This is what happens when you don't pretrip the truck!

Yes, I always check to make sure the handle went in all way, there is no gap, and then I duck my bigass under the trailer and shine a flashlight on it to make sure the jaws are locked completely and again to make sure its not high hooked.

10 seconds of work that could save you a whole bunch of headaches.

 

Even the pretrip?

 

co-worker did this today, he backed under a load in our yard this morning, thought he was locked in, did a pull test, got out and finished hooking up. Didn't even make it out of the yard before he dropped it. Appears his 5th wheel was out of adjustment and he hadn't been checking it and didn't say anything. Thankfully it was only 10K (box and load) so they were able to use our 10k rated forklift to slowly lift it.

 

Two weeks ago I had a hot load to Texas and I rushed a bit to get to shipper on time and I made a rookie mistake did not lift the landing gear,short time later going over the railroad track EMPTY, I lost right landing gear and my left kidney and underwear .... Thanks to the passer by trucker me and him was able to secure the landing gear with chain and binder .I got it fixed now but LESSON LEARNED.

 

Oooh... that sucks! but, got to say I did something of the same a couple years ago... I picked up an MT and because I too was in a hurry I forgot to put the landing gear up.. needless to say, many people looked at me weird and it wasn't until I finally got to the Pilot I was going to that I realised what it was...thankfully it didn't hurt anything.

 

I work with a guy that just destroyed landing gear on a pup. He was rolling it up and a dock person at a customer's warehouse came out and talked to (distracted) him. He didn't go back and finish rolling it up because he forgot about it. He came into the yard and bent up both sides... totally ruined it. It could happen to anybody, but boy was it ugly.

 

If no one saw it happen did it really happen?

 

, i'd say if i did a survey, i'd say most drop trl's are done in the winter, due too poor traction too get under the trl's, i had my fair share of trying too get under a heavy trl that sank in the northen wi ice, yes i haul the great paper trail's , those big roll's of paper are heavy, up there in green bay paper, and they also park the loaded trls in the swamp i call em, mud puddels big as your tractor, and my lazy butt wasnt gonna get out and put on chains , just too hook up a trl , but my fav trick there was , would holler over too the trl jockey and use his rig,too raise it up, then block it with 2x 6 , like three of em , be about just right for my freightshaker then i hand him a 10 spot , told him too buy a nice lunch, then back under , check were my fith wheel plate was, still having hard time , cause it was ice , three thick, still spinnig out , if i let it,i get close, but i couldnt get it, and for me , like they say, on irt, just slam it, well that's just me ,but i never slam my fith wheel, you can more damage too the fith wheel , driveline , your body ect, so i pulled ahead, got my kitty litter out spread the whole bag down and then i got traction , back slowly in , click, i thought, nope- mayby, , i pulled foward tug test ,nope, my trigger on fith wheel was playing games today, so i got out pull it back opean, back under this time i got it, good pull tug test, got my light out and double checked it yup got it, good too go, i double check everything when i pull that trl, with a good flashlight too, i havent lost a trl or slide a trl off, but i had one were i got in a hurry and went over the top of fith and met my back wall, that taught me too slow down and do it right, but one trl outa so many years not bad i guess,

 

I did this just the other day, and have in the past as well. When hooking up, I've had other drivers come up and give me a rundown of their entire life history. They may get a bit POed when I tell them wait until I'm done, but I don't need the distraction, it's too easy to screw up when you're being pestered.

 

Nope, and it didn't make a sound either