Trailer doors question

Non-moving and hanging would probably get you a malfunctioning equipment ticket. If it's on the truck or trailer it has to function properly. What you might deem safe to operate can be a different story from the leo. Somethings you allowed to head directly to a repair facility if it doesn't affect a safe operation. Could you guarantee a bump would've finished the door off and it fell completely? If it was written up and you were sure it wasn't going anywhere I'm sure a normal officer would let you slide. But they all aren't normal. Maybe you could of tied a rope to it or strapped it to make it look good.

I worked for Central Transport before and we had a bunch of them damaged doors. We would use a forklift to open and close them. Force them up, force them down.

 

The saving grace was it was 0445-0530 when I moved it so there was very little.traffic. I thought of running a strap from the handle to the etrack on the walls but didn't. However I did stop about a mile down the road after a a bumpy patch (think cross bronx bad) and it still didn't move. Also little leo presence on my roads of choice.

 

My gut instinct tells me that this is not kosher. However, that being said, because the trailer was empty (clear of debris as well) and because you were going back to the yard to get it repaired you would likely get away with a verbal warning. This of course depends on the DOT/Police that pull you over, and how far you were having to travel. Attitude given to enforcement will also influence what happens.

Couple years back I had a fully loaded reefer trailer and the running lights from about 1/2 way back were out. The only way was to get this trailer to the repair shop as electrical starts to get a little tricky. I no sooner turned onto the road when I was stopped. The police officer noted I was going in the opposite direction of my run and accepted my explanation. Told me to put my 4 ways on and be careful. Got to the shop and it took them a couple of hours to fix.

 

Swing doors are different than rollups as long as everything is secured proper you're good. You wont get a ticket with a rollup as long as your freight is properly secured or trailer is empty. Swinging doors cant be properly secured unless they are latched in the closed position