Merritt GOOSENECK LIVESTOCK TRAILER, Owner'S Manual

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SAFETY
OVER-THE-ROAD SAFE HANDLING
6. Tire Characteristics: high pressure truck/trailer tires have different characteristics under high
speed cornering conditions than do passenger car tires. As an extreme example, it is fairly
common knowledge that a skilled race car driver can consistently “drift” his racer around
tight turns where very high lateral ”g” forces are encountered. However, truck/trailer tires
which are designed for carrying high loads over long distances have substantially different
characteristics, and their lateral stability becomes unpredictable when lateral forces approach
0.4g. This means that commercial vehicles must be operated in a conservative manner
when cornering.
Braking and Acceleration: either braking or accelerating while cornering can significantly 7.
reduce the stability of the vehicle and should be avoided. The best driving practice is to
decelerate to safe conservative speed before entering a corner or approaching congested
traffic, and then to apply only moderate power until a straight path has been reestablished.
Like any other vehicles, trailers can tip or slide out of control if turns are negotiated at too
high of a speed or when making violent maneuvers such as abrupt lane changes or other
evasive actions to avoid obstacles.
WHEEL TORQUES
Proper torqueing and re-torqueing the wheel nuts are critical to prevent a premature loss of
wheel equipment.
Wheel nuts must be checked and re-torqued after 50 to 100 miles of use. This is
important every time you change a wheel.
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