How many of you have dropped a trailer?

Never. I always get under and look to make sure the locking jaw is completely around the kingpin. A dropped trailer on the interstate can kill someone and you'll go to prison for that.

One time I backed under and did 2x hard tug tests. Seemed secure. I was thinking about taking off like a super trucker but decided to look under, just incase. Guess what? The jaw was only half way around the pin. If I had took off, it would've fell during a sharp turn. Don't trust tug tests only. Always look underneath too. It's the most important thing when hooking up.

 

I haven't done that 1 YET, but I had a little too much slack in the electrical line the other morning and had the pigtail pull loose from the plastic casing.

 

Well I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to foul up out here. When I signed on with Wilson and did my driving test ( tester had 2 years experience), I told him the only thing that separates me from a rookie is I know when to stop digging. Every mistake we make is from being in a rush and trying to get ahead, or make up time that is already lost. The funny thing is that rushing normally loses more time than we'll ever get back.

 

Now I am not sure about my last comment. I can't remember if that previous thread was a dropped trailer or failure to raise the landing gear. It's really nice to lose your memory! NOT!

 

Another thing to be careful about is backing under a reefer. If trailer is sitting too low you can back completely over the 5th wheel and slam the reefer unit into the back of the sleeper. Get out and look to size up the situation before backing all the way under.

 

Yup, same here. Never dropped one... But have forgotten to undo gladhands and pigtail.