Stop it with the high trailers!

Oh, yeah, the legs will go that high. Usually when you see the gear wound out that high, it's the yard jockey who dropped it that high. Not sayin it's on purpose, because not all drivers even pull the handle loose and drop it against the leg. Some are so lazy they just leave the handle engaged. In these cases, the weight of the legs themselves along with the bouncing across the yard is enough to extend the legs. And there are *gasp* some jackarse yard jockeys who wind the gear out before they drop the trailer. Some claim it's because their ride height is taller and they need to run (*HEY, UPS!!! SLOW DOWN IN THE PARKING LOT!!!*) the landing gear out so they don't mess up the mule. I call BS on that, though.

 

theres one account in particular that i have always suspected the yard jockeys do it just to piss the drivers off

 

I ran an Ottawa yard truck for 6 months at a plastics plant while I was waiting for an issue on my license to get cleaned up. At that particular location, the only time I ever messed with the dolly legs was when I'd have to go to an area in the plant that had piping running across the roadways at about 14'. Other than that I'd never touch a landing gear. I had enough crap to do as it was. Even though it doesn't take any significant amount of time to crank some dolly legs, I didn't wanna waste even 30 seconds if I didn't have to.

I'm not saying that there's not yard jockeys out there who do that, just presenting another side to the story.

 

This has nothing to do with dropping trailers high but for you newer drivers, it would be a good practice to get in the habit of cranking your landing gear all the way up. You see so many people going down the road with their landing gear just a few inches from the pavement and it's just a matter of time before before they whack them things back going into a driveway or over a RR crossing. Makes it hard to drop and hook if you cant drop

 

Do any of you look in your mirrors when backing under a trailer? I do, if the apron of the trailer is between 2" and about 5" above my drives is just right. I see this difference in elevation a good foot before my first drive gets under it. If the trailer apron is less than 2" above my first drive I know it will hit my frame so get out and raise it before I am under it, above about 5" and theres a good chance it will slide over it or be a real bear to get the 5th wheel to fully lock, so once again drop it down before I get under the trailer.

It is soooo easy to see in your mirrors, and its just a few cranks aether way, don't mean to be rude but really question all the post regarding this subject.
I have never had any problems ever with it. Look in your mirrors for elevation difference between apron and drives make a 1 minut adjustment with crank if needed, double check after your second tug before you hook up your trailer connections, how friggen easy can it get. Its what i used to teach my students before i gave up teaching and went strictly solo.

Normally cranking a trailer till it hisses is best, if for no other reason than to get a bit of exercise and fresh air. I dont intend to die in my sleeper a grotesquely obese fat arse from a heart attack, stroke, diabetes or other obesity related problems ets... I take care of myself as best I can. An old saying: If you place a low price tag on yourself, rest assured nobody else in this world will bother raising it. Take pride in yourself, take care of yourself.

Shouldnt say this, but when swapping with another CRE driver I always raise them. Probably about a dozen times or more I have seen them bump there tractor against the front of the trailer they are hooking up to, funny as heck! I have zero tolerance or sympathy for blatant laziness on any level. Its there own fault the dumbaces don't look. Teaches them a good lesson though so its not in vain. Looking first is also instinctively a reminder to check to make sure the 5th wheel is fully locked after you do your second tug. Never be to sure about it locking. To many horror stories about dropped trailers.

 

The only one you got right was the last one.... No equipment respecting smart O/O would ever pull out from under his/her own loaded trailer unless the dollies were touching the ground. Hell I wouldn't pull out from someone else's trailer unless the dollies were touching the ground.

Thank You! You are the only one to get this right. Its truly a shame people have grown so lazy as to not be willing to take the time to hook up correctly....

If the front of the trailer hits the 5th wheel it whipes the grease right off.

Your dollie theory is wrong also. If your dollies were half way back the trailer then you theory would stand.


One thing no one mentioned was air ride on the trailer. If you have a suspension dump, dump it before you crank your dollies down. Another thing to consider, that none of you have, is the pad wear where it mounts to the dollie itself. You know the tube that goes thru there and has a bolt on the end. If its worn from years of use, that 1" turns into 1 1/2 or more inches.

Its obvious none of you have ever had a dollie fail on you or you'd never try the 1" lazy way. Anyway, keep doing it the lazy way and one day you will see....... a trailer nose dive on you..... or fall over.. I'm sure the company will love to hear your explanation....

 

Regarding your first point. Yes, the feet are solidly on the ground and my fifth-wheel clear and not touching before moving from under the trailer.

Regarding the failing dolly, check my post #44 above.

The key to the above method is to allow enough time for the suspension to completely deflate. If done correctly, the trailer will be set down easy on the ground and you can watch how it settles. It's pretty easy to see if the trailer lists a little as your suspension deflates. If it does, get your butt out of the seat and go see whether it's because one foot is in a hole or the leg is failing. In my example above, the leg failed. I re-aired my suspension, hooked back to the trailer and hauled it to the Sumner yard.

If and when we ever meet for coffee, you may feel free to inspect the grease coating on my fifth-wheel. I would be happy to unhook so you may do so.

If the only exercise you get is dollying down your trailer and that extra couple of turns makes that big of a difference in your exercise regimen, you need to get out more.

 

another little item about air-ride trailers when you drop em. When the air bags deflate they actually don't drop straight down. The trailing bars which attatch to the axle exert a push foreward on the trailer, which in turn binds on the two halves of your dolly legs.

Thus we were taught to "air up" the suspension before hooking.

 

But you got to think about this......some of these drivers are pulling vans and the landing gear crank is the only work out they ever get.

 

Yeah, what he sa...... Hey! Wait a minute!