andy187:
Once i had grease all over me AND seats
■■■■■ 
Please tell more 
Stan
Ragnarok:
Good God! 20 foreign drivers and only 3 English- It sounds like a metaphor for what is wrong with our industry right now … I am genuinely shocked.
Yeah, but maybe he’s working for Willi Betz…
beattun:
i have to wonder HOW exactly youre getting grease all over you from the 5th wheel?when im hitching up, all i do before i hitch is maybe pull the pin,then when im hitched up, the 5th wheel is under the trailer, so im not going to get any grease on me from that while im connecting the susies?
I get it on my legs from the lip that some of our trailers have at the bottom of the headboards. I think that’s there so idiots don’t slam a level 5th wheel into the headboard. Not that I have ever done that… 
just spoke to my mate who works at eddies empire wgton,apparently some disgruntled driver(core or agency) has taken to wipin 5th wheel grease over dash,seat,doors,bunk of any unit he can get his grease ridden gloves on■■? had to have valeters in to sort units out after said aftermath!!! n u wonder why the industry is in the state its in with muppets like that! 
We’ve got one particular driver who always manages to get the grease everywhere. Beyond logic how he manages. Then I spotted him one day getting back into the cab after dropping his trailer on the bay, with his gloves still on… That explained how it got into the cab, on the steering wheel etc, but still didn’t explain how he got his trousers covered - step over the airlines FFS!!
The day after I said to him if I get into his lorry again at night and it is covered in grease I am going to wipe it all down with his Stockport County football flag hung up behind the seats.
He has done his best to avoid getting grease everywhere since then!
gnasty gnome:
Ragnarok:
Good God! 20 foreign drivers and only 3 EnglishYeah, but maybe he’s working for Willi Betz…
nope not betz
we have a hungarian driver, and the boss wanted to divert him elsewhere, the transport manager refused because it would be difficult enough to do in person let alone on a phone.
This has been discussed earlier with some other tips to shift grease too.
http://trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15584&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=fowler
HGV_Mikey:
beattun:
i have to wonder HOW exactly youre getting grease all over you from the 5th wheel?when im hitching up, all i do before i hitch is maybe pull the pin,then when im hitched up, the 5th wheel is under the trailer, so im not going to get any grease on me from that while im connecting the susies?
me thinks that you are lucky to have your own unit, or one where the suzies are kept pout the way.
to be fair, i do keep the same trailer on most of the time, maybe put a different one on once a week, if even,plus ive got a huge catwalk so i can easily sidestep the susies, but i hose down the catwalk with truckwash soapy stuff and hot water once a week, that makes a big difference
We employ a fair amount of agency drivers, and some of them are quite new to this industry, as we know some agencies dont care who they send, so long as they send someone, to earn them money…
So when we see a driver, reversing under a fridge trailer, we just watch in amazement…so we saw a driver reverse, never checked the height, bang hit the back of the cab…did it again…then got out the cab to have a look…oh dear, its too low…probably dropped by the shunter…so he adjusts the height, and tries again…success this time…except for the fact…you shouldnt connect a fridge trailer up all the way…cos otherwise you aint gonna get the air lines on, so numpty then squeezes behind the cab, cant fit the air lines, decides to lay down on the cat walk, swears a bit when he realises hes covered in grease, and hes got an audience laughing their socks off, whilst drinking their coffee, however he then decides to get in the cab, covered in the black stuff, and tries to pull away, took him a while to realise that the legs were still down, and the trailer brake was on, mind you, he did manage to move it a fair way…until our transport manager showed his face…but this happens quite a bit, and i asked our manager why the agency staff never had an induction, to which he replied…ill look into it`…and they wonder why…
truckyboy:
We employ a fair amount of agency drivers, and some of them are quite new to this industry, as we know some agencies dont care who they send, so long as they send someone, to earn them money…
So when we see a driver, reversing under a fridge trailer, we just watch in amazement…so we saw a driver reverse, never checked the height,banghit the back of the cab…did it again…then got out the cab to have a look…oh dear, its too low…probably dropped by the shunter…so he adjusts the height, and tries again…success this time…except for the fact…you shouldnt connect a fridge trailer up all the way…cos otherwise you aint gonna get the air lines on, so numpty then squeezes behind the cab, cant fit the air lines, decides to lay down on the cat walk, swears a bit when he realises hes covered in grease, and hes got an audience laughing their socks off, whilst drinking their coffee, however he then decides to get in the cab, covered in the black stuff, and tries to pull away, took him a while to realise that the legs were still down, and the trailer brake was on, mind you, he did manage to move it a fair way…until our transport manager showed his face…but this happens quite a bit, and i asked our manager why the agency staff never had an induction, to which he replied…ill look into it`…and they wonder why…
The interesting thing here was that none of the ‘audiance’ seeing that the guy was having a bit of a torrid time, did not go and offer some friendly and constructive help.
It is always very easy to have a good laugh at somebody elses’s inexperience, but that guy would have gained a bit more experience with a little help. We were all new to the industry at some point and the HGV test does not include such things as dropping a body, using a HIAB, using curtains, tipping a dustcart or many other practicalities.
These only come by being shown how to do it by people who have already done it. Personally, I always ask somebody for help if I am not sure of what I am doing. Usually people are only too happy to give you some help and advice.
It is also a fact that companies that ask for an agency driver expect that driver to be an expert in all aspects of trucking, which is frankly ridiculous. Like most people, I have had to learn on the job in the past, with the help of people more experienced than myself.
It is the principle of ‘paying it forward’ - if you help others, then hopefully others will also help you in return. Life is a lot nicer like that 
As ^^ said, and I also see no reason why you HAVE to split couple a fridge, I hear on this forum that quite a few places actually don’t want drivers doing it for H&S. Fine a lot of drivers are fat gits who’d have trouble squeezing in and out of the cab door let alone the catwalk but I personally have never had to split couple and it’s pretty tight between some of our units and fridges especially without a sliding suzie rail, just lean in and brace yourself against the back of the cab, no need to lay down?? or roll around in the airlines
Very rarely do I ever get grease on my clothes, only times I have done is usually reaching for the pin/clip and catching my arm on a blob of grease that somehow found it’s way onto the bottom of the side of the trailer. All the leading edges of the trailers are covered in it off the 5th wheel, just avoid it. It’s not always possible to get the unit low enough to back under without the trailer scraping grease off anyway if it’s been dropped low or not on level ground, unless you want to stand there for 20minutes winding the legs down half a foot.
Kiowan:
As ^^ said, and I also see no reason why you HAVE to split couple a fridge, I hear on this forum that quite a few places actually don’t want drivers doing it for H&S. Fine a lot of drivers are fat gits who’d have trouble squeezing in and out of the cab door let alone the catwalk but I personally have never had to split couple and it’s pretty tight between some of our units and fridges especially without a sliding suzie rail, just lean in and brace yourself against the back of the cab, no need to lay down?? or roll around in the airlinesIt’s not always possible to get the unit low enough to back under without the trailer scraping grease off anyway if it’s been dropped low or not on level ground, unless you want to stand there for 20minutes winding the legs down half a foot.
Apart from being fat gits, there are different variations of trailers. some have the couplings and sockets low down or directly under the fridge motor housing. necessitating split coupling.
It was far easier when you could couple one handed when tractors were fitted with taps although many have suggested draining the air before attempting to push a self sealing C type home.
I don’t have this problem as I have used palm couplings for many years now
As for not getting the unit low enough, try to lower the trailer suspension, this will raise the front of the trailer.
Work smarter not harder 
Seeing as you also work as a size zero model, no wonder you have no problem in split coupling. If you were in our depot, you will notice that everyone split couples.Its easier, and avoids the grease, and stops us spreading it in the cab, and we are not all fat b`stards.
We always help those who ask, and those who dont gets on with it, i have always advocated on this site, that we never stop learning in this trade, and if you wanna know something…ASK…
Our fleet engineer, painted all the legs of the trailers, so we would have to drop them lower than what they needed to be, eg, they would be wound down to within 6 inches of the floor.
When i asked him why, he said because the sub-contractors had lower 5th wheels than our own vehicles, and it would save them from damaging their cabs. i told him it would mean the grease from the 5th wheel, would end up at the front of the trailer, and eventually drop ,onto the catwalk, or the chassis, and why didnt the subbies, before coupling, adjust the height of the unit, or lower it when coupling, he shrugged his shoulders as usual, so i drop my trailer as i see fit.
when using petrol or diesel to remove grease ensure you wear suitable gloves that are also waterproof. My husbands hands turned into a red blotchy mess once and all he could put it down to was the diesel he had used to clean the airlines!!!