Sliding tandems horror stories

The #### trailer goes up at least 16 inches and Billy Big Rigger still hasn't got a clue what to do.

 

My favorite is when the brakes are way the hell out of adjustment and a rusty slider along with a boundup pin. That'll cost you a good hour, boooooo

 

It's been awhile but if I remember correctly, you lift the bar, hook it to the left on the lip, and jam some wood in there to make it stay

 

Occasionally I will get a stubborn trailer whose tandems don't want to slide easily. So I try 'rockin the boat' where you lock your trailer tandems, rock the tractor back and forth with the trailer in the hopes of loosening up rust or whatever resistance is there then try to go pull the release handle. If that doesn't work, I get out my handy dandy ratchet strap and hook one end to the release handle joint about the center of the trailer there, hook the other end around the spring hanger and tighten. This is using mechanical advantage to pull the handle that doesn't want to come out. If it's still too hard, time to coax in the pins with a 2 pound small sledge. Tighten the ratchet strap all the way now and slide 'em back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoSzNYtXkfo

I've had one trailer where one pin would not retract even though the release handle was all the way out and had to push it in with the hammer handle and jam a screwdriver in front of the pin to keep it from popping into a hole before I wanted it to. Have also had trailer where one pin doesn't want to stick through the hole because the spring is fouled up. These fouled up trailers just keep getting pulled all over the country without being fixed left and right. Driver roll the dice they won't get caught and let the next driver worry about it.

Same thing with tires. But I had two trailers in a row where the outside tandem tire was in bad shape with flat spots and the inner tire was in good shape. It could only be there because the tire guy put it there otherwise there would be matching flat spots on both tires in tandem. Whose problem is that? Yep the driver!

 

Nothing like good ol wheel chocks to help you out. I've had good success asking TA or Petro shop's to borrow theirs.

My worst experience was as a new driver, I had an old rusted trailer that refused to slide. It was snowing and I got pulled over at them I-81 VA scales. I beat and beat on them pins for a long time, freezing my **** off, lol. After a long battle, I finally won.

If I see someone struggling at a truck stop, I always help them. Two can do it alot easier than one can.

 

The best design is still a long bar that goes right across from one side to the other. Pull it out and slide then put it back in place.

 

Thats the scale where I got pulled in too!


American Trucker

 

When pulling a company trailer I ALWAYS lube the hell outta the pins/sliders before I go to load or scale... by the time I need to slide the lube SOMETIMES has done it'sjob.

Now that I just pull my own I keep the slides greased up and the pins lubed... slides like buttah...

 

At the Budwiser plant in Carnesville, Ga I think, I helped a driver slide his tandems. It was tandems with a lock bar that slides up and for about 5 minutes he was rocking it, and I was pulling. Finally the bar just shot up and I banged the top of my forearm against the trailer. I thought I broke it and my skin turned yellow and the skin was pushed in for a couple days. I will still help though if you need it.