Help with terminology

5th Wheel- This is your fat friend who cant get a date, who tags along on double dates, making him the 5th wheel. Also refers to the round plate on the back of the tractor which is what couples the tractor to the trailer

 

Sounds like backing terms to me.

Setup simply means the way you position your truck for a back. Proper setup is determined by the type of back you will need to make, amount of room you have, length of your trailer and tractor, etc.

Following simply means that once you have started your back and you can see your trailer is headed in the proper direction you simply keep your wheels turned so that you "follow" it in.

 

Adding to this....
Skateboard: Flatbed truck
Thermos: Tanker (haven't heard this one used in a while as most just say "tanker")
Freight Hauler: Derogatory term used by specialty drivers for those who pull dry vans, reefers, etc.
Stage Coach: Tour buses, useally the fancy rock star ones.
Evel Knieval: Motor cycle cops

 

Hey learning! Glad to see you asking legitimate questions on here. Now I have carefully reviewed this topic and all posts so far. Some of the answers are actually quite good, but I'm gonna give you the "real skinny" on what they mean:

OTR: Old trucker, retarded...
CB : Major annoyance for some drivers, stress reliever for others. Can sometimes be of minor help in finding out why you have only moved 100 feet in the last half hour. Can help you to get wrong directions to shippers/consignees. Let's you learn lots of new and colorful language, some that you may already know, some that will be new to you, and some you wish you had never heard...
Stupid: Anyone who pisses you off. Most often four wheelers, dispatchers, shippers, receivers, and sometimes even other OTR drivers.
Dispatcher: (May also be Fleet Manager, Driver Manager) The person who will ruin your life from now on. He/she will make sure you get all the crappy runs, keep you out when you need to be home, and leave you stranded for several days clear across the country. Of course, he will give the load that would have taken you practically to your home 20 to a driver that lives clear across the country. Then leave him sit there for several days...
Home 20: A place you should have fond memories and lots of pictures of, since you won't be seeing it in person very often.
Broker: What you will be if you lease a truck from the company you drive for.
Reefer: Refrigerated trailer used for hauling temperature sensitive freight. May also be what dispatcher is smoking, or a good way to smuggle Mexicans. This is such a good answer that I have to let it stand. I will just add that YOUR days of smoking one are long over, if you want to keep your job...
Dry Van: Depending on who you drive for, this will be a very elusive item, rumored to be sitting empty and available fifty miles or so from where you need to pick it up. Probably will not be there when you get there to get it. If it is there, you will undoubtedly have to shop it before dragging it off to get loaded up...
Skate board: Whut yer kid rides...
Bobtail: HEY NOW! This here is a family forum. Leave bob's tail alone!
Fuel Island: The designated spot to dump urine bottles, and throw your trash at the overfilled trash cans.
Buffet: Whut you do after putting wax on yer tractor. You then buffet out.
Rest Room: This is the smelly room in the truck stop that gets cleaned twice a year. May also be the space between your cab and trailer. Another good answer. Also the place where certain drivers choose to doze off in a locked stall, thereby keeping everyone else standing in line, waiting...
Illegal Running: Normal operation. SNAFU...

Bear: Individual who will dedicate their life to making your's miserable.
She bear: - female version of the above. 'Nuff said Yep, 'nuff said. Except usually has much worse attitude than Bear.
Plain white wrapper: What your food comes in when the fast food joint runs out of their regular supply of to go bags with the company logo.
Pickle park: - a rest area. Not sure of the origin of this, and not sure I want to know. You are probably right. I don't want to know either!
Chicken coop: The place that strikes fear and terror into the heart of many a driver...
Some non-CB ones you might want to know.
DAC - now USIS: This is a report of your driving career compiled by companies as you leave them. You know, while they are still P.O'd at you! You get the picture. They can be contested and changed if you know the right people and have the patience of Job. This is another group of individuals who hate you. They will put anything they can on paper, or computer, to screw up any chance you have of being hired.
Clean DOT: Something that is purely a myth. You won't see this even as often as you see a clean restroom at a truck stop.
Travel Center: A place that sells fuel. Usually has some type of over priced convenience store, and store that sells REALLY over priced items to truckers. Usually has some type of place where substandard food is served at exorbitant prices.
Dead Head: Doper who is great fan of The Grateful Dead.
Gator: Utility vehicle manufactured by John Deere. Sometimes travel centers use them in maintenance of their facility.
Capture: Loaded and ready to go, as in: I've dun captur'd my load and I'm headin' out!
Parking Lot: fuel island
Setup: What your dispatcher will do to you if you piss him off. Or sometimes just for the hell of it.
Following: Short for following too close, what most four-wheelers will do to you.
Thermos: The item that you carry our coffee in. You know, the one the waitress at the travel center filled with three day old coffee, knowing you would be long gone before you taste it.
Freight Hauler: A dying breed. Someone who is actually working in these economic times.
Stage Coach: Guy who is in charge of "staging" the trucks for loading/unloading.
Evel Knieval: That idiot on the motorcycle who has a death wish and is trying to fulfill it by cutting you off.

Now don't misunderstand me here. I'm not knocking anybody else's responses. Just adding a touch of reality here...

 

OK, since nobody else has done it yet....

S W I F T

Sure Wish I'd a Fast Truck

Stop Whinning I'm F###### Trying



There's more.....

 

Swing Wide, It's a Freaking Trailer

 

You really do need a sense of humor to be a trucker. It helps to keep the ulcers away. Don't forget to laugh at yourself as well! You are going to have things happen that embarass you. You can either feel bad about it, (oh crap, I can't believe I did that,) or you can learn from it and laugh it off.

Of course there are some things that can't be laughed off, but most of the crap that happens can.