Quickest/easiest way to hook up a set of pups

we'll give you a door for that..

 

im from a bigger terminal (ind061) so i dont know how those small terminals work

if your on a pedal route and you dont have a dock who exactly loads your freight?

 

The terminal that services us,...In my case APP,.....The truck comes to me loaded for the day and I make my p/d run and then line haul takes it down and back before morning,...

 

Our trucks all have pintles (mind you, some of the drivers manage to clean them off by pulling can chassis too close), but I still stuff the dolly under the "B" box with the "A" box. I can usually get it done in half the time it takes to pre set the dolly the "Traditional" way.

 

Decisions decisions.. You're the top dog no matter which board you choose so you can't beat that.. Another nice thing about your position no matter which you take is if UPSF ever made your zone a terminal you would be on top of the terminals board. I've got a long way to go for that but I have a real shot at it if I stick around long enough - I have 3 drivers ahead of me under 35 and the rest are all a lot older.

 

So what is the trick to backing a dolly that is already hooked to your lead trailer to your kite??? They tell me turn the tractor's wheels in the direction you want the dolly to go..easier said than done...

 

This is just the way I do it - get the truck, lead, and dolly all in a straight line at a slight sight-side angle to the back box you're trying to hook. The dolly will go the opposite way of the trailer so reverse real slow while steering quick to stay ahead of the dolly. When I'm getting close, I like to still have everything on the sight-side so I can see the dolly out of the drivers side window so I know I'll hit the kite straight on the pin and won't crunch anything. Never crunched anything doing it and never will.

Backing a set is the same general principal - I don't concentrate on the back box. I concentrate on steering the dolly while keeping the back box and dolly in a straight line together so the kite goes where the dolly does.

 

yu make it sound easy jakebrake...I am trying to learn so i dont have to be trying to push that dolly in the snow..........

 

Do it enough and it is. Just be careful when you first start trying - our dolly frames are the same height as the glad hands and if you jack the dolly too far it will hit the dummy glad hand and snap it off. Be careful hooking in general on snow. If the kite you're trying to hook is a little low, your dolly can kick out if you're not hitting it dead straight. Don't be afraid to get your dolly started under the kite and stop to crank down the landing gear - pull out and start again so you don't push it into the trailer next to it. That's how I learned to back a hooked dolly - once I pulled away a little on snow pack I wasn't straight anymore so I figured out how to pull up and back the dolly under straight.

Another trick for hooking on fresh snow - when you spot your dolly to hook with a truck, get it where you want it then move back and forth about 5 feet 10 times to harden the fresh snow so your dolly wont settle into the snow making it hard to manually hook to the back of your lead. That will pack the snow enough so you can easily do it by hand.

Some people call it lazy but knowing how to do back a hooked dolly can be the difference between a 30 minute hook and not being able to hook at all in heavy snow. Last winter I was at our Pittsburgh, Pa terminal during one of those been here for three hours and 8 inches fell nights and I had to hook a kite on the narrow side that slopes away from the dock. Could only get the dolly about 4 feet away from the kite with the truck so I had to drop it there - hooked my dolly to my lead and tried hitting it slow. As soon as I came in contact with the kite the truck would just spin - pulled up, got it in a straight line, and put my foot to the floor spinning the entire way but it hooked..

 

Good stuff Jakebrake....some helpful information...GLad yu told me about the glad hands...wouldnt want to snap those off....Packing the snow is a good tip too...