repairs comes out of the pockets of the company I' leased to.:cool2

 

[Countryboy]

"Thank goodness it's not because of a truck problem" cuz I have to pay for those.

Like the front brakes you burnt up.

Would it have helped slow you down if you downshifted while applying the little bit of brakes you had?

I agree with Digger that a breakdown in communication was some of the cause. I think you did good though. You kept the truck on its wheels around the corner. You maintained some control. A truck rolling over through an intersection could of been alot worse.

 

[Jeff D.]

Would it have helped slow you down if you downshifted while applying the little bit of brakes you had?

The answer is yes............but.

Downshifting does help alittle, but not as much as a person might think. From my experience the big diesels just don't provide much "backpressure" or retarding like a gas engine does, without a jake. It does take time to downshift too. Engine rpm must be increased to match gears, and at 10-15mph, you'de need to downshift a few times to get down to "stopped" as gears are very closely spaced at lower speeds.

Although I wasn't moving fast, the last half of the ramp seemed to pass by very quickly, as soon as I realized the brakes weren't going to stop me.

I could've pulled the parking brake knob too, had I thought about it, and that would've applied two brakes on one drive axle by setting their maxibrakes.

I didn't reason things out very well while actually in the situation.

 

[Jeff D.]

Like the front brakes you burnt up.

They didn't burn up completely, they just smoked alittle.

But they didn't inhale:nono .................like Clinton didn't either.

 

[Countryboy]

They didn't burn up completely, they just smoked alittle.

But they didn't inhale:nono .................like Clinton didn't either.

:laugh There are so many placed to run with that.......but I will stay quiet. :bouncegri

 

[woberlin]

It sounds like you handled the situation pretty well, as no one got hurt, and it could of been a disaster. Hind sight is always 20/20, and i'd be willing to bet that you've ran that situation through your mind countless times about what you could of done different. Close calls like that are a great teacher, and certainly help prepare you for the next potential disaster, as well as making a better more careful driver or operator. For most people that is, some never learn!

 

[Grader4me]

It sounds like you handled the situation pretty well, as no one got hurt, and it could of been a disaster. Hind sight is always 20/20, and i'd be willing to bet that you've ran that situation through your mind countless times about what you could of done different. Close calls like that are a great teacher, and certainly help prepare you for the next potential disaster, as well as making a better more careful driver or operator. For most people that is, some never learn!

:iagree This is the point that I made in CB'S adventure. When situations like this take place, everything is happening so fast. Sometimes the old grey matter just can't make quick rational decisions. In Jeff's case here, probably his heart was in his throat, and speaking from experience a person can't think to clearly when your heart has reached that point.

After the dust has settled so to speak, then a person can think back and list everything that he could or should have done. Ahhh...learning the hard way...story of my life

 

[LowBoy]

They didn't burn up completely, they just smoked alittle.

But they didn't inhale:nono .................like Clinton didn't either.

I felt the pain as I read on, Brotha Jeff...:notworthy

I have one similar to yours, not quite as cold though.

The scene was Ct. by the shoreline, around 1981. I was kind of a spare driver to a bunch of trucking co. owners at that time locally, mostly doing dump trailer work around the area.

This fella that owned 6-7 junk trucks and dump trailers, ranging from Brockways to White Road Bosses to LN 9000's with twisted up old 24 foot long trailers, asked me if I'd like to drive for the day, hauling fill to a jobsite right down on the beach in Guilford, Ct. I said, "yes"...The plot deepens.

I get into his R-700 Mack with a 318 detroit and a 10 speed, and a twisted up OLD 60's vintage trailer. I load at this fill jobsite, and of course, the hoe operator freights this poor old relic beyond belief. I take off down the road, making the old Yamaha just sing to everyone in the town...nice tone to 'er...

I get to a stop sign at US route 1, expecting to make a left, but the worn out old Roadranger stick got caught in between gears, and locked up at the stop sign. The owner was only 2 miles away, and so I called him to come down with some tools.

We pull the stick up out of the top of the tranny, re-align the shifting forks, and bolt the stick back down. This was all in about a 45 minute time warp. Meanwhile, unbeknownced to me, the air had completely leaked off from the trailer, it had NO maxi's, just old style pancake diaphragms, and the red button had popped out in the dash but it must have happened when we were out washing our hands or something, or I'd have most likely heard it pop out.

Mind you...this is about a 1972 Mack R-700 that's already had a long life BEFORE this guy bought it...:laugh

I take off once again, and get the old two stroke joke wound up tight, to try and make up for lost time. (Losing one load of DIRT compared to the other 4-5 trucks hauling to that job would have really changed the course of history, I'd imagine, huh?) About 2 miles away from that stop, approaching a pretty abrupt, sweeping curve to the right, there was a VW Beetle (one of the old ones, not these fiberglass ones that actually have some accelleration,) sitting still with it's left directional on, waiting for a break in traffic to make a left. Here comes the tension part...

I step on the brake. Nothing. I step harder. Nothing, even harder. I'm coming up on this VW only like you read about now. I'm looking over the situation, foot planted on the floorpan by now, assessing the impact if I were to hit the bank on the right side of the road, and actually picturing my slow motion roll-over, bracing myself for the move...and this is all taking place I'd say within 3-6 seconds from the time my shoe contacted the break pedal, to the final decision making process.:jawdrop

I'm heading for the bank to keep from hurting the innocent people in the Bug, when at the most precareous, seemingly untimely last second, he hits the gas pedal and leaps to the left and made his turn. I quickly respond by bringing myself back into shape without any incident, although I made such a quick steering manuever that I was a little topsy-turvey for a moment till it all settled down again...

To this day I still say that Bug had a V-8 or something other than a stock Volkswagen motor in it, because it couldn't have been stock to leave the line like it did that day. I am also proud of the driver of it for noticing there was a serious problem about to unfold, and for his quicker than normal 4 wheeler driver reaction. I also would like to thank the Fruit 'O The Loom undergarment manufacturers for making a quality product, because I personally put them through the most stringent stress test they had ever encountered...the shockload was more than twice their normal capacity, make no mistake about it.:eek2

I still eased it on over to the jobsite, after I pulled into a lot after all that trauma and discovered the trailer protection valve had been out instead of in. Had all kinds of brakes after that.:thumbsup

That was the last load, which was also the first, in that old P.O.S.

I have, much to my embarrasment, 2 more horrific "can't stop" stories in storage, but they can wait. I don't want to get a bad reputation...Maybe some other time when we are trying to top each other's fear factor...:laugh

 

[Grader4me]

Man, you should write a book or something..I'm laughing so hard my side is hurting..The fruit O the loom comment is priceless. We will see how it goes as I might share a couple of stories of experiences that I had, and also pay tribute to a certain undergarment company.

On a more serious note though...Dam lucky you or others didn't get hurt..

 

[LowBoy]

Man, you should write a book or something..I'm laughing so hard my side is hurting..The fruit O the loom comment is priceless. We will see how it goes as I might share a couple of stories of experiences that I had, and also pay tribute to a certain undergarment company.

On a more serious note though...Dam lucky you or others didn't get hurt..

I periodically think of doing a book, but who in their right mind would buy 'em?
I could see them all stacked up in Barnes and Noble bookstores, with the best sellers, with only one or two of them left on the shelf, and mine stacked on end, a dozen deep, being used to HOLD the shelf up...:drinkup

 

[surfer-joe]

Just one end LowBoy, just one end. Mine would be under the other.

 

[LowBoy]

:laugh :laugh :laugh

 

[Jeff D.]

Thanks guys for the comments.

Lowboy: Good story, and I know the feeling when the brakes just ain't there no mo'.

It's scary alright.

Don't be afraid to enter the competition with that or another story. We've lot's of room for more experiences, and who knows, might get a shirt outta it.:thumbsup

Woberlin: I agree on the hindsight is 20/20, and I learned something alright.

Grader4me:

In Jeff's case here, probably his heart was in his throat,

:yup My heart was pushed up to make room for the seat that was coming in from the other end.:cool2

 

[jmac]

I can't resist chiming in on this thread with a "can't stop moment".
Just received the coveted CDL and was a new owner of a very old Mack dump truck. Was hauling a very heavy load of bank run for the first time to make a delivery. The road I decided to take was my first time on with the dump truck. Granted I have driven the road many times in a car weighing 5k pounds but never in a truck weighing over 60k lbs. I knew the hill was coming up and I knew it was steep but miscalculated how steep. At the top of the hill I decided to use 3rd gear for the decent. About half way down I realized something is very wrong and very bad things are going to happen real fast. In front of me is car following another dump truck owned by the trucking company that hired me to haul for them that day. The truck in front of me must of been in 2nd gear because he was going a lot slower than I was and no matter how hard I braked I was catching up to the car and the truck fast. My truck was blowing smoke from all the drives and the smell of brake pads burning filled the air and I was still catching the car in front. Just as I came about a foot away from ramming the car into the truck in front the truck in front decided to grab the next gear and speed up along with the car fast on his heals. I didn't hit the car but never did get the truck stopped for what seemed like eternity. I finally did manage to pull the truck over and got out of the truck and just watched the rims smoke for awhile. A motorist stopped and said "I though you had them both" meaning the car and the dump truck in front of me. I wasn't able to answer because I was still speechless. I use
2nd gear now on that hill.