Mentor Blues!

Men have such stupid egos, don't we? Or maybe it's the Bro Code...a Bro must never embarrass another Bro or show lesser wisdom to a New Bro.

 

'Humble' seems to be a dirty word these days.

 

I am very humble and I don't mind bragging about it.

 

I had my own trick for unlocking trailer tandems. Pull forward at 3 mph and hit jonny brake or pull trailer brake. It pulls you to a stop and creates a little rocking motion that centers the pins in the holes so you can release them. Worked about 80% of the time. Hope it helps.

 

This is probably old hat to the oldtimers. When my trailer tandems are being stubborn I unhook the blue line from the trailer and do several figure 8s to recenter the pins and ease the rig to a stop. Works nearly every time. New guys you need to remember to hook the blue line back up before hitting the road.

 

I used to pull the handle out as far as I could and then attach a pair of vice grips to the handle next to the frame of the tandem. Then I'd put the truck in reverse and shake the trailer a bit. Almost always the pins freed up. A trick I learned from my mentor.

 

Ohhhh-kay.

Can't believe what I'm seeing in this thread!

The REASON companies are not putting trolley bars in trucks has nothing to do with the intelligence of the operators. I'm seeing many, many newer drivers with more intelligence than to pop off with a ridiculous statement like that. It's all about money. The trolley bar is an option that must be paid for. If it's not there, it doesn't have to be paid for. Also, too many drivers were using the trailer brakes alone to slow and stop. Trailer brakes were wearing way too fast as a result. Drivers do this so they don't have to replace their own brakes. They leave it to the company to replace trailer brakes. Again, it's about money. Has nothing to do with training issues or safety. I have a trolley bar. It is used for setting tandems and checking trailer service brake function...and a little tug each time I pull out of a stop to make sure my trailer is still firmly attached. That's IT!

Scottie, we determined your mentor was a very poor bussinessman, a lousy trainer and a sorry excuse for a human being many months ago when he was trying to bully you into taking over that lemon of his...and pay him to do so. This whole idea of one guy yanking on a tandem handle while the other guy rattles the truck back and forth keeps rearing its ugly head. PEOPLE DIE DOING THAT! Best method I've ever found is the Vice-Grip progression described in an earlier post. Sometimes, a pin still wants to be stubborn. That's what a four-pound hammer is for. No, it will not hurt the pins to pop them a few times to get them to move. Often, a little squirt with WD-40 or some other penetrating oil will help too.

As to stopping a trailer with tractor brakes only...been there, done that. I had my service brake gladhand wiggle off the trailer connection on a fully loaded trailer. Not only did I not have trailer brakes, I was losing air at an alarming rate each time I stepped on the brake. I was approaching a 25mph git-off loop-around and nowhere to go but around the loop. All I could do was slow down as quickly as I safely could and then build pressure up again before attempting to stop and fix it. So, I dropped a gear to bring the RPM up as well as give me more engine brake and drove about three miles. Then stopped. Didn't particularly care that four-wheeler drivers were upset because they had to pass me while I was driving at 20mph with my flashers on. Once I got it stopped, I figured out why the gladhand connector fell off and fixed it. But it was a real b**** to stop without use of those trailer brakes.

Finally, in answer to "What's the harm in just doing it his way until off the truck?" Swift's trainees are not here to learn the mentor's way of doing things. They are here to learn SWIFT's way. 75% of the problems you see with new Swift drivers are things Swift neither teaches nor advocates. The problems happen when a student or new driver does what the mentor taught that deviated from the program. Like using trailer brakes instead of the whole brake system. Or pulling a tandem latch while the other guy moves the truck.

Steve was absolutely correct in making the judgment call he did. Gawdonlyknows what else this mentor is "teaching." I can hope that at the very least, the mentor's certification was pulled, if not the entire contract. A lease operator does not need to train to make it. I have never trained and won't train. I lease my truck. Yet, I'm not only "making it," I am making more at the end of the week than half of the L/O mentors are. I believe there are a great number of good L/O mentors. They are the folks who would "make it" whether they trained people or they didn't.

Good luck to you, Steve. It sounds like you're on the right track now.

 

Well, though I expressed interest in attending the flatbed class, never even got a call back or email from the dude after I applied. Maybe I will reapply again next year when they offer after some of my service failures fall off.

P. S. would they need to move my exhaust stack up to the side of my tractor to make room for the headache rack? Would it look funny with only 1 stack on the side or would they be able to install a dummy stack on the other side to make it look cool? Also are the lease flatbed trucks in the pictures the only ones available? What about O/O flatbed trucks-- do they also have that hideous S logo?

Ego Pride Lack of Humility Plain Ole Igno Rence. This guy thrived on being the King inside his truck. In his kingdom he was right about everything and the student was wrong about everything. What color is the sky today Grasshopper?
Blue.
Nope it's red.

He started it lol..