Spotters (yard tractors)

I consider that part of my daily workout. Raising a 43k trailer require a 30 min break

 

I think sometimes they do it on purpose.
And put it extra close to the next trailer, just to watch US struggle with it.


If you ask them nicely they may lower or raise it for you.
I also think some drivers drop it too low or too high sometimes.
For the most part don't think they even screw with the landing gear.

 

When a driver drops a trailer, even the difference between a truck with high profile tires and low profile tires, shouldn't be more than a few inches. So when we come across a trailer sitting 5, 6, 10 inches above the fifthwheel, I always assume that the shag driver lifted the trailer, and cranked them further down to level the trailer with the dock....but then they don't ever crank them back down to normal fifthwheel height. I HATE THIS!

Another issue could be when someone drops an empty...they crank it all the way to the ground, and give it a couple good turns on top of that, and now the stupid thing is too high. Leave a couple inches, and dump the air on an empty to set it down---or if you have no air dump, drop the thing...it'll be o.k.

It has nothing to do with the mechanics of a shag truck...it is human error and/or stupidity.

 

I think the more important issue here is that you actually believe we landed on the moon!

 

Oh boy and 911 was an inside job! Fruitcake!

 

The yard dogs have nothing to do with landing gear, it's the driver that dropped the trailer cranking the legs all the way.

Yeah, sometimes there are some spotters who are #######es but there are also some truck drivers who are as well.

What your thread should say is, 'we landed man on the moon but some of us still haven't learned that you don't have to crank the legs all the way down when we drop trailers'.

 

I'd totally believe they do it on purpose. I have an old friend that went into the RR ramp in Neenah, Wis. (still there?) and the spotter guy (total jerk) would drop the trailers 1" apart, sometimes touching each other. Couldn't even get under the trailer to turn the handle. Had to literally hook up the lines and drag it out. When my friend confronted him on this, he just laughed. My friend started to walk away, turned around, and "roundhoused" the guy in the jaw, and the guys glasses went flying, and he hit the dirt. My friend was banned from the ramp.

 

A lot of the slaughter houses I would pick up a container at would always have the containers almost touching plus the legs cranked way to far down. I would sometimes try and flag down a yard dog but would just be ignored. So I would have to bear crawl under the container then slowly lower the container but since the handle would hit the other container next to it I would have to undo the handle, straighten it and roll it back over. So basically just half cranks until I could finally get it low enough.

 

I'm a yard dog (spotter,yard jockey....whatever) I don't have time to get out and play with landing gear,the way the trailers come in and get dropped is the way they go out,I've had a couple of drivers accuse me of messing with the landing gear over the years...I have helped out many drivers who have asked nicely if I could help them out,whether it be with landing gear or finding an empty,if they're polite I'll help,if they're not...they're own their own...my company policy is to not help out side drivers,but I help out where and when I can.