Lorry Wheels

[barney4444]

I often see large lorries travelling along with 1 pair of wheels jacked up off the road, which I guess saves on tyre wear, I assume that this is not allowed if the lorry is loaded but what would stop them driving along with a fully laden lorry and the wheels in the up position. I am thinking of the big tipper`s and trucks with fully enclosed sides meaning just by looking at them you are unable to tell.

[SeaJayPea]

They will only go into the up position if there's no weight on the axle.

[ChuckFickens]

It depends on the system on the truck/trailer.

Old systems were fully manually controlled and the driver could quite easily raise the axle when the lorry was fully loaded despite that fact doing so would put the remaining axle above it's permitted weight (and they would sometimes do just that to increase traction)

Newer systems automatically raise or lower the axle based on the load, it's possible to carry a light load and the axle will remain raised but as soon as the system detects it's approaching the permitted weight for the remaining axle it will automatically drop the extra axle down (although this can generally be overridden if needed either for traction or to allow a tighter turn than may be possible with the axle in the down position)

[barney4444]

Thank`s guy`s.. I can stop mulling that one over now!!