i know rear steers have been with us for a while , on low loaders and tri axle trailers , there they do good , but on a tandam thats just lazy , back in the 80s i used to drive for BEJAMS out of milton keynes, i went to London everyday to all the tight crappy stores tucked away in some daft places i had a single axle trailer for the really small stores,perfect, and for the bigger stores tandam trailer (not rearsteer) again perfect , and as for computers in trucks WHEN have they made things easy, all they do is spy on you or tell you how much diesel your using , and it doesnt get that right half the time , for you new boys its a struggle to open the cab door yourself ,(interlog) If sainsburys is like Tesco ,you dont load them or tip them ,you drive from A to B oh and you might tune the radio in , no wait your shift manager will do that for you ,Please dont make out driving for a big supermarket is hard , your joking ,
THE TEMPLAR:
at what stage do you stop becoming a skilled HGV driver and a bloke who just has to be there to hand in the paperwork
about 1985 from most of the examples one comes across nowdays 
I don’t personally drive for a supermarket, and I only very rarely pull rear-steers, but I don’t really see where you’re coming from Templar? The way I see it is if you come up against a 90 degree turn in a busy high street that would require a shunt in a regular tandem, but you could take in one well-judged sweep in a rear-steer, I know which I’d rather be pulling. I guess Sainsbury’s would rather keep the risk of their drivers taking out a pedestrian to a minimum.
… and also there’s the tyre-wear and to a lesser extent fuel-savings issues. If the technology’s there and it applies to their operation I say good on 'em! (Sorry, in two parts cos I seem to have a text-entry limit on my mobile! …which I’ve unfortunately been forced into using tonight!)
i dont think they save tyre wear , its a con, just like the biggest con off all ( after telling us 56mph is better for fuel econ) twin steers , what a load crap they are as well , we should,nt believe everything a desk boffin tells us ,
THE TEMPLAR:
i dont think they save tyre wear
That’s fair enough, but they do! Maybe to a lesser extent on a tandem, but my mate had one on a tri-axle and the rears outlasted the centre axle which i’d say is a pretty good saving.
THE TEMPLAR:
56mph is better for fuel econ
And i believe that one’s been proven as well, not that i’m a big fan, it just has.
56mph hasnt been proven , thats why theres a big if silent move to bring back 60mph , 56mph is politics . and ask a fitter about costs and maintance of a rear steer , i used to pull for an italian firm mezarios who had loads of tri axle rear steers there tyre bill was threw the roof ,
If rear steers aren’t properly maintained they can get that they won’t lock up for reversing, so there’s then a tendency to weld them up… back to tyre scrub again!
THE TEMPLAR:
i know rear steers have been with us for a while , on low loaders and tri axle trailers , there they do good , but on a tandam thats just lazy , back in the 80s i used to drive for BEJAMS out of milton keynes, i went to London everyday to all the tight crappy stores tucked away in some daft places i had a single axle trailer for the really small stores,perfect, and for the bigger stores tandam trailer (not rearsteer) again perfect , and as for computers in trucks WHEN have they made things easy, all they do is spy on you or tell you how much diesel your using , and it doesnt get that right half the time , for you new boys its a struggle to open the cab door yourself ,(interlog) If sainsburys is like Tesco ,you dont load them or tip them ,you drive from A to B oh and you might tune the radio in , no wait your shift manager will do that for you ,Please dont make out driving for a big supermarket is hard , your joking ,
Back in the seventies when I was on general haulage, we had 33ft single axle trailers and the wheels were right on the arse end. An absolute pig in the city.
We do tip our own trailers on supermarket work.
Be careful when you talk about ‘new boys’. I’m in my 33rd year on the road now and done just about everything, except tipper work.
But, you ain’t going to listen, or see both sides of the debate, so there’s no point.
in the 80’s there was a lot less traffic
more chance now of some ■■■■ dumping a vehicle in your way
he dont like rear steer cos he aint got the skill to reverse one
THE TEMPLAR:
56mph hasnt been proven
Well, it has because i’v seen it in Commercial Motor for one. Common sense really. But that’s not the point.
THE TEMPLAR:
theres a big if silent move to bring back 60mph
You’re right about ‘silent’!
THE TEMPLAR:
ask a fitter about costs and maintance
That’s not really the point either is it? We’re talking about it helping the driver. You could apply that logic to most things designed to help us/make us more comfortable.
He’ll be having a go at the birds next!
Calling them scroungers.
The Templar,
It does seem that you are just disliking something for the sake of it, your original argument was the cost of the trailer, since then we’ve been through fuel economy, maintenance and thrown in a couple of slurs at the thread participants while you’re at it (new boys)
Any chance of just sticking to one argument or are we to be here ad infinitum while you think some more up?
The bottom line is that they significantly make it easier for drivers in tight situations.
YES things were harder before they were invented, but thats why they came about, its called moving on and its good for the industry, if we didn’t move on then our industry wouldn’t have a chance at all, because those who did move on would move in and mop it up.
How about leaving the past behind and embracing a bit of new technology? you never know, you could even like it!
Alex
Couldn’t have put it better myself! (At least not with this stupid phone! 
)
THE TEMPLAR:
i dont think they save tyre wear , its a con, just like the biggest con off all ( after telling us 56mph is better for fuel econ) twin steers , what a load crap they are as well , we should,nt believe everything a desk boffin tells us ,
I should add to that we shouldn’t believe everything The Templar tells us either.
56mph is simple, it equates exactly to 90kmh. simple.
Why are twin steers crap? where else are you going to put the axle?
unless you mean you would prefer a tag axle so that you can do donuts 
surely they should be locked straight when reversing?
Driveroneuk:
surely they should be locked straight when reversing?
EH?
Giblsa:
Driveroneuk:
surely they should be locked straight when reversing?EH?
I guess driver’s referring to rear-steer trailers rather than twin-steer unit’s, am i right? The trailers i shunt about have a button on the side to lock the axle straight, or if the unit’s piped-up for it then it locks it automatically when you reverse. I think there’s also some that work from the angle of the coupling via a physical link, am i right? …probably not
Roger Breaker:
Giblsa:
Driveroneuk:
surely they should be locked straight when reversing?EH?
I guess driver’s referring to rear-steer trailers rather than twin-steer unit’s, am i right? The trailers i shunt about have a button on the side to lock the axle straight, or if the unit’s piped-up for it then it locks it automatically when you reverse. I think there’s also some that work from the angle of the coupling via a physical link, am i right? …probably not
THE TEMPLAR:
i dont think they save tyre wear , its a con, just like the biggest con off all ( after telling us 56mph is better for fuel econ) twin steers , what a load crap they are as well , we should,nt believe everything a desk boffin tells us ,
I think the luddite has just lost the plot today
My understanding of a twin steer is a second axle between the drive and front axle of a tractor unit, similar to what was once known as a Chinese Six on a rigid.
Some trailers can be locked solid when reversing, (castor steer) normally used on tight mountain passes to stop tyre scrub and cutting the corners.
Steering axle trailers are also used by companies like Arla & Lloyd Fraser for milk collections on farms (positive steer) the axles are often mechanically linked to the 5th wheel.
Perhaps THE TEMPLAR should go on Sainsbury’s and find out why the rear steer is needed.