Pup trailers

[Hay Dude]

Hay Dude what was your injury? Hope it wasn't too serious. Were you able to keep up your snow plow route or wasn't that needed ?

Torn knee meniscus, bruised ribs and lacerated lower back, some nasty bruises, too. I was able to plow. Injuries happened from 2 separate incidents.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I once backed a 40' trailer into a jack knifed position loading dock around the corner of a building. I could not drive out because the trailer would short cut and hit the building. I tried for 30 minutes. Finally called the dispatcher and told him my situation. He said, not worries, we've had that problem there before, sit tight, I'll send a wrecker. I felt like such a failure, after feeling like such a stud because I had backed in there. Be careful what you wish for.

Coming home the other night a semi was Jack knifed into a driveway with trailer sticking out in the road. look like it tried to turn around and didn’t have room. To me it looked like he could cut his wheels sharp to the right and drive into the driveway, but driver was standing along truck on his phone as I went by.

 

[JDZ735M]

Torn knee meniscus, bruised ribs and lacerated lower back, some nasty bruises, too. I was able to plow. Injuries happened from 2 separate incidents.

Dayum!

 

[Renze]

The trailers in your videos have no need for locking turntables. If you look closely, especially in the first video, the wheelbase of the tractor is similar or maybe slightly shorter than the distance from the tractor rear axle to the turntable. The longest distance is from the turntable axle to the rear axle of the rear trailer. A small amount of movement of the tractor front axle creates a large movement of the turntable. If that driver needs a lockable turntable he needs sent home.

Thats exactly what i was saying a few posts back, so we agree on that one.

 

[ovrszd]

Coming home the other night a semi was Jack knifed into a driveway with trailer sticking out in the road. look like it tried to turn around and didn’t have room. To me it looked like he could cut his wheels sharp to the right and drive into the driveway, but driver was standing along truck on his phone as I went by.

The concept that got me was "pushing" the trailer tandems into a tight spot and then "pulling" them back out. They took a completely different line.

In your post, ya reckon he was wishing he hadn't tried that?

 

[Renze]

Try a mule train short logger trailer out in the wood a with a mile or two back in with the trailer down that’s why some of the dollies are lockable.

I thought we were discussing pup trailers, not log dollies. Excuse me if i took a wrong turn

 

[Renze]

Hmmm...
I never thought of doing it that way. I tend to just hop out with my flashlight and hammer and do a quick walk around, checking lights, tires, etc., when I am stopped. Maybe I'm making it too easy?

How do you check brake lights on your own, put a stick between seat and brake pedal ?

 

[ovrszd]

I thought we were discussing pup trailers, not log dollies. Excuse me if i took a wrong turn

Now you did it.... We need a definition of a pup trailer? Then we need a definition of a log dolly?

Sidebar. In my World, the removable device used to hitch two 5th wheel style trailers together is called an "Articulator". It can be single axle or tandem axle. But it must be removable. As in lower the dolly on the rear trailer, unlatch the pin, drive away with the articulator. This method is used on all over the road truck trailer units here pulling doubles or triples.

 

[Renze]

The concept that got me was "pushing" the trailer tandems into a tight spot and then "pulling" them back out. They took a completely different line.

In your post, ya reckon he was wishing he hadn't tried that?

Whenever in a situation like that, theres allways a cheat: Turn around and hook the trailer to the front of the truck or tractor. My neighbour has a very old farm wagon with a wheelbase of around three meters. When it gets really tight i hook it to the front so i can put it anywhere i want.

 

[ovrszd]

Whenever in a situation like that, theres allways a cheat: Turn around and hook the trailer to the front of the truck or tractor. My neighbour has a very old farm wagon with a wheelbase of around three meters. When it gets really tight i hook it to the front so i can put it anywhere i want.

You have over the road semi trucks with 5th wheels on the front???

 

[Skeans1]

I thought we were discussing pup trailers, not log dollies. Excuse me if i took a wrong turn

It is a pup, a west coast mule train or short logger is a different sort of beast you can run up to 5 axles most are two axle or three lumber pups and mule train pups are where the term wiggle worm comes from. The advantage to the setup in this picture is you can hop up the front axle of the trailer allowing the trailer to be loaded but still be unloaded by small equipment.

 

[oliver1555]

How do you check brake lights on your own, put a stick between seat and brake pedal ?

Pretty simple - apply the trailer brake handle (johnny bar) and the brake lights come on - which begs the question: Have you ever driven an American truck on American roads? Or are you just speculating?

 

[Renze]

Now you did it.... We need a definition of a pup trailer? Then we need a definition of a log dolly?

Sidebar. In my World, the removable device used to hitch two 5th wheel style trailers together is called an "Articulator". It can be single axle or tandem axle. But it must be removable. As in lower the dolly on the rear trailer, unlatch the pin, drive away with the articulator. This method is used on all over the road truck trailer units here pulling doubles or triples.

In my part of the world, a dolly is either an axle unit used to carry long logs without a chassis connecting these axles to the frame, so the logs themself form an articulated trailer.
It can also mean one or two axles with a drawbar attached to the frame, and a 5th wheel on top, either to connect semitrailers to a double, or to hook a semitrailer behind a conventional truck, or to hook it behind a farm tractor.
And dolly axles are the steerable trailer axles before the lowbed in heavy haulage, when a 4 or 5 axle tractor unit still cant carry the 5th wheel load.

As i understand it, you guys call any trailer with a tow eye intended to go behind a conventional truck, a pup trailer ?
When i was in Canada i got the impression that only mid axle trailers were called pup trailers there. What we call a "wipkar", or "seesaw cart" but i see the term used for turntable trailers too here.

 

[Renze]

Pretty simple - apply the trailer brake handle (johnny bar) and the brake lights come on. Also, they come on when the red button (trailer air supply) in the cab is pulled - which begs the question: Have you ever driven an American truck on American roads? Or are you just speculating?

No, but i did install Knorr EBS brake systems intended for the North American market on light semitrailers behind light vehicles such as MB Sprinters. They told us they wouldnt start serial production untill it was launched on the North American market, because all heavy trucks in Europe are 24V, not just the starter, but all onboard systems.

I cannot remember putting the brakes on manually, lit the brake lights. But then it was 2008 since i left the trailer business.

 

[Renze]

It is a pup, a west coast mule train or short logger is a different sort of beast you can run up to 5 axles most are two axle or three lumber pups and mule train pups are where the term wiggle worm comes from. The advantage to the setup in this picture is you can hop up the front axle of the trailer allowing the trailer to be loaded but still be unloaded by small equipment.View attachment 730522

With that relatively long drawbar and single front axle, its not harder to back than the type of combination with which the average European construction company moves their excavators up to 30 ton... And they dont have turntable lock: and if such trailer had turntable lock, it would still need a loaded dumptruck to be able to push 4 axles around the corner.
(Ha! In fact i remember hauling stuff with a 5 ton farm tractor in front, on a wet road: with that tandem under the turntable, even loaded to 1/3 of capacity it would jackknife a farm tractor unless you brake before the corner, and pull flat out through the corner)

 

[ovrszd]

With that relatively long drawbar and single front axle, its not harder to back than the type of combination with which the average European construction company moves their excavators up to 30 ton... And they dont have turntable lock: and if such trailer had turntable lock, it would still need a loaded dumptruck to be able to push 4 axles around the corner.
(Ha! In fact i remember hauling stuff with a 5 ton farm tractor in front, on a wet road: with that tandem under the turntable, even loaded to 1/3 of capacity it would jackknife a farm tractor unless you brake before the corner, and pull flat out through the corner)

I never saw that driver use reverse once. Oh wait, he knows he can't back that trailer setup. Well,,, I might have overstated. He can back it short distances, very short. And he can back it in a relatively straight path. He has no chance of being able to turn it around in that situation by backing it into the entrance where the camera was sitting. No chance.

 

[Skeans1]

With that relatively long drawbar and single front axle, its not harder to back than the type of combination with which the average European construction company moves their excavators up to 30 ton... And they dont have turntable lock: and if such trailer had turntable lock, it would still need a loaded dumptruck to be able to push 4 axles around the corner.
(Ha! In fact i remember hauling stuff with a 5 ton farm tractor in front, on a wet road: with that tandem under the turntable, even loaded to 1/3 of capacity it would jackknife a farm tractor unless you brake before the corner, and pull flat out through the corner)

Come on out an show us on the logging roads we have out here there’s a reason the trailers are packed in on the truck as much as possible. There’s place we’ve had to back around twists and corner a mile or two there’s just no place for a turn around. That one is setup to hop up on the back of the truck to help you back on those logging roads it also gives you weight on the drive axles to get up the hills that we see out here.

 

[Skeans1]

In my part of the world, a dolly is either an axle unit used to carry long logs without a chassis connecting these axles to the frame, so the logs themself form an articulated trailer.
It can also mean one or two axles with a drawbar attached to the frame, and a 5th wheel on top, either to connect semitrailers to a double, or to hook a semitrailer behind a conventional truck, or to hook it behind a farm tractor.
And dolly axles are the steerable trailer axles before the lowbed in heavy haulage, when a 4 or 5 axle tractor unit still cant carry the 5th wheel load.

As i understand it, you guys call any trailer with a tow eye intended to go behind a conventional truck, a pup trailer ?
When i was in Canada i got the impression that only mid axle trailers were called pup trailers there. What we call a "wipkar", or "seesaw cart" but i see the term used for turntable trailers too here.

You mean a long logger with a reach? Or log trailer without a reach as in a pole trailer?

This is a long logger with a reach the reach steers the trailer, this is easier to back up then the mule trains are.

 

[oliver1555]

Many people who haven’t pulled one of them have a hard time comprehending how they work. Not easy to explain.

 

[Hay Dude]

Dayum!

Yeah its been a tough few weeks. Going to give it a whirl tomorrow. Gotta feed the bulldog!