Delaware CDL DMV Combination 1

The earliest and best way to recognize the beginnings of a trailer skid is by seeing the trailer veer off-course in your mirrors.

When positioning trailers in a combination, the most heavily-loaded trailer should be the closest to the tractor. The lightest trailer should be positioned in the rear.

If a vehicle has anti-lock brakes on just one axle, the driver will still have more control during braking than they would without any anti-lock brakes.

To lower the risk of a rollover, load your cargo as closely to the ground as possible. To further reduce this risk, take curves and corners slowly.

When coupling glad hands, make sure to couple together matching glad hands. To help drivers avoid mistakes, color coding is sometimes used. Service lines are often coded with the color blue and emergency lines are often coded with the color red.

Correctly following the steps to couple and uncouple trailers is vital to safely operating a combination vehicle. Before backing your tractor under the trailer while coupling, make sure your trailer brakes are locked.

To lower the risk of a rollover, load your cargo as closely to the ground as possible. To further reduce this risk, take curves and corners slowly.

When a vehicle goes around a corner, the rear wheels follow a different path than the front wheels. This is called off-tracking. This effect is especially pronounced on vehicles with trailers.

All trailers and converter dollies manufactured on or after March 1, 1998 must be equipped with Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS).

Combination vehicles are usually heavier and longer than single combination vehicles. Operating a combination vehicle requires a higher level of driving skill than operating a single commercial vehicle.

Due to the "crack-the-whip" effect caused by rearward amplification, changing lanes too quickly in a combination vehicle can result in a rollover.

Be sure to test the trailer emergency brakes before beginning a trip. After ensuring that the trailer rolls freely, you can test the emergency brakes by pulling out the trailer air supply control, or placing it in the "emergency" position. Pull forward slightly with the tractor and make sure the trailer does not move.

An Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) helps prevent wheel lockup during hard braking. If ABS detects impending lockup, it reduces braking pressure to a safe level.

When backing with a trailer, turn the top of the steering wheel in the direction opposite of where you want to go. Once the trailer begins turning, you should then switch the direction of the steering wheel to follow the trailer.

If you need to back your trailer but cannot back up in a straight path, you should back on a curved path toward the driver's side of the vehicle. This will allow you the best possible visibility while backing.

Before a trip, ensure that air in the air brake system reaches all trailers. Do this by waiting for air pressure to build, then sending air to both the emergency and service lines and opening the shut-off valves on the rear of the last trailer. If air escapes from the shut-off valves in the rear of the combination, the air is being supplied to the entire vehicle.

Before coupling together a tractor and a trailer, you should make sure the trailer is at the proper height. If the trailer is too low, the trailer nose may be damaged. If the trailer is too high, it may not be able to couple correctly.

It is important that all of a vehicle's equipment is in proper working condition before beginning a trip. If a trailer's spring brakes do not release when you push in the tractor air supply control, you should make sure the air line connections are properly attached and sealed.

Older trailers do not have spring brakes. This means that if the air supply in an older trailer's air tank has leaked away, there will be no working brakes connected to the trailer and its wheels will turn freely.

To test the trailer service brakes, you should first ensure that the braking system has a normal air pressure level, then release the parking brake. You should then move the vehicle forward slowly and apply the brakes with the hand control. If the trailer service brakes are working properly, you will feel the brakes activate.