Why do shippers require tandems all the way back?

It sounds like you are blaming your mistake on others.

 

Why do drivers ride around with tandems slid forward all the way forward , the truck rides like crap and its harder to back up.

 

I slide my tandems back before I bump any dock. Gets rid of tail swing and makes it easier for me. Just my choice.

 

There is way less bounce when they are all the way back and that can be important for your truck too.
I delivered a light load in a reefer to a nasty broke down place in Omaha. -17° that weekend and I was lazy/cold. Didn't notice that the rubber bumper on the drivers side of the dock door was gone. Just a metal mounting block. I was pretty square to the dock. If anything I was closer on the passenger side. But the bouncing slammed the metal bumper block into my trailer so hard and often enough that it pushed in the bottom hinge on the door. When I went to leave I couldn't close the door it was so pushed in.
I couldn't figure out how it happened until I was at the trailer repair shop getting the hinge cut off. The tech told me.

 

It's safer for the loaders. The trailers will slide a lot more if the tandems are foward. Also, at times, the trailers won't lock into the dock locks.

 

I would. As a yard jockey I have seen damage done by not doing so. It makes the trailer more stable as well.

 

Also if the trailer sits too high then the forklift can actually bottom out on the ridge of the dock plate and get stuck there. Like others have said, it also makes more stable flooring. And I heard if the forklift is heavy enough with the first pallet, it can actually lift the trailer off the 5th wheel. Not sure if I buy that one or not though.

I used to not care about sliding tandems at docks but now that I have my own reefer which already has a small dip in the floor back there, I'm sliding tandem every time (but not until I'm lined up with the dock, unless told otherwise). Not sure if it helps protect the floor, but I figure it can't hurt. The forklift falling 12 inches onto it can't be good for it.

As far as sliding while driving, if I'm empty, they're forward for cornering. But once I'm loaded I want to balance the load if I can. Makes shifting go smoother, even with a light load. So if the load is forward then so are the tandems, but if the load goes past the tandems then I slide them to at least somewhat balance, even if it's only 10k of potato chips. If the run is long enough and the shifting still sucks, I'll scale to balance. I can math out the holes so usually only need to scale once.

 

Makes the rear sit higher and more stable. Lots of places that you drop and hook want you to slide em back. More about safety really. 9 out of 10 times they'll tell you at the guard shack or shipping office. Whenever I go to a new place i always say that it's my 1st time here, what's the procedure? That way there's no confusion

 

Experience hand unloading sauces at places.

Tandems back=pallet of bbq sauce may not continue momentum sliding downhill. Also it is easier to get up the ramp into the building.

I say bbq sauce because warehouse pallet jacks don't have the best of brakes and I remember abandoning the jack and running for my life one time getting chased by bbq sauce.

....was at a Sysco in Florida.

 

Why do shippers require tandems all the way back?

It's just easier on all equipment, not just for the warehouse but the trailer too.