Empty trailers.

That will show them ...

 

here's another idea.....call your dispatch to have it cut off. I know Schneider will do it. Just gotta suck up the time waiting on the dude to show up.

 

I carry a supply of non-Swift seals for just the right occasion. That way it looks loaded.

And that is all you have to do if you want to tie up a bunch of empties on the lot. Seal it, no lock required.

 

Yeah , being as low as the people you are fussing about ... that’s the fix .

 

Works till you bang on side of trailer.
Then a call is all it takes to see for sure if it's empty

 

That's true. Then it is up to them to decide if they will give it to you if it is already assigned to another driver.
I never use that trick unless the trailer is already assigned to me.

I have been burned in the opposite direction as well.

I had a trailer and was dispatched on a load with it, but I was also going on home time. When I got back from home time my trailer was gone and I had to hunt down another one.

Another time I was delivering at a store in SLC. I was told to unhook and park on the side. I was out of hours so I took my 10. When I got up in the morning my trailer was gone. Someone had jacked it during the night, and for some reason it was taken off me and given to another driver - even though I was sitting right there. The paperwork was supposed to have been left in the back for me, but it was gone as well.
Didn't do that jerk of a driver any good however. He had gone through the terminal and they red flagged it for a cracked brake lining. I found it there when I went to find another empty.

 

If you're at a terminal ask your DM to give you some available trailer numbers. Just because a trailer is empty doesn't mean someone isn't dispatched on a load and needs it.

 

A Dewalt portable grinder will take off any lock.And if you want to ,"fix" them, put some well placed grind marks where the key goes in.A toothpick or some crazy glue works well also.
.

 

If the load needs an empty trailer you won't be dispatched without one.
But as I learned, even if you are dispatched with a trailer - it may not be safe if you are not hooked to it.