How to uncouple a trailer... for dummies

The trucks don't seem to have a standard 5th wheel height.

I just went from a Cascadia to a ProStar, and it has reversed for me.
With the Cascadia the trailer was likely always too high by a few inches and I had to crank it down, and with the ProStar it is most often correct but sometimes I have to crank it up a couple inches.
I have no air bag dump with this tractor.

 

Most landing gear damage is caused by drivers not centering the trailer when hooking up.
Hitting the trailer at an angle or not centering the king pin bends the hell out of the gear.
Also with tankers the landing gear is spaced a lot closer than vans and flats. Thus they are easily damaged. I always drop a tank with the gear about a inch or two off the concrete then lower the tractor air bags, after pulling away I keep the frame under the trailer for a minute to make sure the landing gear will hold up.

 

I've pulled fuel tankers that you couldn't even drop loaded, they just had that really lightweight gear you just pinned in place.

 

It’s not just megas. I’ve seen a lot of knuckle dragger stuff from small company drivers too. Just today one dropped his trailer at Pilot Knoxville and drove away with his power line attached. That was after one of the worst backs I’d seen in a while.