Check your 5 the wheel. Every time.

Hang up the gladhands when you're done too.

A bunch of people like to drive around looking for trailers with those dangling, sometimes between the wheels.

 

In the USA. The old hands are now the baby boomers generation and won't bother to talk with anyone other then the boss or about there medical problems....

Lost are the days of helping another driver, Have to force yourself upon them to get anything remotely related to the situation.

 

Im lazy. i never do this. I hook the airlines together to keep or moisture if it's going to be more than a few minutes. But other than that i just slap a bungee over the two air lines and two light cords and holds them to the cat walk. Ya i know the dot can pop me for that, and i really should put a host on the side of my head ache rack. But I'm lazy.

 

Can't figure it, truckers who like to cut corners, when it's all about side burns and wide turns (alright so I cut corners on shaving).

 

I think that''s how I stretched them out really good once. It was 2 in the morning and I was detaching from a trailer when I heard a loud noise. Exited the cab to find the air lines and pigtail about three times longer than they were previously. I want to believe it's because they fell down in front of the drives and got pulled under because that would be less embarrassing than leaving them hooked to the trailer. I would think if all the lines were still attached there would have been torn hoses and gladhands still in place. But yeah, I don't leave the hoses laying on the catwalk anymore.

 

I have a tendency to always check that my 5th wheel is still locked around the kingpin, partly because I've seen pictures where it only partly locked-enough to pass a tug test-but then let the trailer go once it actually got moving. The other reason is I put a leash on my cat when I exit the truck and she likes to jump on the dash then onto the driver seat when I come back and I always worry she's accidentally pulled the automatic release with the leash.

 

...people do this? Every time I turn around I discover a new way that others can be lazy. Why am I surprised at this point...

 

Smoke the tires? Wouldn't drag an empty trailer? Hard to crank in low range even empty? Gear was bent?

I went to orientation in Phoenix with Conway Truckload people, one was a woman driver. She bragged about pulling the locking jaw handle on 3 trucks because they'd "blocked her." For one thing, anybody who'd do that is a really messed up individual. For another, if she'd been blocked, how'd she get out after she hosed the drivers who did it? Another trucking story, but I think there are people who are out there who'd do that crappy kinda act. Blair is right on there, check that 5th wheel locking jaw, every time you set out, every morning, whenever you've been away from your rig.

 

Every pre trip I always go under the truck with my flashlight and make sure the jaws are locked around the kingpin, I've seen a few other drivers give me a weird look when they see me do this because most don't seem to look, but I wonder, would they look at me any worse if I drove away and my trailer came loose and rolled right into their truck? Lol

 

You want to know my solution to that problem. It happen to me twice before. He is lucky his truck didnt get caught under it. First thing i do is straightenthe truck. Dump airbag air try to get at least a little bit of the frame of my truck under it. Get yourself a big chuck of wood no or something heavy and square to put between truck and trailer then flink the switch for the airbag and watch it rise. Make sure the truck breaks are on. The trailer should go up a few inches then just drop the legs a few more inches repeat while adding more wood. Its back breaking and sweaty job. But better then wrecker coming.