Have you ever ripped your airlines off?

Grumppy · Apr 2, 2018

I've been there too... It happens. Especially on Friday evening or Monday morning. You get busy or in a hurry & you hear that dreaded slap against the back of the cab/sleeper.... you know exactly what it was & just hang your head for a second, then give a hopeful but knowing look in the mirror, and you see those stretched & tangled lines that look like an exploded birds nest. Nothing to do but reach for the tool box & the spare lines you keep with you under the bunk.

Moose1958 · Apr 2, 2018

I might be a minority of one on this opinion. However I believe the PRIMARY reason you ripped off those lines was your (committee) approach to these tasks. Like I said I might be the only one that feels this way. I was taught that there are some tasks better done alone. This is one of them.

diesel drinker · Apr 2, 2018

I have, not so long ago.At a Walmart DC.I was in distress after backing up automatic truck which I only drove for one day and unlike in other trucks I drove, the gap between truck and a trailer was very narrow so I didn't notice they were still hooked.That's not an excuse though.Went to a truck stop to buy new ones but they didn't have it! Another driver from Poland saved my ### and fixed it for me.
Didn't even want $50 I wanted to give him.

Blackshack46 · Apr 2, 2018

x1Heavy said: ↑

If 4 truckers cannot do it, you have to do it yourself.

I digress. I don't want to be any more difficult than I am already sometimes.

I have watched flatbedders in DM Bowman's Frederick Yard back in the load, wind gear down, stumble back into the tractor (They have had a 16 hour to a 20 hour day some times... and it's 4 am, not finished yet for some.) forward they go. Trailer comes off 5th wheel onto landing gear, airlines stretch and come off the trailer clanking against the back window causing the tired driver to stop instantly and wonder what just happened.

Usually happens faster than you can get a mike on the radio and say whoa there driver your lines are still on there. (Never mind the problem of about 200,000 truckers in the DC area hearing that little call that early in the AM and all checking airlines...) They figure it out, put the airlines away onto the brackets and go park the bobtail then home. Most of time time I don't say a word. If the bosses aint seen it, it didnt happen. No harm done.

Once or twice that trailer did come off that 5th wheel in my life time with me in that tractor on the highway. When a trailer wants off well... it's coming off. Your ability to keep a job or your freedom depends on if that trailer hurting or killing someone or even breaking something.

I feel like i am talking to the choir. I just find it interesting that 4 professional drivers cannot properly unhook and have a tractor and trailer separated as asked to when they were supposed to do it. It's almost like anyone can do it, someone did or did not and no body did something right somewhere and so on.

If I was the one writing checks, I reckon the losses of the damage and each of the 4 will have slightly lighter checks with the pleasure of having equiptment that probably is in much better working order after their contributed repairs are completed. Sometimes thats the only way employees learn, lord knows my bosses took money out of my check for a tire or something else or other now and then and I had the pleasure to take it home. It's the only way I learned sometimes.
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Wait wait wait! You dropped trailers on the highway at speed? Wtf? More than once?

You do know its not cool to admit how much you f up. I mean everytime someone screws up you have a better story that you did 2 or more times over. Wtf!

Bdog · Apr 2, 2018

Moose1958 said: ↑

I might be a minority of one on this opinion. However I believe the PRIMARY reason you ripped off those lines was your (committee) approach to these tasks. Like I said I might be the only one that feels this way. I was taught that there are some tasks better done alone. This is one of them.
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I get that. The thing was when I went to go write checks this was the only thing left to do. The landing gear is a pain on that trailer. We have greased the snot out of it but it is too hard to turn in high gear. Put it in low and it is easy but takes forever. What gets me is one guy probably spent five minutes cranking on that thing while the other three watched and never once during this time did it occur to the three of them to to unhook the air lines or electrical all of which is bright and colorful and right in front of them at eye level.

Dumdriver · Apr 2, 2018

Chinatown said: ↑

Go easy on your guys; we've all done that at least once in our career.
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Not all of us. Not THAT! No reason not to take a peek. It’s right there. Requires no effort

Dumdriver · Apr 2, 2018

Bdog said: ↑

I get that. The thing was when I went to go write checks this was the only thing left to do. And never once during this time did it occur to the three of them to to unhook the air lines or electrical all of which is bright and colorful and right in front of them at eye level.
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Actually, it didn’t occur to at least 4 of you ( yes, you included- sorry). It was just as “bright and colorful and right in front of YOU at eye level”. And you were the driver. Sorry, I mean no disrespect, but this is on you more than the others.

Moose1958 · Apr 2, 2018

The only time I can remember having an air line issue was me forgetting to put mine on. Took me a few seconds to see it. And yes I had a receiving clerk all over me about something as I was trying to back under the empty.

Bdog · Apr 2, 2018

Dumdriver said: ↑

Actually, it didn’t occur to at least 4 of you ( yes, you included- sorry). It was just as “bright and colorful and right in front of YOU at eye level”. And you were the driver. Sorry, I mean no disrespect, but this is on you more than the others.
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Again I fully admit as the driver it was my ultimate responsibility. That being said the truck and trailer were backed up against the fence. I approached it from directly in front. My four guys were standing beside it kind of by the drives when I got there. I did for a second think hey I should check but with all four standing there I figured surely they did it right.

Blackshack46 · Apr 2, 2018

Bdog said: ↑

Again I fully admit as the driver it was my ultimate responsibility. That being said the truck and trailer were backed up against the fence. I approached it from directly in front. My four guys were standing beside it kind of by the drives when I got there. I did for a second think hey I should check but with all four standing there I figured surely they did it right.
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On this forum, were the judge, jury, and executioner ONLY. You wont win here, even though we all f up, some of us like to pretend we cant f up. So admit it screwed up and lets move on.

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