Make Lift Gate Familiarization Your Priority

Your gate and trailer look a little rusty, glad I don't have to deal with that down here in the SW.

 

Yeah I pull lifts all the time, rea pain when it quits working while unloading.....lol

 

I spent half of my career using liftgates. The very first job I ever had was using a Tuck Under liftgate delivering flooring in a straight truck 10 wheeler 26 years ago. Did P&D and resi's for 5 years using the Tuck Under Liftgate, which was rated at about 4k max. I HATED those Tuck Unders. I would constantly have to deliver 16 by 16 ceramic tile pallets weighing over 4k and it made that liftgate bounce like pool diving board. The motor and hydraulics were constantly pushed to the maxx and I would carry bottles of Transmission Fuid to replace the hydraulic fluids whenever it leaked. It didn't have any skid stoppers on it either, so you had to be REAL careful with the heavy pallets, and learn how to maneuver with the pallet jack. Learned real quickly that if you ever feel that you're not in control of your pallet, DROP IT immediately so it doesn't rollover.

Railtrac liftgates are WAY better. It handles more weight, has chains on them for stability, and should be the standard for ALL Liftgate deliveries, in my opion. It makes HEAVY deliveries a lot easier and has plenty of room to maneuver pallets on the liftgate. Just make your delivery, put your pallet jack back in the trailer, and put that block of wood underneath (or chock and strap if you prefer). Just make sure you close the rear trailer door and NOT use the Liftgate as a door itself (seen this WAY too many times on the road).

 

Just thinking about the video floating around ! Where the guy runs the pallet jack off the lift gate.

 

After switching from a company that only uses tuck-unders to one that only uses rail gates, I have to agree with you, with one caveat; the one advantage that tuck-unders do have is not having to lower anything every time you bump a dock.

 

Yeah I agree. Almost forgot about that..lol, but if I had a choice between tuck or rail, without a doubt, 100% rail ALL the time.

Tuck unders also has disadvantages as well, especially if the ground isn't leveled when you back into a dock. Must of scraped off 2 inches off the liftgate frame from grinding it on the ground a couple times. Not to mention it can be used as a dock plate if the customer doesn't have one.

 

I always hated that. Had to get back in the truck, pull forward, unfold the gate, and get back in position. Then do the same thing to tuck it back away.