How many of you have dropped a trailer?

The contact point where the trailer will slide up to the fifth wheel on the frame is too steep to get a truck under unless you dump the clutch with a bit fuel.

Even then if it doesn’t get up the ramp, all that happens is slamming and truck rocking with tires spinning. Or the brakes on the trailer, even though it’s holding, will move the trailer back and could potentially hit something.

Most trucks the fifth wheel isn’t that steep, but they have a slide that the trailer will hit first. Stops the truck.

The sterling I drove which is in the picture above has a high fifth wheel, no slide, it’s pretty steep, don’t bother trying to get under until jacked up to proper height.

Also some trucks, the frame is lower than the tires.

 

Wait, there was another, 2 in fact. Couple years back, I did a short stint in N.Wis. at a cranberry farm. I was the guy who shuttled the trailers for loading, and park them where the "road" drivers took them to the plant. Some ball busters too, 50-60g's in the box, in case anyone is thinking of doing that. Anyway, the trucks they had naturally were pretty tired. They had an old blue Moodie KW cabover, that had an iffy 5th wheel. I always checked, but coming out of the "empty" yard. BAM, empty right on the ground. Boss said that never happened, but I refused to use that truck again. Another time, different truck, we did so many loads, it was really repetitious, and once, forgot the dollies, and BAM, right on the frame rail. Nobody saw.
Now, let's take it up a notch, who here ever "high-hooked" a trailer? I did once but caught it before I left, there was nothing I could do to get it unhooked, except unload the entire trailer, bust it loose, rehook, then reload the wagon. The boss wasn't too happy that day either, but would have been even more upset if I lost the wagon.

 

High hooked meaning you got a air gap between the plate and the hitch?

I did that pretty early on hooking on uneven ground and it was a pain to get released. That was what dropped coworkers trailer into the other truck i believe.

 

I did the same thing once ...with an empty trailer ...right in front of the bosses office .lol

 

A couple weeks ago my buddy that runs a yard Hostler at Kemp's dairy in Minneapolis dropped a loaded reefer off the 5 th wheel while raised and rolling...trailer layed over in the yard ..totaled.

 

I don't have enough hooks under my belt to even qualify for a response to this thread. But reading these posts sure as heck scares the crap out of me enough so that I continue to always get under and look, even after my tug test.

 

I was unloading at Kohl's warehouse in Milwaukee once, and all of a sudden, we hear this screeching and grinding. Naturally, we all ran outside, some guy with an Ottawa, dropped a wagon right in front of everybody. The guy was laughing, and never drove an Ottawa before. On those, you push a button to open the 5th wheel, and back under the pin and release the button. This guy just backed under a wagon and took off. I said, must be empty, hey? He said, nope, 44,000. I was amazed the landing gear didn't fold.

 

I've done that too! Several times. Luckily it was with the yard mule so it was just a matter of raising the 5th wheel up and then cranking the landing gear down. Then I would always leave the landing gear down all the way to get back at the road driver. (Kidding )

 

Never have. "knock on wood".
The carrier I worked for had an issue with defective 5-th wheels at one point so the awareness of potential problems was paramount, and it doesn't even have to be a defective 5-th wheel for it to happen. Some snow of ice on it will do it easily.

You need to get out and take a look at the lock jaws to make sure they are fully closed around the kingpin every time. Sometimes they don't lock all the way and it will still hold up during a "tug test". as soon as you make a turn it can unhook and slide tight off.

Always look, it will save time in the long run. or just do a tug test and take a gamble...

I always like to watch the trailer when pulling out, you can see if it isn't moving with the truck and can stop before it falls off.

 

He's here all week, folks.