just did something really stupid
 

it was at the end of the day and my last stop before i could go home for the weekend i got in a hurry and my fifth wheel wouldn't unlock so after some rocking back and forth i finally get it unlock so i get back in my truck and proceed to leave well i forgot to unhook the pig tails luckily i only pulled out the red service line and nothing else but i feel really stupid now also luckily as to my knowledge just my dog and our shop know what happened

Don't feel too bad. I hate to admit it, but twice I have forgotten to unhook my airlines and pigtail when dropping a trailer. :oops: :oops: :oops:


Both times I got in a hurry. :roll: :roll: :roll:

yeah I'm definitely gonna make sure I'm not in a hurry anymore and remember the lines it was my fifth wheel the handle wouldn't move so i had to move forward and backward till it finally moved and i was just so glad i got unhooked i got back in the truck and pulled out

You would think I would have learned after the first time, but I did after that second time.

After that last time I made myself get into a routine where the 1st thing I do is unhook the airlines then lower the gear and finally pull the 5th wheel.

well at least you dropped your Dolly's first-think positive :P

It can help if you establish a routine. If I drop a trailer, I usually start with the air lines and then pull the fifth wheel as I go to the dolly. By the way, it can help to put the dolly down to release the king pin, if you have a heavy load. It sound like no major damage was done. You will likely never have that happen again. :D

PAL and LAP
 

My routine is to take on a "PAL" and lose it off my "LAP"

Hook: ..

PIN (Latched, secured-and tugged) -- AIRLINES (Hooked) -- LANDING GEAR (up)

Unhook:

LANDING GEAR (down) -- AIRLINES (Unhook) -- PIN (Unlatch)

Watkins Shepard teaches to set up the truck with the nose of the trailer just level with the fifth wheel and check to see distance. Then drop the air bags, go back 2 feet, fill the air bags to lift the trailer. This lessens the wear and tear on the Teflon fifth wheels. Reverse the procedure for unhooking.

This has two inherent risks. High hooking a kingpin because at least you know you are lifting the trailer while backing and you can see it. The other risk is getting distracted between step 1 and step 2 forgetting that you did not do the final back to latch. I did that one last week, but realized quickly on the final tug test and was able to raise the gear and re-hook. I think even with the best of proceedures .. just slowly pulling forward and checking the trailer one final time prevents a disaster ...

Don't feel too bad; We all pull a few boners every now and then.

I do mostly drop and hook at my new gig and i forgot to unhook the wires once last week, but they just popped off and no damage although they smacked the back of the cab big time.

:D :D :D :D Been there, done that!! :shock: :shock: Welcome to the club!!!

If you find anyone who's been out here more than 6 months who hasn't done that at least a time or two....they're either the luckiest person in the world, or a liar :shock: :shock:

I've gotten in a hurry a time or two...really stretched them all out :shock:

And whats really bad is when you're pulling away from the trailer, and you realize your mistake...and then you hear all three of them slap the back of the tractor :shock: :shock:

But don't worry...I won't tell anyone if you won't!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Being in a hurry is how mistakes are often made.

I'm good about the glad hands, but I did forget the landing gear once during hooking. They make a terrible racket when you're draging them on the ground. My worst fear, of course, is unhooking and taking off with the landing gear still UP. I could see that getting ugly. :shock:

Other than that, I do things like forgetting to set or release my brakes.

I feel like an idiot sometimes, so it's nice to know other people do the same things.

I think the key is to find an order of doing things the same way, and to slow down and not be in a hurry so you don't skip over something important.

I snapped the 2 airline and the pick tail...............2 times in that last 3 years. :evil:

While we're on the subject of 5th wheels I found out when you are trying to pull your 5th wheel handle and it want budge release your parking brakes and leave you trailer brakes engaged, back up a little and then pull you parking brakes. Your handle will then release with no problem.

I've got a brother that was driving for some thirty years and one day, forgot to unhook the lines. Pulled the plug off the pigtail, and had to get a new one. While I have never done it, I understand it can happen to anyone at anytime. I would guess it will be a while before you do that again. :) :)

As others have said, it aint the first time and I promise you it won't be the last. You have just learned a valuable lesson though. I have gotten into the habit of double checking everything. I even get under the trailer and look at the fifth wheel to make sure the jaws are locked. If I hook it up today and wont actually pull it till tomorrow I'll check it all again the next day before I leave as part of a pre-trip.....Don

How about this one...
 

I used to drive chip truck, pulling 32 food doubles with con-gear. One day I left the yard, and my back trailer was full of refuse chips (hog fuel) an I was to drop it near a certain intersection and another driver was going to hook up to it and take it the rest of the way to the mill, since he had one 32 already loaded with the same type of fuel. So after about two hours of running, I get to the drop point, pull over, lower the landing gear on my back trailer, pull the fifth wheel latch and pull forward a few feet. Company policy was to not leave the con-gear under the trailer, so I was supposed to drop it right there in front of the loaded trailer with a pintle lock on it. Well, I ran back up to the cab cause my phone was ringing, and I got to talking. After logging up, I took off and drove the two hours to my dump point, went to back the trailer up and hey, that con-gear was still hooked to my trailer (OOPS). So instead of leaving it with the other trailer, I accidentally forgot to unhook it and towed it behind my trailer way the hell out of the way. Needless to say I got a bit of a "talking to" since they other driver had no con-gear to pick up the other trailer with. Oh well, lesson learned, didn't do that one again. I guess that's what happens sometimes drivng night shift chip truck. So I guess we all make dumb mistakes sometimes.

West_Coaster

wow thanx for all the replys i don't feel so bad now! except for today i locked my keys in my truck at the fuel island! i usly carry a spare but i left it in the truck this time. but i think my dog may have done it when he was barking at the window cleaner guess I'm gonna have to teach him how to unlock. so anyway luckily there was another driver from the same company that had the same truck i did and was awake he was able to unlock it for me . aww the fun stuff that happens out here.

Where I work we pull doubles at night, we go out, swap trailers, then return. Four trailers, 4 hooks, 4 drops, and sometimes the mind ain't too sharp at 3-4:00 o'clock in the morning! I'm always worried I'm going to miss a step.

Stretching the Hydraulic lines
 

I have done the same thing when unhooking. I have hydraulic lines that are only attached when I am loading and unloading. I just finished closing up the trailer and getting ready to drop it. I pulled out with the hydraulic lines attached. I stopped before I ripped them out completely. Those lines are very expensive and make one hell of a mess if they rupture. I made a mess, but did not totally screw them up. Getting in a hurry is a bad idea - It ends up costing money.

This is so funny because it happened to me 2 lol... :lol: One day I got back from a trip and was ready to park the truck and for some reason I said ah..lets just unhook the trailer..Gear down pull fifth wheel ready to haul out .. NOT!!! Man was that one heck of a wicked double whip on the truck.... Got out looked no damge whatsoever..Looked up to the sky and counted my blessings.. :)

I did the exact same thing as jroqueman 2 days ago, the only thing that saved me from snapping those hydraulic lines is I happened to be on a day cab and could see them in the mirror stretched out like a banjo string. I did what every driver that I've seen pull air lines off does, look around to see if anyone saw me. :oops: The truck I usually drive has a hole in the back of the sleeper from a previous driver forgetting to undo the airlines.

As mentioned before, get a routine to stick with and watch those distractions!

wow, one way to avoid mishaps is to never hurry, and another is to work in one direction so you know you are not forgetting to do something... example, this is how I do it, I go to the jackstand and lower it, then walk towards the drivers door I then pull the fifth wheel lever then walking towards the drivers door I unhook the lines, then walking toward the drivers door I get in, I worked in one direction, this should help not miss something...

if the fifth wheel was stuck your still walking towards the drivers door unhook the lines anyway then try rocking, most time its the truck rolled foward, I just put in reverse and leave the trailer brakes on since the lines are unhooked its locked up anyway and back up and hit the tractor brakes and get out pull lever and I still look at the lines because I am so use to working in one direction.... I look since I am walking by anyway.....hope this helps and don,t try to hurry so much, relax and everything will work right ...

everybody screws up no matter if they've driven a day or 50 years. Key is learning from them.

I can honestly admit I have never screwed up. :P :P :P :P :P :P 8) 8) 8) :P :P :P :P







okay, maybe once or twice.

Good tip.
Another good idea is when you park your truck set trailer brakes first. That way some wise guy don't pull your fifth wheel. It has happen to a co-worker at Exit 40 off 95 in Milford CT.

Skywalker wrote:

Windwalker wrote:

Sooo.... Windwalker.... which are YOU?? You know how I feel about being told I'm just "lucky." And I sure wouldn't like being called a liar! :lol:

There IS one other option, though, that covers MY situation. I drive TEAM, and Powerload and unload. So, I only hook and drop once each for each weekly trip. (I go out and come back to the same yard.)

But, the REAL reason is a very BASIC one. I always do a pretrip after hooking to my trailer and before leaving the lot. IIRC, a proper pre-trip includes checking airlines, pigtail, landing gear and 5th wheel release pin.
And when I drop, like UglyMutt, I start from the cab and work backwards. Since my truck has the release pin on the OTHER side, I go from airlines/pigtail to dolleys, to the back of the trailer to get my loadlocks out, come around the other side and pull the release pin.

I'm NOT "putting down" those who've made mistakes, but I feel the "lucky" ones are those who've failed to THINK, and got away with it! ONE small mistake can cost a LIFE, not just an embarrassment. See below.



Super 8 wrote:

As I drove home from the yard Sunday morning, I heard on the local radio news that, a truck had rolled down a ramp and onto the interstate in Charlotte, KILLING a woman! It was determined that the parking brakes were not SET. Don't know about the trailer brakes, but many times THEY are out of adjustment, and should NOT be relied upon to hold the vehicle by themselves.

A couple of months ago, a Driver was killed at a local truckstop while standing at a fuel island talking to another driver. Apparently, the guy who fueled just before him, ran in to get his receipt without setting his brakes. The driver was crushed when the truck rolled back and pinned him to the nose of his own truck.

I know it's funny to relate stories of how we've screwed up and lived to tell about it, but since this forum is advice to newbies, I thought I'd point out that even the smallest mistake can cost a life in this business.

Let's be careful out there, and keep our minds on our jobs! :D

Back to the subject of this thread. I worked as a Yard Jockee Switcher, for 2yrs and I cant even remember how many times I forgot to unhook the lines. I'll even admit that I have dropped a couple of trailers with the landing gear still up. It's a lot of work cranking that landing gear down, lucky for me we don't haul heavy loads.