I'm noticing a lot of damaged trailers

#$&% yard dogs!

 

I wouldn't be so quick to blame the yard dogs. lol

I finally climbed back in my haul road truck and pulled a load to prudhoe thursday, got there before they opened at around 5. in the morning. I was pulling a refer and there was a sign if we bumped the dock to chock the tires. I couldn't find any chocks and there was 9 other trailers at the dock without any chocks, soooo I just dropped it grabbed my empty and booked. I was hoping since the dispatcher that had given me my bills had assumed that I would have to take a nap on the way up, that they wouldn't have laid out an empty dispatch for me, and I could bobtail back. But no such luck.
It has been over 2 years since I have run north, or even that truck, it felt good, even if it is the worst time of the year to be on the road.

 

What about rear trailer damage? That looks like a rambling story you just wanted to share.

 

Some of those are from hitting MONSTER bollards as well.

When I did a lot of local, there were some of those BIG ones, like 8 inchers, obliterated lol.

I'd think "Wow. That left a mark lol."

 

Just pointing out that all those trailers were left their by line drivers, not yard dogs and could possibly be damaged when the forklifts start running.
I have watched too many drivers back into docks, to try and blame it all on yard dogs, infact the yard dogs are generally pretty good with the little yard goats. All those trailers are not damaged at the docks either, I have seen a few get damaged in truck stops. lol

 

This storm.. not the snow, the ice, nor the gloom of night could get me. What got me was the Wyoming wind... Doh!
I first stopped in Gillette. Warnings of 60mph gusts till 11pm. Was only 50. So after looking at Wyo cameras and weather stations along the route for an hour. Idiot me decided to try further. No way! I’m stopped in Sheridan. It’s bad... real bad...

 

Truckers are paid by the mile, they cannot be bothered to sit a few days waiting on a trailer repair. They just as soon dump it.

Dispatch finds the problem and confronts the trailer breaker. All he will get back in answer = "Who me? Naw... it was like that when I got it." essentially rendering the entire fleet a suspect.

What you gonna do? You cannot fire a fleet.

 

The bigger companies here have lots of trailers and just drop and hook, including flats, it makes it hard for a smaller guy to compete, because they can not spot trailers everywhere for shippers to load, unload, or store their junk on. Many of these trailers, depending on the company are OLD, but they keep up with when they get damaged and who does it pretty well, especially the newish ones.

 

I stayed in cheyenne one night, I was pulling flat, so wasn't worried, but the wind was killing my mileage. the next morning I headed north and the very first 5 trucks on their side, in about a 10 mile stretch I went by was all swift. I figured that dispatcher quit answering the phone before the night was over. lol