Landing Gear Bending during loading

Anytime I park an air ride trailer I pull the trailer brakes and let ALL the air bleed out, it'll push the tractor forward a good 6-7 inches. Once it's all bled I pull the parking break and unhook. Yard dogs do not do that, at least I've never seen them do it anywhere I've been. I do think though that the flattening of the arch is what's causing your landing gears to bend. I'd definitely keep them hooked to a truck while loading and see what the difference is

 

OP, What are you loading and are your trailers being end loaded at a regular dock?

JD

 

All in all, what I would personally do first is replace the landing gear foot to a rolling type.

I’ve been also thinking that the problem could also be the quality of the landing gear. No offense. If this is a problem for all flat beds in that shipper, then the shipper could be doing something wrong. Something tells me, however, that this is not the case.

 

I don't particularly care for the rolling foot landing gear. Easier to sink in a soft spot.
As far as the OP's landing gear......looks a little on the cheesy side, light weight type. I prefer Holland Mark V and similar. Plus I would stay away from the round adjustable tube supports. Nothing like good sturdy angle iron supports!
I would be willing to bet that where the trailer is being dropped for loading there is a hole where the landing gear is resting allowing no sliding whatsoever.
I have quite a bit of experience with dropped aluminum flats as both a driver and a yard jockey. Something weird is going on here! If the trailer is being side loaded it would be nice if shippers would load from back to front giving the gear a chance to slide forward a bit without damage. Sadly this almost never happens! If they are driving on the trailer end loading it empty without a truck underneath then they are flat crazy!

JD

 

Isn't that a regular thing with van trailers though?

 

I don't have squat for experience with vans and such. Just an old crusty flatbedder!
At the drywall plant I worked at we never end loaded a trailer with out a tractor under it.

JD

 

This is how the landing gear on my reefer trailer looks like, but box trailers don’t have an arched floor. It’s a Jost International.

 

You mean the landing gears bending? Not on the reefer side.

 

Dock locks holding the trailer against the dock probably helps.

JD

 

No I mean loading trailers from the rear, starting at the front, without being supported by a truck.