Tips for new drivers (things to do)

That makes sense. What is the stuff called? Where'd ya get it?

 

i cannot remembewr for the life of me. i'm at the house right now. we ordered it from a industrial supply Co. at the condos where i was maint. super. at

 

Keep a spray bottle with soapy water, a radial plug kit, and an airhose with tire chuck and a gladhand on it in your truck...those puppies have saved my company several thousand dollars in road service calls. You don't want to leave those plugs in for long, but they will get you to a truckstop for a permanent repair.

POST trip your trailers when you drop them...even if it's just a light check and kicking the tires...NEVER leave a broke d!#& trailer for the next guy to fix. Believe me I will track you down.

 

When will people learn that WD40 isn't a lubricant. It's good for 3 days or the first rain it hits. Even silicone is better, and that's a light oil. Graphite as mentioned is best, if not a little expensive, I like prolong spray.

 

A lot of good advice here.

After reading about the vicegrips, I recalled doing this a number of times.
When trying to slide tandems, after locking the lever with the grips, take your hammer, always carry a decent straight claw framing hammer, and whack those locking pins a few times. Usually you'll only have one or two that are problem children. Then pull on the lever again. Nine out of ten times this works for me.

Another thing about sliding tandems. Sometimes with a 40k+ load, it's hard to break the slides loose. DO NOT try to break them loose by trying to move the truck back and forth with the trailer brakes set initially. This puts one H&$$ of a strain on your drive train. Instead, put it in low, get the truck moving VERY SLOWLY, not much over an idle, then put the clutch in, while pulling on your spike, if your lucky enough to have one. If not, set your trailer brakes. Sometimes you may have to do this a number of times.
I chuckle everytime I see someone trying to slide the way they're taught at orientation or some sort of school. Just watch the trailer tail gain about a foot of height when in reverse, or drop the same amount when pulling forward. Makes me cringe to think what the drivetrain stresses may be.

 

It is under a few generic names. Slip plate, plow coat and 5th wheel dry lube. Same stuff.

Many stores carry it. Nearly all of the ag dealers and farm supply stores sell it. ~$3-5/can. I prefer the stuff that John Deere or C-IH dealers sell. It dries the quickest so you can get back to work faster.

 

Never use petroleum based lubricants on 5th wheel or tandem sliders or their pins.
Cheap Dollar store undiluted Dish Soap is by far the best for this task.


What gets many hands in a bind is not looking far enough ahead in even the simplest tasks involved in their job as a Driver.
Its the Drivers duty to make their job what it is.

You latch up to a new wagon "you" need to make sure its road worthy
If those tandems don't slide when the wagons empty,they wont slide when its loaded.
Lube the pins and slider rails before you pull the handle!
Slide the tandems forward and back a few times to loosen everything up.
10 min invested in prevention is better then 30 min of cussing.
Drivers that make this part of their routine not only help themselves
but the next hand that hooks the wagon.

 

I myself back under the trailer, just until I hear or feel the 5th wheel contact the trailer. Get out make sure the trailer isn't to high, nothing worse the then banging a cab extender or getting the kingpin over the 5th wheel, have seen both happen many times. Since I'm out, out trailer permit boxes are on the front center of trailer, so I check, make sure the registration is good, then hook the air lines and pigtail up, get in back rest of the way up. Give it a good tug. then visually (with a flashlight) make sure the jaws of 5th wheel are around the kingpin.

 

I used to have problems with my wipers icing over in snowy/icy weather and ice build up along the bottom of my windshield, but a trick I learned that has helped me is to turn the defroster on and pull my visors down a little, it helps keep most of the heat on the windshield instead of blowing right up and out. If it gets to hot just roll the window down a little, atleast now you can still get full benefit from your wipers.

 

trailer brakes not holding well enough to slide tandems??
FIND A CURB TO BACK AGAINST
CARRY A WHEEL CHOCK IN SIDEBOX
TRY FORWARD AND BACKWARDS sometimes they are more willin to break free in the opposite directio you want them to go.