New drivers please read - Hook up procedures...

Good advice, and I'll add a bit more. Get into a routine when hooking. And do the exact opposite when unhooking. Do it the same way every time. If something interrupts your routine start over from the very beginning. It can be very easy to miss a step when you are tired, or in a hurry. If you do it the same way every time and start over when interrupted you can be that much more sure you did it correctly.

I actually dropped a trailer with a full load of glass after pulling it out of the bay I got loaded in because I didn't do this. Luckily, not a single stoce cracked or got scratched, but it required 2 wreckers to get the trailer back in the air so I could get my truck under it. Took out the landing gear on one side, both the front and back A-frames were pretty much toast and some other minor damage to the truck and trailer. Total bill was around 5 grand. All because I was tired, someone interrupted me during my hook procedure and I didn't start over from the beginning like I knew I should have. It also forced me to offload that trailer then wait another full day until the company got another flatbed to the plant to get the glass loaded onto.

 

Any advice for the opposite of unhooking ? My truck has an auto release button instead of manual. In fact if the landing gear it detects is not down on the ground it will not release. But the cold seems to mess with it because I had a hard time today getting it to release no matter what it did. Finally I got the tractor in the sweet spot where there's not tension on the jaws. I'm thinking something is freezing in the lines somewhere.

 

Things happen and you learn from it.So what did your company do?Did they charge you for the wreckers?I know a company that charges drivers for everything if its their fault and it stays off their record.

 

Geeze we already have to get out, hook up the glad hands and pigtail AND crank the landing gear plus want us to ####### check the jaws. That cuts into my lunch counter story time.

 

Sorry I meant advice for the jaws not coming open when the release button is pushed.

 

You mean I can't just hook it and go I gotta actually inspect the connection is good and that the tires aren't bald or missing. I'm a super trucker with phone up to ear and leg up in the window. I don't have time for all that . LOL!!!

 

You're having trouble getting the jaws to release so you can unhook from the trailer, correct? Regardless of whether you have an in-cab release or just a handle to pull, if the kingpin is jammed up against the jaw(s) from pressure it can make it difficult to release. Before you even get out to lower the gear, etc., first set the parking brake on the trailer but not the tractor. Put the tractor in reverse and let out on the clutch a little so you feel the tractor push a bit against the trailer. Then apply the parking brake on the tractor while you're still pushing against the trailer a little. Give them a sec to apply then you can push in the clutch and go back to neutral or whatever. By doing this it takes the pressure of the kingpin off of the jaw(s) and will make everything release much easier. You'll run into this a lot when dropping a trailer on a downhill slope.

If you're still having problems check for some big cold hard globs of grease jamming things up, or maybe the solenoid or air actuator for your in-cab release is having some issues.

 

Thats is one thing I have always checked . Who wants to be that guy that their trailer falls off the truck ?

Now , I never unhook from my trailer and still look to make sure. ( always have the same trailer )

 

Back when I drove I had similar problems with the jaws not locking completely around the shank of the kingpin. After it happened twice I put in for maintenance and found out my fifth wheel needed repairs. So if your fifth wheel is making a habit of not locking like its suppose to tell your dispatcher its time to get it looked at.