Best to put the legs down first....

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by Waddie, Apr 14, 2019.

  1. ZVar

    ZVar Road Train Member

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    To me it looks like the asphalt broke and the van dropped down.
    There isn't much room between the brace and asphalt.
     
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  3. starmac

    starmac Road Train Member

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    Pretty sure that is what happened, you would do some damage to the tractor and have to really cowboy it to get all the way out from it without dropping the landing gear.
     
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  4. Flat Earth Trucker

    Flat Earth Trucker Road Train Member

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    I dropped a trailer in a dirt lot in Murfreesboro, TN waiting for a repower. The landing gear sank three feet into an underground stream with the legs down fully.

    It took two wreckers to finagle the trailer back onto my fifth wheel. The fall of this loaded trailer caused the crossmembers to buckle and the legs were bent.

    Of course, I couldn't drop the trailer until the landing gear was repaired.

    If you ever need a taxi in Murfreesboro, ask for "Cowboy". He's a really nice fellow.
     
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  5. upnorthwpg

    upnorthwpg Road Train Member

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  6. Waddie

    Waddie Bobtail Member

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    Where that picture was taken there is probably still 4 feet of frost in the ground, Don't know for sure but doubt it sunk.
     
  7. starmac

    starmac Road Train Member

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    I dropped a trailer load of lumber on good solid ground once. I have a lifelong habit of never, and I mean never just pulling out from under a trailer when I unhook, I always pull up enough to clear the fifth wheel then stop with the frame still under it. I did that to this load, but the next morning the right side landing gear had sunk, it had the flat twisted bad enough that the right corner was touching the ground. It turned out that at some point a century or two before, there had been a septic tank in the middle of that high school parking lot.
     
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  8. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    The machined spline at the end of the drive shaft into either the transmission (Most likely) or the opposite into the first drive axle center housing would have to fail when he pulled or yanked the tractor out from under that first trailer.

    In the foreground it looks like a scratch assembled roadtrain of B's Looks to be 4 trailers. Put a 52000 pounder on each one and you would have a one hell of a move.
     
  9. starmac

    starmac Road Train Member

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    Super b's, they are sooooo much nicer to pull than regular doubles, but we can't bridge enough weight with them here.

    They are legal to drag on the haul road, where doubles are not, and even though you can back them up fairly easy, I would HATE to slide back down a mountain with one. I have only seen one company try running them on the haul road, and never seen the same driver make 2 trips with a set. lol
     
  10. 86scotty

    86scotty Road Train Member

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    Who is willing to admit they have done it? If you've been trucking long you probably have once. I did whenever I was a yard jockey for overtime with the company I used to be with. Late night, in a hurry, got out of my routine.......but luckily, it was empty. Still, if you do it once you will NEVER do it again.
     
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  11. SteveScott

    SteveScott Road Train Member

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    I've never done it, that I'll admit to.
     
    D.Tibbitt Thanks this.
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