Where can you drop a trailer and leave it?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by TunaMonkey, Oct 20, 2018.

  1. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    And if you do drop your trailer to scamper about, always use a king pin lock for some added insurance against the trailer being stolen.

    Come to think of it... I should have done that with the last (only) trailer that was swiped from me.
    Delivering a load at night at a Target store in SLC and I'm low on hours. They tell me to drop it in the dock and pull away, park over on the side. In the morning the paperwork will be in the trailer.
    When I got up the trailer, and paperwork, were gone.

    It turned out to be another Swift driver looking for an empty. Took it from the dock, when he/she could see that it was mine. Since it was assigned to me the DM must have done some fancy footwork to get it reassigned.
    He got burned in the end though. Had to go through the Swift terminal, maybe for fuel or something, and they inspect every trailer as it comes in. The trailer had a cracked brake lining and was red flagged. I found it there when I went in to find a new empty.
    Some people are such jerks.

    But the king pin lock would have prevented it from happening in the first place.
     
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  3. Ricky Lee

    Ricky Lee Bobtail Member

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    #### good idea
     
  4. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    Certain support of specific wood cut to minimum thick, width and length plus numbers of them under the gear will take care of that.

    I had a trailer do that, punch through black top once. Fortuntaely I was monitoring the drop and got back under it before one leg has managed to complete it's softspot square hole.

    What I should have done is swing by lowes and got a nice bag of black to pound that into the hole. Convert all that time wasting irrevelant yelling and spittle into a groveling thank you.

    Trailer stays with you unless you gain permission to drop in a designated spot within a friendly truckstop with gatekeeper security who has the same list of dropped trailers as well. It's relatively rare.
     
  5. Moose1958

    Moose1958 Road Train Member

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    The word I think you wanted to use was extenuating but I understood what you were saying. Please don't feel picked on here. It's just almost everyday someone makes a comment like there is a one size fits all approach and solution to problems all of us Truckers have encountered or will. Some walmarts can't allow CMVs because of local laws. One such Walmart unless something has changed is the one near Washington Courthouse Ohio. Some Walmarts can't allow it because they have erected height barriers. See my point?
     
  6. EuropeanTrucker

    EuropeanTrucker Medium Load Member

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    All trailers (at least where I work) have GPS inside.

    I have a delivery to Miami next week. I wish I could drop trailer somewhere and bobtail to South Beach. Lol
     
    JReding Thanks this.
  7. 88 Alpha

    88 Alpha Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    A couple of things with that statement.

    1) You kinda covered it in your parenthesis, not all trailers have GPS,
    2) Even if they did, a GPS device doesn't prevent someone from stealing it. Those devices only make it easier to find after the fact,
    3) A knowledgeable thief will be able to disable the GPS tracker

    Dropping a trailer anywhere other than a customer anywhere near Miami is begging for that trailer to get stolen. For a point of reference, this forum has a member who is from that area and parked his truck in a secure (gated with security) lot and his truck was stolen while he was on home time. I never heard whether or not it was ever found. My guess is, not likely. Maybe some of our members will remember that incident.
     
    4mer trucker and EuropeanTrucker Thank this.
  8. Swiss Mountain Dog

    Swiss Mountain Dog Medium Load Member

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    I have followed that discussion and I think he ended up leasing a truck while the battle raged with the insurance company.
     
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  9. 06driver

    06driver Road Train Member

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    Do not drop your trailer at a Walmart unless you specifically speak with a store manager.

    We will tow it if left unattended.

    If you get permission make sure to drop it on concrete, out of the way so you do not screw up the privilege for everybody else.
     
  10. Voyager1968

    Voyager1968 Road Train Member

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    The ONLY time I've dropped loaded trailers mid trip somwhere other than a customer or terminal is if I was at a truckstop getting a tractor repair and they required it to work on the truck.
     
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  11. aussiejosh

    aussiejosh Road Train Member

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    Well it depends on a couple of things do you have permission by your company to leave a trailer unattended? If your dropping it at a truck fuel stop you'll also need permission by the management there. Best place obviously if your hauling for a mega is at one of their depots. Although you'd still need permission, the other option is why not just leave you truck and trailer and go hire a taxi or walk if its not to far, catch a bus or other form of public transport.
     
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