Well, been “at it” a few years now and have had an event free and accident free history with regards truck & trailer connecting apart from that one incident where I went over the pin when on for Mac’s.
Went down to Jacuzzi on Euroway Ind Est in Bradford this morning to do a drop and swap. Normally we would reverse the trailers uphill to park them but today then wanted it dropping further down the yard and reversing down a slope. No problems there… Got out of cab, donned gloves, pulled 5th wheel pin… [ZB] !!! Quick, put the red line back of!! No! It’s not the red line !! Quick, do SOMETHING TO STOP IT ROLLING OFF DOWN THE YARD!! Must have been absolutely hilarious to watch, especially when I grabbed a couple of curtain buckles and attempted to stop the trailer rolling myself !!! Fortunately, no-one else about but it came to rest against a set of concrete steps sideways on and although there was a hell of a bang it only caught the rubber stoppers on the back. Fortunately it was empty. If it had gone an inch further it would have rolled down the units’ trailer guide ramps and “knee’d” itself on the ground! Phew!!! Quickly reversed back under it (thus reducing suzis to less than 10ft long ) and pulled it forwards and tried again. This time, trailer brake, legs, suzis, 5th wheel pin, reg plate…
It’s a wonder I haven’t had an accident since as I’ve been pulling 5th wheel pin first for quite a while now! STUPID STUPID STUPID… NO NO NO…
pulling 5th wheel pin first for quite a while now! STUPID STUPID STUPID… NO NO NO…
Sorry mate… but you said it all yourself!!!
I have done it myself …ONCE!!!
now it is handbrake legs, Airlines THEN pin every time… looking an idiot is too easy. I make a habit of it, but on something so easy why take the chance■■?
A trailer was dropped at Danzas’s yard a few months back, and the driver omitted to put the brake on. The poor little Citroen van is still showing signs of the “coming together” as the trailer rolled into it.
It these type of things that pull us up in our tracks and make us think about what we are doing. Which ok as long as the only thing that gets hurt is your pride.
You’ll be doing by the book in future then I guess?
Mmm, sounds like some of you guys need a visit to the Newbies Forum an bit more often…
Think BLACK!!!
B - Brake!! Apply the trailer brake… L - Legs!! Wind down the trailer legs (this can also be used for Licence plate) A - Air Lines!! Disconnect the Suzies C - Clip!! Remove the kingpin Dog Clip K - Kinpin!! release handle for the kingpin…
This was what I read in the Tips section in the Newbies forum when I very first found TrucknetUK, and I have never ever forgotten it…
Rob K:
It’s a wonder I haven’t had an accident since as I’ve been pulling 5th wheel pin first for quite a while now! STUPID STUPID STUPID… NO NO NO…
This little statement says it all. At least you’ve got the guts to own up to your foolishness. Learning the hard way is fine, as long as it only affects you.
At least it wasn’t loaded. I’ve seen it done with a brand new loaded trailer. Not a pretty sight.
You live and learn with this job. I once had the learning process described thus:
When you start out you have a bag full of luck and an empty bag for experience to go in. Hopefully, your luck bag is bigger than the experience bag so you don’t run out of one before you have enough of the other to look after yourself.
With the advent of springbrakes you just don’t see people chasing trailers around yards anymore. Happy days!
I had a bit of a nasty experience with a trailer on Sunday.
Arrived at the yard and loacated my trailer and jumped out of the unit, squeezed down between my trailer and the one next to it to the little box next to the legs that has the parking brake in it, reached in and gave red button a tug to make sure it was in the out position which means brakes are on.
Back to the unit, dropped air and backed part way under, then raised the air. I need to couple this way as it is close coupled and if I back all the way home not much room to connect lines.
On to the catwalk and started to connnect lines and when I put the red line on the trailer rolled forward but stopped when it locked into the 5th wheel so didn’t crush me against the cab.
I had a minor brown adrenalin rush then jumped down to see why the trailer had moved.
In the box beside the legs are two buttons, one the parking brake (RED) and one the shunt button (BLUE) but this trailer hasn’t had a blue shunt button on it for two or three years (never use it)and over the weekend the shunter had unscrewed the RED button, marked “PULL TO PARK” and screwed it onto the shunt button. When I reached in and gave it a tug I was pulling the shunt button and not the brakes but I didn’t realise at the time.
Lucky no damage done but I’ll be checking more carefully in future in case it happens again.
Oh yes and the shunter got a right boll… telling off.
I haven’t seen the shunter mate, I’m just going by what I was told about what happened to him. I wouldn’t even know him if I saw him anyway as he was agency.
I just reported it to the firm because if he did it with my trailer he may have done it with others and if I had said nothing and something happened to anyone else, I would feel partly responsible.
Fortunately, no-one else about but it came to rest against a set of concrete steps sideways on and although there was a hell of a bang it only caught the rubber stoppers on the back. Fortunately it was empty. If it had gone an inch further it would have rolled down the units’ trailer guide ramps and “knee’d” itself on the ground! Phew!!! Quickly reversed back under it (thus reducing suzis to less than 10ft long 
