The trailer hand valve should not be used for parking. This could cause all of the air to leak out of the braking system, resulting in the brakes releasing. Instead, use the parking brake.

On newer vehicles, the trailer air supply control is an eight-sided red knob. It's used to control the tractor protection valve.

In vehicles equipped with an automatic tractor protection valve, the valve will pop out if air pressure drops to a level between 20 and 45 psi. When the valve pops out, the protection valve will close, stopping the flow of air.

When coupling, make sure you couple matching glad hands. They are often color-coded to help drivers avoid mistakes. Typically, blue is used for service lines and red is used for emergency lines.

Bobtail tractors are tractors that are not attached to any semitrailers. When operating a bobtail, you should be aware that stopping can be difficult and that it will take a longer distance to bring the bobtail to a complete stop than it would a tractor attached to a loaded semitrailer.

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.

When connecting a converter dolly to a second or third trailer, the trailer height should be correct. It should be slightly lower than the center of the fifth wheel.

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.

Rollovers happen when a vehicle is driven too fast. To reduce the risk of rollover, make sure the weight of cargo is loaded low to the ground, and that you take turns and curves slowly.

Because the weight of cargo gives them a higher center of gravity, fully-loaded rigs are 10 times more likely to roll over in a crash than empty rigs.

Air pressure in the service air line is controlled by either the foot brake or trailer hand brake. The service air line is also known as the control line or signal line. This line is connected to relay valves, which allow the trailer brakes to be applied more quickly than would otherwise be possible.

An empty combination vehicle will come to a complete stop more slowly than a fully-loaded vehicle. The stiff suspension springs and strong brakes will have lower traction on a light trailer than they would if the vehicle carried more weight.

Railroad-highway crossings may be difficult to cross when pulling a trailer with a low underneath clearance. In particular, both low-slung units and single-axle tractors pulling long trailers are especially challenging to drive over raised crossings.

Shut-off valves are used in air supply lines to control the passage of air from one trailer to another. The rear shut-off valve should always be closed to prevent air from leaving the braking system.

Combination vehicles have two air lines: a service line and an emergency line.

Driving a combination vehicle usually requires more skill than driving a single vehicle. Combination vehicles are generally longer and heavier than single commercial vehicles.

The function of an Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) is to prevent a vehicle's wheels from locking up during hard braking.

An empty trailer will require a longer stopping distance than a loaded trailer. Additionally, a trailer is most likely to swing out and strike other vehicles when it is lightly loaded or empty.

Push in the trailer air supply control to supply the trailer with air. Pull out the trailer air supply control to turn off the air supply and activate the emergency brakes.

Before a trip, you should ensure that air reaches all air brakes on all trailers by opening up the rear emergency line and service line shut-off valves to listen for escaping air. Close both shut-off valves before beginning to drive.