Quick connect air lines at the truck conversion?

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by HopeOverMope, Sep 22, 2018.

  1. skellr

    skellr Road Train Member

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    They do have alot of slack as they don't coil up. Need to run two "hangars" to keep them out of the way.

    Another option, if it's your truck and trailer, is to run the lines out the back of the tractor and up under the trailer. It's all underneath and out of the way. Figures I can't seem ti find a pic ATM...
     
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  3. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    You know just get the right cop, you will be put oos and have to replace them. They come undone, one reason why they are not allows is there is no locking mechanism.
     
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  4. roshea

    roshea Road Train Member

    Interesting because the glad hands are designed to pull apart if the trailer should become separated from the towing unit. I don't think I'd put that much faith in a quick connect fitting though, even though I've never had one come apart. It is not uncommon for people to not fully seat them though, I have seen other people in shops have them blow off. A real benefit is how much more difficult it would be for someone to steal your trailer.

    Airlines coming out the rear of the tractor are nice but you are pretty limited to only using a trailer setup to accept that connection. If you needed to connect to any 'normal' trailer you'd be S.O.L..
     
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  5. ichudov

    ichudov Heavy Load Member

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    I have a warehouse and a repair shop (for all our equipment). We use quick connects for shop air lines.

    They _DO_ come undone if you pull them just the right way. I would not trust them on a semi truck.
     
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  6. Tug Toy

    Tug Toy Road Train Member

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    I carry a pair of gladhands and Cressent wrenches in the truck in case I have to pull a different trailer or leave mine for someone else.
     
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  7. HopeOverMope

    HopeOverMope Road Train Member

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    I wouldn’t see much of a problem with the quick connects on the truck / tractor supply side, then use regular glad hands on the trailer. There would be little to no pulling on the tractor side.

    Besides the rubber lines, which I may do, The goal here is to make an air line replacement much faster and doubling the truck air supply for power tools. The problem is finding a DOT-3 approved fitting combo.
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2018
  8. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

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    Why not just a pair of glad hands that your air lines would plug into? Seems like an easier solution.

    The main thing to remember with using quick connects is that they have to allow sufficient air flow, otherwise you're restricting the performance of your brakes. Red line would be slow to charge the system and release the brakes, and the blue line would cause a delay in the service brake application. I wouldn't use anything less than 1/2" connections, similar to what you'd power your big 1" gun with back at the shop. Anything smaller and you're asking for trouble.
     
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  9. ZVar

    ZVar Road Train Member

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    The rubber lines would mean you will not have to change the lines. They last forever (Well, a good long time anyway).
    As for the airline for power tools, I'd make something like this...

    [​IMG]

    Should be a lot more compact and easy to deal with. Also will not put any strain on the bracket you connect the lines to behind the cab line a quick connect there would.
     
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  10. HopeOverMope

    HopeOverMope Road Train Member

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    Only thing is, quick fittings at the glad hand could promote uncoupling in the U-turn or tight turn situation. At the back of the cab is a mini bulkhead on most trucks. Right there,,, quick fit connection. Turning won’t affect it and changing air lines would be as quick as popping the male/female fitting off the old airline, and screwing it on to the new one with wrenches. Then pop it into the fitting. No need to manually rotate the whole hose to get the thread going and etc.

    I like the idea, but with all these responses, I don’t think we’ve made it “legal” yet. Dot-3 approved fittings
     
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