Got dropped of from swad down to royston last week in a works van, got threw my keys to a daf cf unit and old curtain side trailer! The job is car parts to be delivered to europarts in wemberly & then a few pallets in the same trailer need taking to bog noregus… So the polish bloke that I went down with assisted me by watching my fifth wheel under the trailer and once the pin clicked in gave me the thumbs up… Tried pulling forward wasn’t moving so raised the axle jumped out connected everything up took the trailer brake of raised the legs… Then got in self leveled the axle then pulled forward then BANG!! Trailer dropped on its knees :S… Though omg there goes my job, bloke come out with a forklift tried raising it wouldn’t budge as it was full of car parts… So i went sleep until 7 in the morning where they tried using a construction site cherry picker thing even that didn’t work… Anyway I took the unit to daf to have a new suzi put on as I totally snapped one of em came back to the depo around 10 to find a scania recovery crane pulling out the depo it was huge for a class 2 truck. Then carried on my daily drops got back to the yard and nothing was said I just apologized and all was good 
… Really good company to work for they just said accidents happen live and learn, that will never happen again I couldn’t believe it well embarrassed when It happened! Anyone else had something similar happen to em?
I think most of us with a few years under the belt will own up to something like this, mine was when I was parked up on the outskirts of Milan years ago, a favourite place for thieves so a little trick was to pull the pin on the 5th wheel, you guessed it, I forgot and started to drive off, a daily check then was to look in both mirrors and if the trailer was still there then everything was okay, not much weight in the trailer and was easily lifted but I buggered the airlines, the boss was very understanding seeing it was my own truck, strangely enough I never did this again 
Just remember mate ,if the dog clip doesnt go in the hole then its not connected properly .
Had a similar thing with an agency driver a couple of weeks ago and he sed ive tugged it twice and it seems ok but the dog clip wont go in ,so ive hung it over the 5th wheel handle.
i had a look and told him put it in reverse and turn the steering wheel right hand down and go back .it went back about 5 inches and clicked in,was because he hadnt gone in straight .
he was lucky he didnt drop it too. but as you were told even after 25 years artic driving we still live and learn.
Good luck to you .
mike.
So often these accidents happen when someone talks to you, or “helps”.
scary isnt it ive done it twice you would swear blue after tugging up to five times that the trailer is in place and bang your thoughts are all over the place
people hurt
costs
job
morgage its done with now
Williams9881:
Got dropped of from swad down to royston last week in a works van, got threw my keys to a daf cf unit and old curtain side trailer! The job is car parts to be delivered to europarts in wemberly & then a few pallets in the same trailer need taking to bog noregus… So the polish bloke that I went down with assisted me by watching my fifth wheel under the trailer and once the pin clicked in gave me the thumbs up… Tried pulling forward wasn’t moving so raised the axle jumped out connected everything up took the trailer brake of raised the legs… Then got in self leveled the axle then pulled forward then BANG!! Trailer dropped on its knees :S… Though omg there goes my job, bloke come out with a forklift tried raising it wouldn’t budge as it was full of car parts… So i went sleep until 7 in the morning where they tried using a construction site cherry picker thing even that didn’t work… Anyway I took the unit to daf to have a new suzi put on as I totally snapped one of em came back to the depo around 10 to find a scania recovery crane pulling out the depo it was huge for a class 2 truck. Then carried on my daily drops got back to the yard and nothing was said I just apologized and all was good
Well if past experience is anything to go by i would be checking your payslip for deductions, as that company will charge you for damage ect if it’s your fault,upto £500.00 as that was the insurance excess , so i wouldn’t be counting your chickens just yet,
When the fifth wheel is under the trailer but BEFORE the pin locks in, you should raise the axle suspension all the way up then reverse the rest of the way and engage the pin. This ensures the trailer legs are off the ground and all the weight of the trailer is on the fifth wheel giving you a meaty bang. Always put your dog clip in as sometimes the arm isn’t fully in even with the correct sounding bang and the little arm may not be all the way down.
i did it a few weeks ago first time i have ever dropped one, reversed under it jumped out dog clip in air lines on legs up shunter pulled up informing me i had wrong trailer wrote on notes talked him for 5 air lines off pulled pin drove off bang 
noooooooooo couldnt believe had done it it was heavily loaded too took a while in slow wind.
but surley the driver does not pay the excess as thats what the insurance being with an agency is for presuming that the driver is with an agency
I had a trainee who backed under then tried the TUG test but … he put the unit handbrake on before he tried it !!
I wont have deductions, my company uses a daily bonus scheme… 10 quid a day not much but builds up, I’ll probably just use that plus there wasn’t any damages apart from one of the airlines totally ripped off.
Silver_Surfer:
When the fifth wheel is under the trailer but BEFORE the pin locks in, you should raise the axle suspension all the way up then reverse the rest of the way and engage the pin. This ensures the trailer legs are off the ground and all the weight of the trailer is on the fifth wheel giving you a meaty bang. Always put your dog clip in as sometimes the arm isn’t fully in even with the correct sounding bang and the little arm may not be all the way down.
best way of doing it. I had a demonstration from a guy from fontaine, 5th wheel manufactorers who showed me how it is possible to couple up, everything looks ok, tug test, dog clip on etc, but if not done properly, you could lose your trailer anywhere in the next 500 miles. He recommended using the air to raise the trailer before engaging the pin, if the legs are off the ground, your not going to miss it! Failing this, a visual check before you engage the pin, if you can see any daylight between 5th wheel and trailer, then you are too low.
I’ve over shot the pin a few times, but I’m yet to drop one on it’s knees.
Doing it in an old EC11 which had two settings for the suspension is a right sod, especially when you over shoot it in low and can’t get the pin over the 5th wheel 
There is a fork which slips over the jaws in a 5th wheel and sometimes they get gummed up with too much grease. The best way is to get underneath and visually check the jaws have closed over the pin, and that there is no gap between the trailer plate and the 5th wheel. If, like me, you have fixed level suspension then it pays to wind the legs a couple inches off the ground once you have latched in to do you tug test. These things happen. Best if you can keep it as a one off… I bet you will always make sure now, even when you are just helping someone else hook up… 
I had some traning a few weeks ago and was advised that the new procedure was to check the kingpin and put the clip in place before doing the tug test 
Did you try using the low gear on the trailer leg winder to wind the legs up ?
I’ve never had to raise a trailer that’s been dropped on it knees, but I have had to pick up heavy trailers that have been dropped far too low to pick up, and found that using the low gear was able to raise the legs high enough to get the unit under, hard work and time consuming but would be made easier with the help of the FLT and cheaper for the employer than calling out a breaker.
tachograph:
Did you try using the low gear on the trailer leg winder to wind the legs up ?I’ve never had to raise a trailer that’s been dropped on it knees, but I have had to pick up heavy trailers that have been dropped far too low to pick up, and found that using the low gear was able to raise the legs high enough to get the unit under, hard work and time consuming but would be made easier with the help of the FLT and cheaper for the employer than calling out a breaker.
Tried the above, the legs were wound all the way up the end axle closest to the number plate was raised of the floor as the trailer was full of car parts. We tried using the forklift and raising the legs at the same time but it wouldn’t budge.
■■■■■■00:
but surley the driver does not pay the excess as thats what the insurance being with an agency is for presuming that the driver is with an agency
some companies do fine the drivers, I got stuck at one that charged drivers £500 even if they looked at the wagon to hard and they just took the £500 from there wage like it or not, I am not sure what the law says about this, but they seemed to get away with it and lots of people got charged (for little things like tree branches marking the side of a wagon), they argued the case involving the unions and courts but the money never seemed to get handed back.
I was lucky and nothing I did got spotted, but the worry was always there which is quite relaxing now I am working else where
I did the same with a tilt trailer years ago whilst picking it up, i set off and turned straightaway, the trailer came crashing down . The worst thing was i had the door window open and gallons of water came off the roof and into the cab drenching me and most of the interior much to the delight of a few of the old hands that were around. .
ebabes:
■■■■■■00:
but surley the driver does not pay the excess as thats what the insurance being with an agency is for presuming that the driver is with an agencysome companies do fine the drivers, I got stuck at one that charged drivers £500 even if they looked at the wagon to hard and they just took the £500 from there wage like it or not, I am not sure what the law says about this, but they seemed to get away with it and lots of people got charged (for little things like tree branches marking the side of a wagon), they argued the case involving the unions and courts but the money never seemed to get handed back.
I was lucky and nothing I did got spotted, but the worry was always there which is quite relaxing now I am working else where
Thats what GBA are like, they did try and charge me for a bent curtain pole, that some flt driver did,due to his stupidity,i kid you not, as for it being legal to deduct charges of this type from your wages, it’s not legal, technically the employer is supposed to pay you and then ask you for the money,not just help themselves, companies like this are only any good to gain some experience hence why gba has a very high staff turnover for the relatively small outfit that it is