Uncoupling order, lowering landing gear and air bag suspension?

I used to drop & hook several trailers a night for almost 20 years. For me, once parked, I start at the back of the trailer and move forward. Never once did I firget to get back in the truck. However, when I started I started my drop or hook process at the back of the tractor/front of trailer and on occasion forget something important. I forgot to connect/disconnect air & electrical, forgot 5th wheel connection/disconnect, or have forgotten to raise/lower landing gear.

Whichever order you use, always use that order. For tests always crank landing gear to the ground then crank the landing gear down 50 more times, one for each star on the flag. In real life, leave the monsterflicken landing gear off the ground or prepare for a blanket party once drivers discover you are the one dtopping high trailers. When the air in the trailer leaks out the nose of the trailer tilts up, just like a teeter-totter. The trailer will be too high for the next truck. Dont be THAT guy leaving trailers too high.

 

just dont crank the landing gear down until you see the air bags going up. this causes the trailer too be too high when empty. i'll call you out if i see it. js

 

My first step is always to slide the tandems, even if the shipper/receiver doesn't require it. This creates a safer loading/unloading, and leaves it so that I never forget if a customer is picky. After that I prefer cranking the landing gear down to ¼-½", pulling 5th wheel release, and then my air/electrical. Once I've done all this I then dump my airbags and pull forward SLOWLY. I've seen landing gear on older units fail, and landing on your frame is much better than letting the nose of your trailer meet pavement.

As others have mentioned; develop your system, and stick to it. Avoid distractions while going through your process, because distractions are a loss of focus. A loss of focus may not be a time you have an incident, but it does increase your odds.

 

You've gotten great answers and many have already said this but I will reiterate.

LOOK and go through a mental check list to make sure nothing was missed.

Even the most experienced drivers miss things. The difference is that they catch them before they become incidents.

 

You have either done it, or gonna do it.

 

I was about 16 when Dad rewired his tagalong. Set up the pigtail in some heater hose, and it was nice. I uncoupled the trailer. He wasn't too happy when he noticed the end of the pigtail was still in his bumper. Kids gonna kid.

 

Quick tip I use regarding mental checklists. I always remember the number of steps involved. For unhooked, my list has 4 items. 1. Lock (My company requires us to put a lock on the trailer doors when we pick up a trailer and remove it when we leave one). 2. Landing gear. 3. Hoses & Pig tail. 4. Fifth wheel release.
When I get back in the truck ready to leave, I make a mental recap of what I just did and remembering how many steps I needed to take helps me to ensure I didn't miss anything.

 

And don't answer the phone while doing it. All the time that I forgot to undo the lines, the phone had just rung.

 

No.
You have bumped the dock.
Your trailer is not going to roll backwards.
Therefore, you only need to chock to prevent forward motion. And by forward motion, I mean just a couple of inches. Have spotted plenty of trailers, from numerous carriers, that have enough "give" to roll forward a little, even when brakes are set.

Chock the front of the front trailer axle on the driver's side. That way the next driver will hopefully see the chock and pull it before pulling the trailer.

Heh, no guarantees on that.