Trlr Uncoupled - How could I have prevented this.

after this topic when I backed into a trailer today I gave a double check lol

 

Amen brother , it just happens sometimes , very scary , dd

 

Good job! easy to get sloppy when your tired or in a hurry. WE got very lucky when a bounced trailer came uncoupled at our shop a few weeks ago.
BOOM-BABY!!! a 40k load hit right on the dollys with minor damage. I still cant believe we got away with that one , over the years i am used to seeing the
the leg,s come thru the deck and then totaling the trailer. plus the load,
This stuff is gonna keep happening, but i think everybody that reads this thread will think about it and do the right thing. just go look, I notice now that the
tech. that dropped our trailer now carries a pocket flashlight and looks very hard at his hook-up. Hey! i dont think i got to worry about another drop from him as he took it the way he should just like the guy that started this thread. I dont think he he will ever drop another one as he is trying to get advice on how to avoid another!
In the industry we are very blessed that the majority of these accidents happen on-site, i can only dread the day when it happens on a busy road.
Oh yow, I ought to add that i have also dropped some trailers on-site. we used to have air-applied brakes and used to chase them half way down the yard with the yard dog when the air blead off.
I think this is a very good refresher topic for all of us, what we need to take away from this is that when we hook-up just hearing the jaw,s close dont mean nothin. GO-LOOK, IF YOUR NOT 100% SURE , DONT MOVE! DD

 

We had an issue with this happening at a carrier I once leased with. The trailers were often dropped at various heights because not all trucks had the same height fifth wheel. Every time, it happened with a company truck because they had the lowest fifth wheel height.

But the bottom line was Driver Error. They never got out to look.

 

Little off topic, but not entirely...

My co. recently fired 2 drivers for high drop incidents, first one overshot his 5th wheel and only stopped when he hit the sleeper, and second driver fired for wiping 5th wheel grease on grab bars of spotter truck cause he pissed about lowering dolly every day.

Its important that a 'drop and hook' driver understand, the spotter driver never touches your trailer's dolly handle. (and OMG to think the previous driver wanted to manually crank dolly high, is laughable) No lot is level, if your trailer has been moved, you must assume it will not be the same height! Too low, or too high...its no ones fault.

I heard same complaints from so many experienced drivers it still amazes me.

 

I think u over shot it. Because it was too high but u were too lazy to check it. Yes the tug test will pass when u pull it. But when u turned it slid right off

 

This same exact thing happened to me years ago.....I to am ocd about my trailer being locked down!

 

Good job CASun. I am confident you will never drop a trailer again. It is to bad about your incident, but it could have been alot worse. I hope your company sees your comitment to the lesson learned.

 

You high locked, or locked on to the "head" of the kingpin