New driver, fired and needs help getting another job.

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Hiring Florida drivers.

 

You were probably fired for "dropping a trailer".

Before pulling the mentioned trailer -- did you perform a "tug test"?

If it decoupled after only several feet -- the safety dept is probably convinced you didn't.



-- L

 

always tug test. Saved myself from being sued out of the field.

 

Morale to this story -- always perform a tug test, before retracting/raising landing gear -- & moving a trailer.

-- L

 

Schneider ?

If a driver tug tests and then gets under the trailer and shines a powerful light on the locking jaw on the fifth wheel to make sure it is locked all the way across, the trailer should not decouple after ten feet.

 

First thing is I’m glad you’re ok. Who did you work for?

Give these guys a look, they have a BIG presence in Florida, if not them then I’d definitely look into Indian River to learn tanker yanking.


https://intelliapp.driverapponline.com/c/heyl?&uri_b=ia_heyl_1222263306

Also if this ever happens again, make sure you have ALL bases covered, pretrip and such. Fight this hard and heavy, and good luck!!

 

1. Your permission isn't needed to read or ad info in your DAC report.

DAC has a page that shows how you can dispute an entry or have it removed. How you can provide a BRIEF statement that must be given to anyone requesting your DAC report. And how to get a free copy of your DAC report.

Candidate Help Center

 

I have tried to couple to a trailer the driver, NOT THE SWITCHER, left with landing gear too high. If the landing gear legs on an air-ride trailer are touching the ground before you leave it, YOU ARE DROPPING A HIGH TRAILER.

Anyway, I've tried connecting to numerous high trailers and there is a sweet spot of too tall landing gear & tractor angle that can cause the kingpin to not seat properly in the 5th wheel. The jaws will close around the kingpin. The jaws look exactly as the should when it is road ready. But, the locking jaws won't hold any weight, the trailer just starts to slide out of the road ready position and will fall off the tractor if you keep moving. So drivers pull slightly forward & reverse harder into the road ready position. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. Jaws will look perfect & road ready, but jaws will not latch closed. You can repeat this pull forward back harder into trailer overr & over & over. No change. Here is how to fix this:

Make sure trailer brakes are set. Pull tractor forward sligtly so the kingpin is rear of the lock jaws if they are open. PULL & HOLD 5th wheel release handle all the way out for 5 or 10 seconds. In 9/10 times this returned the locking jaws mechanism to normal operation. Ow back under trailer & listen for a "click" sound just a moment before the kingpin latches. DO A TUG TEST. It will likely be locked & road ready.

I worked a job for 18 years picking up 6-12 trailers per night from those trained how to drop a trailer and clueless OTR drivers how didn't know how to drop a trailer. If the landing gear feet are touching the ground & truck & trailer are on level ground & every molecule of air pressure is not already evacuated from the air ride trailer YOU ARE DROPPING TRAILER TO MF TALL. Will of the trailer airbags do not suddenly go to flat when you pull the trailer brake valves. If landing gear is on the ground & over ext few minutes the airbase deflate completely the nose of the trailer will be HIGHER than when you dropped the trailer. As the rear of the trailer settles lower the nose goes higher like on a see-saw. One end goes down and other end goes up.

Decades of goi g down the interstate OTR does not give you the experience of dropping trailers properly. The switchers are not causing high trailer, OTR drivers are causing them. If a switchor driver wants to screw with an OTR driver the landing gear will be maximum height or minimum height.

What I described applies on level ground only. "But what about another situation?" This applies on level ground only. Read that again, if necessary.

 

And I assume that you kept that report stating the 5th wheel jaws were defective? You DID, didn't you??? If not, then why would anybody believe your story?

 

Bingo. After the tug test remarks, all quiet on the Western Front.