Toughest type of trucking: Moving companies? specific tough docking? Opinions...

There are no hardest. There are simply things we have to experience before we can over come them. I delivered plastic pellets to a place that made bottles. Now the plant that made plastic pellets had their own fleet of trucks but their drivers refused to deliver to the bottle plant. I ask why and they told me I would understand when I got there. I was thus forewarned something was up. I got there and found the dock was a mess. New construction had made a blind side back the only way to get there. And there were cars parked all around and pallets all over the place. Did I have a problem backing in, no. It was easy. All I had to do was go into the office and ask for help. They had two forktrucks come out and clean up the yard. Three folks moved their cars. The boss and his assistant watched out for me and it was easy.

Remember, if anyone can do it, you can. If it can't be done, make changes until it can be. Get close and let the customer help.

 

Adding to Wooly Rhino if he does not mind.


Beating a dead horse. G.O.A.L is also your friend. Use every tool available.

 

Last year I had a delivery to an extremely tight dock, pallets and crap all over the place, metal post right in the middle of where I need the tractor to be, etc.

I went inside to ask the customer for help, "You guys have a pallet jack?"

"Yes".

"Great! I'll back the truck into the alley and you can unload me with the pallet jack."

... and they did unload me with the pallet jack. Easiest "dock" I ever got into.

 

Besides the obvious big city downtown areas, I would say some of the hardest places I go would be the cemeteries. The pathways are tiny and the curves are crazy. I will not ever roll over a grave marker even when the grounds keeper tells me it's ok. On top of this I drive a peterbilt 389 with a 53' spread. I need room to turn!

 

My dad worked as a mover all his life. When the roads are narrow you bring a straight truck along and use that to shuttle between the house and the larger truck. They just call it shuttling. There have been times where he got to the house with the straight truck and went back and backed the larger truck down the 1/4 mile snake path. The boss didn't have the confidence in his backing abilities that he did..

 

Before I got my CDL I was pulling a bull trailer (48') with an old Mack that had the right turn blocked so I couldn't make a full right. Every Auction house was a freaking adventure.

Camden, NJ has a courier service called Wish Trans, they have three dock doors. One is made for a 16 foot isuzu box truck. One is for Vans and pickups, and the one with all the chunks taken out of the brick is where they trick 53' vans into getting stuck in. I managed to get onto the 53' dock after 30 minutes of wiggling. I was as crooked as I could be (Dockplate on the right side had a little over 3 quarters of an inch on the trailer, the left side had about 3 feet). They loaded 22 pallets in by hand. (HAND, not jack, forklift etc). When I pulled forward I could hear my airhoses tink tink tink tinking across the fence. To get out of this ridiculous place, they took down a chainlink fence (Took it down, rolled it up and held it) to let me go over the curb and sidewalk and onto a busy 4 lane state highway. I sent my fleet manager pictures and a video of the whole thing, and he told me that I was lucky they loaded me with it so crooked.


One way or the other, the freight will get there but man I would be 100% okay with nice big docks at all the places. Tons of room and whatnot.


Oh, and I did house moving with All My Sons. I drove a cherry picker, we lifted power lines with it for the 18 wheelers to get down residential streets they shouldn't be on. THAT was a weird job.

 

I think you meant, "What's up, Doc?"

 

You said it not me! Your sister is your wife! Only in WV! jk

My favorite was in Cincinnati. I had to go to a small business that closed and sold their inventory. The problem was their small dock was built 60 years ago for a small box truck and had retaining walls on both sides. Across the narrow two lane road was a tavern. I had to use the sidewalk and barely miss the bar, but I wiggled her in there. The fun part was spectators stared coming out of the bar to watch me do it. By the time I got her in there they was a drunk crowd cheering me on. I guess from their view it's not every day an 18 wheeler grille is shining through the bar window.

Another time I had a pick up on a one lane street. One way in and one way out. Leaving the place the one way come to a T-stop right beside the police station. There was no way to make the turn for about a dozen police cars parked on both sides of the streets. One cop saw me and told me to wait a minute. In about a minute I had the whole police department moving cars for me! That was kind of a good feeling! Get out of my way you coppers!

When I was green I had to deliver underground at some downtown mall. I get under there and there was train tracks I had to cross. On the other side was the docks at a 45* angle pointing the wrong way. Some how I had to get turned around the narrow place and blind back in. The only place I seen possible was them what looked like hardly used train tracks. I got backed on the tracks to turn around and about that time a train horn sounded. I got turned around and here come the locomotive at a crawl with the conductor laughing his ### off! It wasn't the first time he seen that.

 

Dock is something you sit on out by the bay! Also check the neat song thread!