Roymondo:
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Genuine query here - How did you discover the fifth wheel was defective?
When I had to screw the truck round on an uneven surface, the trailer lifted from the fifth wheel on one side and punched a large section out of the side skirt. I reported this, but all that happened was that the cost of the damage to the side skirt was deducted from my wage packet on the Friday. So I jacked the job in on the spot, and a Money Claim Online summons got me my wages paid in full a month or so later.
The company, George Bryant Haulage Ltd later had its O licence revoked for safety issues- kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/ … hgv-69870/
Roymondo:
Harry Monk:
TheUncaringCowboy:
I doubt he was sniffing fat lines off the mudguards while coupling up, I’d be very surprised if he was actually out his bin. Probably a regular weekend user and it makes a better headline rather than “guy makes mistake at work”.
Could equally be a defective fifth wheel coupling, I walked on the spot one Friday because the bloke I worked for refused to listen to me when I told him the fifth wheel was defective and dangerous, and on the Monday the very first time my replacement picked up a trailer (From Husk, at Lydden) it came adrift from the tractor unit as he left Husk’s yard and caused several thousand pound’s worth of damage.
Genuine query here - How did you discover the fifth wheel was defective? I don’t drive artics all the time, but other than looking for obvious bits missing/major damage prior to coupling up, I rely on doing my tug test and scooting underneath to check that the jaws appear to have locked across the pin. Is there something else to check? I seldom see any other drivers at our place doing even that?
As Nite Owl describes, when the fifth wheel gets worn badly you can feel ‘slap’ in the thing as you pull away, sometimes so bad it’s possible to see the movement if you get an assistant to juggle the vehicle backwards and forwards.
Sometimes they can get so bad that you feel the vehicle crab slightly as you go from under power to lifting off on the move.
I too always check for the bar across the pin.