My advice to rookies

YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT : Our Company won't hassle you unless they see a pattern, then you get a Hard-brake cause some 4-wheeler decides to come to a stop on a (Green-Lite) and you get the idea, STAY-SAFE

 

You are right school only gets you to pass the test you really don't know anything after graduating.
I have seen some people have a lucky day and pass when they really don't know what they are doing me
included.

 

Congratulations on your entry into this career. When I first drove for a short time in the late '70's it was RARE to see a woman behind the wheel. Getting back into it recently it makes me feel good to see so many women out here driving solo or all woman teams. From your OP I can tell that you have absolutely the right attitude approaching this job and career and commend your advise and observations.

I use a method for hooking and unhooking that helps preserve 5th wheel grease from getting scraped off, prevents issues with high hooking, and takes stress off the landing gear so they are easier to raise.

1. Back until the first tractor tandems are just under the trailer. Get out and look (GOAL) to double check the height of the trailer versus the height of the 5th wheel. This is also the ideal time to pre trip the kingpin itself and the plate to check for cracks and warps.

2. Deflate the air bags and back under until the second wheels are even with the front edge of the trailer. GOAL to make sure the kingpin is about centered to the 5th wheel and still in front of it.

3. Reinflate the air bags. If the trailer is set low enough, then raising the air bags will lift the landing gear off the ground. Many times this isn't the case, so I'll raise the landing gear to lower the trailer down onto the 5th wheel so they are an inch or so off the ground.

4. Now back into the kingpin until you hear the click. Do a tug test, and GOAL to check the lock is secured across the kingpin.

Often if you simply back in and lock to the kingpin, do the tug test, and proceed, then the trailer's landing gear will get pulled to the side and will bind hard. This makes it difficult to start raising the landing gear. Using my method to make sure the landing gear is raised slightly before making that final back in to lock the kingpin will allow the trailer to move without binding the landing gear.

Lowering the air bags before backing under the trailer and then reinflating them to raise the trailer keeps the 5th wheel grease from scraping off. If you do a lot of drop and hooks, as Werner does, then that will save you having to grease the 5th wheel so often.