1 hour to unhook fifth wheel pin

I've done that before when I was in a spare truck and got back into my regular truck. The spare truck had 24.5's on it...my truck had 22.5's...it was 5 in the morning and I over shot the king pin...I didnt move forward and mess the bolt up though. Got out , straightened my fifth wheel with my tarp handle , pulled forward, and stuffed 2x4's under my inside drive tires and then backed up into it. Our trailers just have the legs that drop , no landing gear to adjust.

 

Had similar problem. Another trucker tapped the bolt at the front of the 5th wheel and it released. But 2 weeks later, that same 5th wheel wouldn't catch and tried to drop a trailer (3 times). Get it fixed......

 

my company does not train but I think he was trained just didnt listen or remember.He did the same mistakes over and over.

 

Companies who hire 'experienced' drivers hire them because they don't want to train.

 

Ive overshot the king pin many times.But this driver rather then get out find something to lift the fifthwheel and prob it up or even someone to help him, he just kept trying to force it and then wonders why the trk won't move.I have an empty antifreeze jug so in case it happens,lol.But most the time i'll get out to make sure the king pin and yoke are lined up and the trl isnt too high.Many times the yard guys drop the trls and have them inches higher then the 5th wheel.

 

My company requires a yrs exp but what I witness many times I wonder if thats even true.Most the mistakes made are beyond newby mistakes.

 

When you have 1-2 years without an accident, you start to become overconfident with your abilities.

 

Just want to make sure I understand the situation you are describing. Your talking about the driver high hooking and the bolt on the front of the 5th wheel correct? If that's the case its easier than you may think I suppose especially if he was lazy. Why would we want to see how high our trailer is everybody that drops trailers has the same tire size and 5th wheel height right?


There were a couple o/o's where my dad used to work ran kws and Peter with 24.5 talls on their trucks ltl trucks were 22.5lp. Took one driver a couple high hooks before he started getting out and checking the height of trailers.

 

do you have a 5th wheel puller, or are you trying to reach in and pull it by hand?

 

not this lady,just because I dont get out every time,i'll never ever become over confident on nothing.That's when accidents start to occur.