Hey all you seasoned driving vets out there. I was just wondering if you think that grocery warehouses and other places that reefers are sent generally have the hardest docks to get into or do dry vans get the worst of them?

This is just out of curiosity and for a little fun. Gimme the worst dock stories you've got! My boyfriend has some pretty bad ones from his years driving for theatre tours and concerts while he was with Clark Transfer. These stories are my favorite and will help me get a better idea of what I'm getting myself into.

Thanks! :lol:

in a way it really is all the same.. even tho i'm not a system driver, i say two of my hardest backs are Reefer Related.. One is at a Place Called Unilever in Baltimore.. it's not that bad, but it damn sure isn't easy..

and second is this place called Cargill at Mt. Crawford VA, this place is so damn tight and small it's just unbelievable.. the first time i went to this place (which was 3 days after i went solo) it took me 45 mins to dock the trailer!! My clutch leg was going out of control and shaking cause i was so nervous.. But there's messed up places you have to back up to sometimes..

Hell i would love to know how someone would back up to the ABC warehouse in Richmond that Swift pulls out of.. I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW, THAT PLACE LOOKS LIKE A PAIN IN THE ASS

One of the tightest places I recall delivering to when I pulled a van was a warehouse just behind Truck Town Truck Stop in Fontana, California. I don't remember the name of the warehouse. It was so tight that you had to drop your trailer so that others could back in or pull their trailer out. I had a brand new trailer that I picked up just before making this trip. As I was trying to drop my trailer a Danny Herman driver nearly backed into my tractor. I hurriedly moved the tractor out of his way before he hit me. When I went back to pick up the trailer there was a gash that was about 10 feet long on that side. I checked and there was a different trailer in the spot next to me. Apparently, the driver requested a different dock after he hit my trailer and was no where to be found. We contacted Danny Herman but since we didn't have they guy's trailer we were not able to prove that he is the one who actually hit my trailer. Of course, they were uncooperative in checking it out. Our insurance company had to pay for the repairs. It was tight, but since there were no witnesses there was nothing we could do.

Wow Gman, what a hassle! My boyfriend has this story about putting his trucks into an alley in downtown chicago for a theatre tour load-in. Apparently the fire escapes measured at 13' 8" at their highest point and once the trailers were in the alley, some of the drivers were to wide in the shoulder to fit between the trailer and the buildings on either side. I can't even imagine! Especially in downtown Chicago!

pinto brothers paper recycling in philly.

you'd come up washington, make a left on 25th, then a left on ellsworth. stop at the office, get a door and pick up the deaf/dumb midget. i kid you not. at the end of the block turn left again to get back out onto washington. go under the rr and turn left on gray's ferry and a left again on 27th. 2 blocks in a right on annin just to get straight. the midget then gets out and waves womback. then he stops the traffic on 26th while you back up, and then finally the 4 lanes of 25th. the cars would stop if they saw him, half the time they didn't. so it was slow going. there were 3 docks, and if no one was there it wasn't bad, but that last one was a bitch.

to view it go to 2500 ellsworth st on live and then scroll east on 25th 1 block.

Reefer...There are food warehouses at the end of Morse Street NE in Washington, DC. The docks are similar to Hunt's Point docks in the Bronx, New York, but more crowded and with far less room to maneuver.

The place is the best testament I have ever witnessed for mankind's ability to keep a cool head and cooperate, because without those key factors, nothing would move.

Fifty three footers, small vans, pedestrians, private cars, angle docks, vehicles parked anywhere and everywhere, etc... Somehow, with a lot of patience and cooperation on everyone's part, trucks get unloaded and move on.

Reefer...Chicago...It's been so long that I forget the neighborhood, but it was necessary to hit the dock straight in, with the tractor jacked 90 degrees to the left. There wasn't enough room to dock any other way. You had to be able to accomplish the maneuver or you wouldn't be unloaded.

I have been to other places where it was necessary to finish docking with the tractor jacked 90 degrees.


stonefly

Some of those older grocery warehouses were built before the newer 102" wide trailers. At the time they were constructed some trailers were likely no more than 45' at the most. When I first started driving we still had some trailers that were about 42' long. The longer 45' trailers were just getting started good. Those extra few feet and 6" of width can make a difference when things are tight.

Reefer. Hands down. Plus, the folks on the docks tend to be absolute jerks. Granted, we haven't pulled a reefer in over a decade so I could be wrong. Still, my memories of those grocer receivers are strong. That sucked.

No Differece in docks or the type of people you deal with at shipper/receiver .

Just about any place I deliver to will test you backing skills. Most places I deliver to were not built to have a trailer in them.