Dropping and hooking trailer do's and dont's.

I was taught to ease out from under the trailer very slowly and wait at the point where the front of the trailer is just over the rear tire/ frame area. This was so that if for some reason the legs or ground or whatever decided to have the trailer drop forward or heave sideways it would be caught by the truck frame and thus easier to get under with rescue equipment.
So no bam, just slow ease out, watch it slide/drop not fall drop, if you can get what I'm saying...
Wait just for 30 second or so, not long....

 

You were taught well.

 

Sometimes there is no elseware. This was my point. If there is room sure move out. Sometimes by leaving the door you go from the frying pan to the flame. This was why I said that light is not all there is to this.

 

Well if the facility is that small then chances are they don't have a line of trucks waiting to use the dock. I went to one location that you had to back down a 2 lane road to get into the dock and as soon as you pulled out you were on the street. Obviously you have to do it then but there was nobody else waiting either. Well, not in 18 wheelers, at least. A few pissed off 4 wheelers for sure.

 

I was taught to pretrip the trailer landing gear and never drop a trailer on questionable ground. But you try to "ease" out with a #### international with a 10 speed auto. It goes from not moving to lurching in about 3 milliseconds. Easing out was easy with my Freightliner but this LT it's not.

 

IF

CONJUNCTION

1. (introducing a conditional clause) on the condition or supposition that; in the event that.
   "if you have a complaint, write to the director" ·
   on condition that · provided (that) · providing (that) · presuming (that) ·
   whether · whether or not
2. expressing a polite request.
   "if you wouldn't mind giving him a message?" ·
   uncertainty · doubt · lack of certainty · hesitation · vagueness · condition ·

NOUN

1. a condition or supposition.
   "there are so many ifs and buts in the policy"
   synonyms:
   uncertainty · doubt · lack of certainty · hesitation · vagueness · condition ·

That word IF sums up my entire point. I am constantly attempting to get drivers to understand in ALMOST EVERY situation you will face there are no one size fits all solutions. This is no exception. In fact, this is why a lot of drivers don't last long in this job. It is why drivers are fired almost every day because of (stupid) <<You can define what stupid means.

In this case about a door. You do what the situation calls for. IF you have space move! If not move only after you get the rig ready as to be legal on the highway. I have been in places where I have had that room, and I have been in places where I did not.

You combat IF with Common sense. Something that seems to be seriously in short supply with this business today.

 

I di this to myself at least once a year. Ill drop the trailer dumping the air in the offices and pull the truck into the barn to change the oil or whatever. A week later or whenever(sometimes a freaking month) when I go to grab my next load in the wee hours of the morning with one eye open I'll forget the suspension is still dumped and back right under that #### pin. I really should install a buzzer hooked to the air dump for these brain dead occasions.

 

Every November and December I do power only loads for ups here in Florida. When a guy on low pro 22s leaves the landing gear up when dropping it I can't get under the #### thing, my tires hit the front edge of the trailer. Cranking up af many as 8 trailers a day is rough on the worn out shoulder. So please for the love of god if you ever go back to ups crank them to the ground. You can still get under it and so can I. I'll leave mine up an inch so you won't have to lower them.

 

U door slammers are funny. In flatbed if its a warehouse and people getting coils, its common courtesy to throw 2 chains and move outside to finish chaining and tarping so the guy behind u can get his coil . its not a problem for most until u get the company kool aid drinkers with tmc and other megas where they company policy is to throw every single chain on and tarp before moving which really clogs things up . In my opinion it is best to show respect to ur fellow driver than to be one of them guys that has to do everything they are told when those rules are inefficient and disrespectful and benefit nobody. U can get another job tmrw with a clean cdl , but its much harder to earn back respect after losing it. Be alot better out here if guys was looking out for eachother and moving out of the dock and not parking in the way. All because "my company told me so and its against the rules, i could be fired " . So u cant think for urself and have no respect for ur fellow driver is what ur saying.

 

Back in my driving days, I would have been happy if the previous driver had left the trailer road legal. Tires, lights, and especially the legals. Most of the time I picked up in places where I could get a yard driver to lift up the trailer. I lost more time overall getting legal then fixing a drop height issue.