Advice for an Intermodal Virgin?

Likewise, if a front pin is sitting too low to get into the hole, you'll have to unhook from the trailer (after lowering your landing gear to only about an inch above the ground), then pull forward and back again under the nose but with your fifth wheel under the corner with the problem pin to force it higher. Also, if your front pins sit too high, drop, unhook, and pull out from under the trailer might help in lowering the front pins enough to slide them in.

 

And this is an automatic 1st offense 30 day ban from the UPRR, and all UPRR facilities, 2nd offense is a 6 mos. ban., 3rd offense is a permanent ban. It's not worth it, bad order it or take it to roadability and have it repaired by them.

 

I read this yesterday and today got one just like it. Sliding the tandems worked like a charm, great advice!

 

BTW, another point on repairs to chassis. Do not do them on the ramp, and if you are doing them off the ramp, don't let the rails know your doing it. The UP has specific requirements for the liability insurance that repair facilities must carry in order to be approved to repair and get reimbursed for it. Also, if your doing repairs, make sure the parts you put on, you take back off before you get back on the ramp.

 

I just got my CDL, and I'm about to be in driver orientation to haul intermodal. The advice has been very good given you. I've been an intermodal gate inspector (I was doing that while waiting to get in school). To fail to really pretrip your chassis will get you blamed for damages and tires.

Do thorough pre-trips because once you leave with that equipment...IT'S ON YOU. When you get to your destination and they inspect, those damages are yours. Drivers want to argue with the gate inspectors (who are just doing their job), about damages the note on the ingate inspection.

 

There is a massive flaw in this. It's called the railroad.

I've hauled intermodal for 17 yrs, 80% of the defects found on chassis/containers cannot be written up as there is no code in the system for it, and tire issues are a joke.

The rails have an entirely different standard for what is a safe or unsafe tire, or what is a defective or non-defective tire, and those standards change on an hourly basis depending on whether or not someone got laid the night before. I've had the UP repair Manager refuse to replace a tire that had tread separation of greater than 1/2" (the UP's standard not mine) depth over 60% of the tire, on a load that was at max weight travelling on the interstate in the middle of summer. The tire blew out within 40 miles of leaving the ramp, resulting in 4+ hrs of downtime awaiting road service, and another 3 months of my company fighting with the UP over reimbursement for the service call after they claimed driver abuse. Pics of the defective tire were taken at the time it was noticed, as well as a pic with the tire depth gauge stuck in the tread sep. area showing the depth of separation. The railroad holds drivers responsible as a way to save themselves money and cut costs, until the day someone is killed or maimed by this poor excuse for chassis repair, and they have to pay out millions to settle a lawsuit, nothing will change. Even then, I doubt it will change. I have a separate picture folder on my phone for chassis/container defects that I encounter, last count, it had 100 pics in it for jus the last 6 months of 2014.

In fact, earlier in 2014 I had a UPRR maintenance contractor threaten me, and accuse of me lying, when I found a chassis with an unsafe glad hand repair. The gladhand was broken off in the field, while at a customer, the UP sent a repair guy out, who replaced it, but didn't have the correct equipment, the driver who brought the equipment back to the ramp had to wire tie their service gladhand on to the chassis to maintain a connection. When I pointed out to the supervisor this problem, and that it had to have been done by them, he called me a liar, and said that if this was a court case, I would lose for accusing them of this. 5 minutes later, he didn't realize I was standing 10 ft away, on the other side of a doorway, he commented to the other supervisor about the same chassis, mentioning it by initial and number, that a driver was now complaining about. This chassis was unsafe to haul, had I not called him out on it, had my boss not called him out on it, they would have attempted to force me to haul it.

THIS is the UP mentality, not the safe image they pretend to put out there.

 

UPRR in particular is bad, Global 4 is, quite honestly, a joke...last October I had a chassis flip every, EVERY week!!!, every week I'd give up about 10 to 12 hours at G4!!!!one chassis had no dollies!!!!, they just put a container on and dropped it on the ground!!!!, another container was placed on the chassis, SIDEWAYS!!!!, not a single pin lockable and clear sunlight between the bottom of the container and the chassis!!!, a couple of twisted chassis and, my favorite, one with NO LIGHTS, NONE!!!! and 2 inflated tires!!!!!!! If this was all, I'd be happy, but it wasn't, those are just highligts!!!!....

these were 53 foot containers (PACER, EMHU, UMAX), now I'm pulling mostly 20, 40, and 45 footers out of BNSF Elwood...is it perfect, NO!!!, but a HELLUVA lot better!!!

Now, I only drop at G4....avoid pick ups there like the plague!!!!(so does the company I'm leased onto so great!!!)

 

All typical of the UP.

 

Another concern I have since I'm breaking into truck driving in intermodal is containers improperly loaded causing rollovers. I know one driver that was simply starting out to turn right and the 20' container the driver was hauling flat rolled over. Fortunately the investigation revealed the container was improperly loaded and was heavy to one side, which caused it. Being a rookie, I'm not so sure I can feel when a container is improperly loaded. I know these intermodal containers are sealed already, so you can't see how they're loaded.

How do you experienced guys handle that?

 

Very carefully.....If it's a 30 mph turn, take it at 20....traffic be dammed, they can wait, I'm not gonna kill somebody because someone else is in a hurry.