Proper way to drop n hook?

At many drops with dirt lots (meat plants for example) it matters little as the lots are so uneven that after the yard dog moves the trailer to another spot the height is entirely different so that the same truck will have problems hooking to it.

 

A yard dog truck never touches the landing gear, they have hydraulic lifts so it won't change the height once it's moved to a dock and back.

Now if they are using a regular tractor instead I'd aa yard dog, obviously that guy needs to be on board when he drops it at the dock or back on the drop lot.

 

I'm not sure.
I crank it down till the landing gear just touches the ground and no more. then I drop the air bags on the tractor to take the pressure off the 5'th wheel and pull out.

It is easier/faster to wedge the truck under a lower 5'th wheel, and lift the whole thing off the ground, than it is to crank up the landing gear that still has pressure on the ground.

Sometimes you will back under a trailer and hook up ok. them when you will try and crank up the landing gear at it will bind up and be hard to crank up because the pads are still on the ground. If the trailer is low enough
then you can lift it all off the ground, ensure that you are not "high hooking", and have an easy time cranking up the landing gear.

Different truck specs have different 5'th wheel heights. There is no set rule. Just watch when you back under and see if you feel something happening. You won't always, and that means something is a bit off and it's time to jump out and take a look.

 

I think that it is difficult to anticipate the height of anyone else's truck, unless you know that your truck sits low or sits high.

Really leave an imch to just barely touching the ground when you crank the landing gear down, drop your airbags and pull out.

When you hook up the most important thing is that as you back under the fifth wheel lifts the trailer.

That makes certain that there is no space between the fifth wheel and the trailer and you will couple correctly. Also make sure to do the pull test and visually inspect that the Jaws are locked.

 

You missed my point.

The dirt lots at many locations are so uneven that If you drop the trailer in a spot that has a dip and the yard dog moves the trailer to a spot that is on a bump without moving the landing gear it is at a different height.

Greeley Co and Liberal KS are a couple of locations were this is very common. I backed up to a trailer at Liberal KS once that was a full 14" high. after I had a yard dog pull it out to flatter ground I hooked up with out having to crank the trailer at all.

Did you seriously think that I didn't know how a yard dog works?

 

With the lumpy pothole-filled lots most of these places have, he doesn't have to touch the landing gear for the trailer height to change.

 

I have worked those exact yards and many more. Meat plants and others.

No problems. Just a spot of cranking up or down. Just eat hearty with protien and hydrate. work that landing gear. With a box of spare half inch bolts incase you break them.

The airbag stratagem comes into play as a last resort. Even hooking from 90 degrees if necessary (That is a delicate operation, I do this a time or two now and then because I am #### good. But not for newbies.)

 

That’s almost my method, except I don’t really count the turns after hearing the air. I’m going to guess 1-2 turns. The point is to not raise it too high, otherwise, when you hook to it, the trailer will be too high, and you’ll need to lower the landing gear.

Now, when I get back in the truck, I’ll turn on the air bag deflate and leave it on, and then attempt to move forward slowly for about one foot so the 5th wheel clears the king pin. If you feel a lot of resistance, wait 2 seconds and try again to move forward. Once you’ve moved forward about a foot, let the air bags continue to deflate to the point that you can freely move forward without any resistance. This can take about 10 seconds.

 

I think both of you are correct, but there are still several situations where you must drop the trailer at the dock to get unloaded, and so you will return to your trailer once unloaded. Some Walmart DCs are known for having this policy.

 

Empty trailer = landing gear about an inch or two above ground, then drop airbags
Loaded trailer = landing gear touching the ground firmly, then drop airbags