CF, equipment has changed and so have coupling techniques to suit but even back then your technique was a hanging offence. You never, ever left the legs of a loaded trailer clear of the ground when dropping it in our yard.
In former times dropped trailers were at different heights because of different 5th wheel heights combined with varying steel spring deflections depending on type fitted and weight on trailer.
3 to 5 turns in the low gear was as much as most of us were willing to to raise a heavy trailer when dropping it but it was safer to leave it a little low than high as long as the next guy could get the skid ramps under the trailer. Doing so was a bit rough on equipment at times.
Newmercman has described exactly how it was back then even reminding me of the short cuts we all took with empties, and how it is today.
This is how and why things have evolved in our place and a bit of a boring read for most but might shed light on why we have more variation today than before.
Our place now run at 4 meters overall height and thus 5th wheels are a very low profile affair.
As a result there isn’t any room to fit guide ramps at the back of the 5th wheel.
So now we have to be a little more accurate with heights when coupling but fortunately we have adjustable air suspension on the unit to save us from having to muscle the landing legs up or down.
The manufacturers recommendation in to place the 5th wheel an inch or two (20-50mm) higher than the trailer plate and back in but now there is grease everywhere.
Also if the trailer is nose low or the ground ain’t flat you can loose full flat contact between the fifth wheel and trailer plate as you go back risking overshoot or only partial engagement.
To avoid those two drawbacks most of us go in slightly low until 5 wheel is just under trailer to avoid grease everywhere but not so low or deep to risk snagging the pin on top of the 5 wheel on a short pin trailer.
Now connect the suzies if it’s a split coupling.
Then we give the trailer a good lift with the tractor unit air suspension, back her all the way home, tug test, park brake on and so on. This also relieves additional landing gear strain.
Ps. Dropped heavy trailers play havoc with already straining landing gear when the air leaks out of the suspension so take advice from Reef and Newmercman and drop the trailer suspension before finally setting the brake and uncoupling.
Mechanical sympathy is what seperates real drivers from the rest.
My deepest sympathy to that poor man and his family after such a tragic accident. Hopefully we will all learn something from it in due course for the benefit of all drivers.
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