Schnieder National ..... What BS!

Hubbys truck does not have air dump button, Werner truck did made life soooo much easier but to answer Rick doesn't appear Schneider has them as neither his truck or any of the loaner trucks had them.

 

Wiscentral, there is no reason why you should of been let go. Schneider is cleaning house and they are gonna hurt themselves in the long run. They have all the b.s. rules because of lawsuits and fines from idiot drivers that they put in the drivers seat. As a company they do not communicate well within themselves and seem to only inforce certain rules.

Guys being let go because of not wearing work boots is a little picky, unless the driver has been writen up for it before and then I see it as acceptable. I'm a I/C at Schneider and pay my own workers comp. trust me I wear my boots everywhere. To many guys see this as a comfort thing and not as cost prevention. The cost of a ankle injury is outragous when you add in doctor bills, x-rays, lost time, lost wages, medication, and physical therapy. Trust me I know...I broke my left ankle and tore all the ligaments in both my ankles last May. I was off for 4 and a half months. If it wasn't for AFLAC I would of lost pretty much everything. So wearing a $60 pair of boots when you are on the job makes very much sense and I see as a cause of inforcement.

As for you trailer deal, the only thing I see you could of done differently was asked for help to start with. My truck sits higher than the company rides and many times the trailers are dropped to low even with my fifth wheel ramps. I have asked the yard dogs at some of the OC and a couple of Kimberly Clarks just to back under the trailer so I could drop the landing gears some more. I can only remember 1 time that I was denied help. I'm sorry to hear about your situation and I wish you better luck in the future.

 

I doubt it was "what recruiters" said, since the email was a full page ad from the marketing dept. with the black background and orange lettering with a ghostly picture of a orange truck. They said they received a online ap (which I never filled out) and thought I would be great for the NW division. These kinds of ads are approved by upper management and not just a text msg by some wayward recruiter.

Well I don't feel put down, but you did call me out and told be to dee dee until I got my facts strait. So now you have the facts in written form, not from a talking head company cheerleader trying to scare you into thinking the sky is falling so you will say thank you sir may I have another.

Also I don't give arguments, lawyers do that . I give opinions based on either first hand experience or second hand info. But in this case it was from Pumpkins own high dollar recruiting flyer.

I don't think anyone is trying to call you a liar. I'm fairly articulate and know that companies talk out of both sides of their mouths. But since you did not consider this as a possibility and called my rep into question I felt compelled to retort what was posted. The posters can decide which side of Schneider they want to believe.

 

Does everyone get those shirts, or just when you get a patch to put on them?

USX still owes me all of my safety awards that they kept telling me where in the mail. All I ever got was longevity awards on a piece of paper.

 

uh...what? lol...
"*back up until rear axle is underneath and check height. Trailer nose should be halfway up the angled plate. "
With our trucks, if you back up the rear axle under the nose of the trailer...it will be just touching the fifth wheel. Doesn't "check height" mean the same as "check spacing?"

Im just sayin...

Right, this is the case with every company. Just because other drivers make the choice not to follow prodcedures, that doesn't make it any less of a company policy violation if you choose not to do it either. Im just saying that you didn't follow the procedures they had. You did it the way you did wanted to, and look what happened.

A tug test will determine this. Your tug test consisted of you completely pulling out from under the trailer. NO tug test should involve the tractor moving forward ONE BIT. Upon completion of the test, youd check the PAL...the P being the PIN, making sure the bar is FULLY ACROSS.

My steps were for a tug test...not a failed tug test.

Rick...it is my understanding that the airbags on the SNI trucks are ...automatic? They fill up and dump as needed. Not a geek with airbags so I don't know much about em, outside of them filling up when under weight...etc.

BigBlue...they don't give out shirts, tho you can buy them online. They do however provide a jacket after one year of service and then I think other intervals after a few years down the line.

 

The airbags on Schneider trucks are basically automatic...just a simple ride height valve. If Schneider had a little more brains in corperate and trained better drivers they would be able to install a dump valve to release the extra air pressure that the bags have when you pull out from underneath a loaded trailer. Next time you pull out from a trailer notice how the suspension pops up as soon as the fifth wheel clears the trailer. This situation is extremely hard on the airbags and matter of fact all suspension and drivetrain parts. In cold weather I have actually seen air bags tear apart cause they were strecthed to the limits.

 

I've never driven a truck that had a dump feature...well I think I might have in a Ryder Rental...but I couldn't tell if it was doing anything anyways.

One thing I think might have been part of their decision is just clearance concerns? I had my truck in for a tire fix one time at a tire shop, and a Interstate truck came into the garage with its trailer and they hit the top of the garage door opening. I've been in there plenty of times for tire fixes and it was never a problem for me clearing it...but they managed to do a bit of damage by not dumping the air out.

I guess I dont know what the benefits / downfall of either system are.

 

Interstate has 14' trailers, he might of had one. The ride height on a standard trailer is the same with or with out the air dump.

The air dump allows me to lower the trailer to the ground and take the weight off the suspension without moving the truck. It also aids other drivers who pu the trailer with easier retraction of the landing gear. You don't drive around with the bags dumped. It will damage the bags.

A truck without the air dump needs to have the landing gear lowered and then pulled away from slowly to let the airbags adjust to the weight being taken off. Most drivers do not do this which is why the fifth wheel pops up and the airbags get damaged and trl legs collapse. Or they lower the landing gear down so far to take the weight of the bags that the next guy has eat his Wheaties or take his 10 hour break raising the landing gear in high range. If you take your time and remember your training you should have no problem with or without a bag dump. It's just a added convenience.

 

We've all experienced loaded trailers that were dropped empty with the landing gear lowered all the way to the ground and it makes it hard to raise the legs on the loaded trailer . If the bags aren't dumped the legs should be only lowered until they are slightly above the ground then pull out slowly . Our drivers lower the legs on an empty trailer to about an inch above the ground with the bags inflated then deflate the bags and that lets the legs touch the ground before pulling out . The bags are deflated when backing under a loaded trailer then inflated before hitting the pin . It makes life a lot easier .