Trlr Uncoupled - How could I have prevented this.

Most likely you high locked it.

Alan

 

Did you get under the trailer and actually look at the Kingpin to see if it was behind and in the jaws correctly?

 

Yep, I would say a high lock too. Did you get a picture of the king pin on the trailer? Maybe it is worn or broken.

 

After you hook up to a trailer and do a power tug, you ALWAY'S go under the trailer and look into the jaws to see if it is locked around the king pin, I am not sure what happened to you, the one scratch on the right side top plate looks like you over shot the 5th wheel, But that's just because I cannot see it that clearly or the jaws, they look like they are not closed, I see scratches on the right side of the mouth or opening but could be from the trailer falling off, you better get that 5th wheel looked at right away just in case, AGAIN, ALWAYS go under the trailer and look into the 5th wheel to see if it's locked.....

 

Hard for me to see from the pics but I would guess that this is a single jaw Simplex/Holland 5th wheel. I have had trouble with one in the past (I threw it in the scrap and put a 2 jaw Holland on) but it was on older equipment and never maintained. It gave me a false positive (I looked and tugged) also and I dropped a trailer in my lot. In short I would get it looked at by a mechanic...

During your inspection (coupled to the trailer), the 5th wheel handle should be all the way in against the plate. Have you ever had trouble getting the handle to release during uncoupling? These are signs that there is a problem.

Also after coupling, crawl under the trailer with a flashlight and look at the jaw to be sure that it is locked. The single jaw Simplex/Holland will have a piece on the left that locks the jaw in place. When looking at the opening of the coupled 5th wheel, you should see about an inch of the lock extending from the left. See the image below...The 'lock' that I am referring to has the spring on it.

Inspecting a 2 jaw Holland 5th wheel...these have the threaded stud and nut.
After coupling there should not be a gap between the jaws and the nut and washer on the threaded stud should be tight against the plate.

Now as for this never happening again...if your inspection was thorough and everything checked out, there isn't much that you can do as a driver other than have the 5th wheel checked out by a mechanic.

Just curious, but what did your company say about this?

 

have you ever seen those four letters on some trucks mirrors G.O.A.L. do you know what that means? Get Out And Look! always look up in the fifth wheel to see if the pin is in the locked jaws!

 

Let me tell you what happened. You didnt check the 5 wheel plate handle after coming back to your truck. Sounds like someone pulled the handle when you werent looking and you didnt check it. Always do a walk around your truck if you walk away from it, Always. People will mess with it.

I have heard of it happening, first time I've heard from someone that it happened to.

 

Ups and downs to smart phones these days. Take a picture every time. I do it because my memory is getting bad.

The guys that drop lumber on my jobs do it so there is no question about what got delivered. I do it so when I'm trying to figure out what went wrong I can research it.