Was just thinking why truck and trailer air brake connections use gladhands and not an air quick attach that you would use for an air tool?
Can you elaborate? :idontgetit
If nothing else they are simple and low maintainance to say nothing about the trouble it would be to change all the existing setups to the quick disconnects in use today.Those things are a hassle to use when there is pressure on them and do not deal with contamination well either.Gladhands are simple and cheap and pretty much universal,they are used on air compressors for the same reason.Ron G
they do just bigger and better quality... lots of guys use them on there own truck and trailers.... but when your pulling a company trailer they use gladhands because they are cheap and everyone uses them.... BTW most chrome shops have the quick conects in stock... as does most pete dealers.
We changed to Glad Hands years ago and were the only ones using them for quite a long time, because the trailer industry kept using the conventional fittings. The reason we changed was because of the type of work we do, both on road and off road, on our truck and pig trailer, the dirt would get in between the sleeves and balls on the connectors and lock them up. We have enough trouble even now with the hydraulic couplers, but the Glad Hands eliminated those problems. RnR.
Years ago several Co. tried it around here, - eventually they found out they had to carry a tool box to hitch up. Propane torch to thaw sleeve during winter months, penetrating oil and hammer for rust ,dirt, and frustration But I still see them once in a while
When I read the post, I thought of the type of coupling used on air tools connected to big compressors, like breakers. They'd seem to make as much sense as gladhands. This kind: Pic copied from : http://www.crowdersupply.com/assets/files/docs/air_king.pdf
i think that the air lines would come unlocked when making turns and such...
We use the quick disconnect style like on an impact wrench on our floats and folding neck trailers. The only reason we use them is so they can be recessed into the trailer, and they dont have any chance of getting broken while winching the trailer on or off. We also carry a set of adapters so we can pull the glad hand trailers also if needed. Our rig up trucks have them recessed into the tailboard and carry the individual air lines that go to the trailer.
Why not gladhands?
Also most if not all RGM trailer makers use quick connects, from the gooseneck to the deck of the trailer.
A note of caution. A regular quick disconnect, like is used on an air tool is illegal according to one Cal Dot DOT inspector. My buddy got cited for using the regular kind. The ones that are legal have the little slot in the outer sleeve that has to align with the little "***" sticking up from the body of the female coupler. Just passing on what I was told.
We don't really use glad hands down here this what we use
One of the problems with those quick disconnects that I have run into is the different configurations that exist that are exclusive to the style that you choose to use. I have made up adapters that allow me to change styles to accomodate my air chucks etc because you never know what style the next guy is going to be using.There were three different configurations in use when I was active in the trade,I don't know if any one style predominates today or if there are more styles today than there used to be.Ron G
Our 100 ton trailer has some of the quick connect on it,Summer not too bad just lube the daylights out of them . But winter is a real pain for the same reason OneWelder gave . Frozen fitting are a bear to deal with.Have used logbook sheets to get a fire rolling to thaw the things out .
maybe the gladhands are a carryover from the railroad... easy to connect and disconnect..
I hooked up my 25 ton Tagalong to my single axle the other day and it was a bit pain to get the gladhands on I never use the single axle to pull a trailer so the rubber washers where a bit dry. I was thinking that large dia quick couplers would be eaiser. I have a air compressor mounted on my service truck uncovered year round and i never have problem hooking up tools to it,
We use a Lanolin based aerosol spray (similar to WD40) and I find an occasional quick spray of the rubbers and the back of glad hand where they slide together, makes it easy to couple them up. The lanolin doesn't react with the rubber. The normal couplings are fine if they are away from contamination, used regularly and kept lubricated, but in our situation they run low to the road in all the dust and mud which locks them up. RnR.
I always spit on the rubbers before connecting them.I was told to do that at a very early age.I seldom had a problem.If you don't drain your air tanks they won't dry out.LOL.Ron G
So do I, but I didn't want to be the first person to post it... OCR...
I was told at a very early age that a little saliva would lubricate them, but nobody ever mentioned spitting . I lick em. Damn....
Pics needed , vid is better...... hahahahah
Hmmm Taste like chicken?
Rubber chicken
:jawdropgladhands, spit and a rubber chicken....*** i have heard it all... :falldownlaugh
No joke, my grandpa licks his gladhands before connecting! I saw him do it one day and couldnt believe it. Back to the original topic though, all of our transfers run the bigger quick connect style, I didnt think I would like them but after my first day of hooking and unhooking I wouldnt want to go back to gladhands. I do carry adapters in my tool box just in case I have to pull somebody elses trailer. One plus side to the quick connect style on our air drive transfers (mines electric drive) is that you can push in the trailer valve without the trailer hooked up. On an air drive transfer this allows you to have air to the back of the truck so that the air drive tanks on the trailer can start charging back up as soon as you connect the lines. This gives the drive tanks on the trailer a head start in case you have to transfer again soon.
You want pics of me spitting on my rubbers??? You will never know how I agonized over that post but sometimes you just gotta take a chance.LOL.Ron G
I once had a trailer hose blow and had to use a hydraulic hose till I could get a DOT stamped hose. Are these quick couplers DOT stamped to be legal in the US for air brake line??
Aren't Gladhands used because if they are pulled apart for some reason, (ie forgot to disconnect when driving away from trailer or some other incident/accident), they uncouple without being damaged and allow the brake to actuate?
Whether accepted or not the real problem is that most of these couplers seal the hose when disconnected. This is not acceptable to the DOT because if a hose disconnects the dash valve is supposed to pop out and/or the safety relay valve is supposed to lock the trailer brakes. With a coupler that seals you can drop a hose and the trailer will not lock.
they are in railroad apps. not over the road trucks....
I can tell you for sure , If you don't unhook the coiled hoses they get really really long before they break.............From what I have seen..........I don't personally know ...nope not me.Too cool to make a mistake like that I keep a spare set of hoses and a light cord in case someone does that to my truck ops
LOL... takes a bit of time for them to coil back up, if you do stop in time. Of course.... OCR...
Mine were extra long, so i could hit the air release and drive out from under the mechanical detach. But the first time i tried that trick the werent...
I used to carry nipples in the ashtray for the fittings on the gooseneck just in case I got frazzled by something or someone while disconnecting for a load/unload detail. Once in a while these things happen.I have a routine and if it gets interrupted for any reason I sometimes don't recover in time,especially near the end of the day and you're blocking traffic and everyone wants to go home...la de da.Ron G