Sliding tandems back for loading/unload

Talking about death.

There is a Aluminum Plant west of Frederick Md about a dozen miles as a crow flies. We used to back up a van trailer to the block house that loaded van trailers where ordered by the reciever of the metals in all it's forms such as billet, ingot etc.

Forklift would pound into the trailer, I would be inside of it counting. Not anymore a dark feeling came over me one day and I got the #### out, forklift boomed through. I know this feeling of pending death for myself as Ive had it before. It's not a good one. But what I did not know will happen did happen later that day.

The next day I was loading my flat with a solid 40 foot 6 foot wide block for Lancaster PA, the blockhouse area had drivers standing outside which was unusual. Cage made of fencing was installed just inside that door to the dock I was in previous day. Turned out a driver was mashed. The whole thing was handled I guess with dispatch and speed to be kept quiet.

There is another rule in that plant. There is a hot pot truck that is heavier than you are that rolls through with molten aluminum. It has the absolute right of way over everything, everyone and God too. It does not stop for anyone and has immunity if it ran you over.

Back in my day there were no safe spaces, none of that crappy emo stuff in our colleges today. We were men and knew that Death is nigh if you make a mistake in a plant like that. IT is what it is.

God it was awesome being alive in those years.

 

These previous claims that sliding your tandems back to the rear of the trailer raises the height of the rear of the trailer is completely false it does not change the height of the rear of the trailer regardless of whether the tandems forward or rear. If you disagree, please actually attempt both positions at a dock and measure you results before contradicting me. I have done this and know that my position on the issue is correct.
Also, unless you have a ridiculously old tractor and worn fifth wheel there is not a difference in the teetering effect when tandem are fwd or rear when your tractor is attached to your trailer. Besides, many places ask you to detach your tractor from the trailer yet still ask to slide tandems to the rear.
The only instance where sliding your tandems would make a difference is rarely (if ever) seen which would require the tractor and trailer be on a curved incline /decline or severely uneven pavement which would potentially affect the height of the rear of the trailer depending on where the tandems are. I have never seen this but from a physical / geometric standpoint that is the only way that sliding your tandems would make a difference in the actual height of the rear of your trailer.
This is likely just one of those things that became widely accepted practice at some point in the industry and continues to be done though it has no actual benefit or effect. Just a blind guess here but this directive to slide tandems to the rear likely originated somewhere in California where unsubstantiated regulations are most prevalently known to be put into action.

 

Some sliding tandems ride on a sloped slide, so it will in fact raise the rear of the trailer.

Yours may not.

 

I'll tell you how I know it's not a safety issue is that Walmart DC's don't care if you slide the axles or not. If it was a safety issue they would make everyone slide the axles because it would cost them less money in accidents and such. Regardless of what you think of WM they are pretty much the best with respect to profitability over time...

 

I think it’s because the 48’s and 53’s look cooler with the long stretch of the tandems all the way back and everyone knows that whether they want to admit it or not. Since it’s not legal to run ‘em that way on the streets all these companies demand that for that little bit of time those trailers are in their yard that they must look cool. That is all there is to it. No safety regulation conspiracy.
But I’m old school were the tandems and flaps should be butt up to the Mansfield bar and not have any space behind them. Lol!

 

I unload trucks at a warehouse. I have personally had happened to me when the tandems were slid forward all of the way and I was pulling out the last two pallets on the trailer that I noticed the back of the trailer sqursched down. At first I thought it was the airbags but thought that was weird because they should have been deflated. I looked out of the door and the dollies were 2 feet off of the ground. There was no truck hooked to it. So that is the main reason why you should slide the tandems all the way back When you dock the trailer.