TForce | smokin in the south

[accelerator]

hugnlug, From what I hear back east the equipment is much better than out west. I think the west coast has always been a big disappointment to Overnite and now UPS.

Lets face it Overnite has always been an east coast carrier. All the respect it has earned at one time came from back there.

I know from the almost twenty-five years I have been with Overnite the west coast has always been the arm pit to put it as delicate as I can.

But even as bad as the equipment is I believe it will get better. With UPSF and UPS together will be a force no one will be able to beat.

Well skeet if thats the case how do you guy's get around without tires? And must you wear glasses in place of windshields?

Just kidding. But it can come close too that....

 

[Apostolic]

I remember back when we were first rebranded last May.
UPS went over our national accounts sifting out the ones that Overnite had and were doing to much for,without getting additional revenue.
Yup you guessed it.
Weren't we all surprised to see that we'd only be doing around 15% of BB&B?

The word from sales is that UPS felt we as a company should be getting paid for the services we rendered.
BB&B on the other hand was used to Overnite jumping through hoops for free,and when UPS said pay up,BB&B said buy,buy.

So now after all of this time that has passed what happened that we will be gaining more of this business back?

I have no idea,as long as I've been a freight hauler in the LTL idustry I've learned a lot about this trucking game,but pricing has always remained a big mystery to me?

 

[BusterNite]

That is why all the O guys scarfed up the MC equipment.....Slight joke don't get all fired up......

Speaking of MC equiptment. I have not yet hooked to a MC trailer where the landing gear was all jammed up. Up and down so smooth. Give it time though. Does anyone realize why every other "O" trailer has problems with its landing gear? DONT DRAG THE FREAKIN TRAILER WHEN YOU HOOK TO IT! I see guy's do this all the time. They either drag it 3-5 feet away from the dock or another trailer so they can pre trip with out having to move the truck a second time. Or they drag it to make sure its hooked. I guess they don't know that you can drag it and tug on it all day long and it still may not be hooked properly. It may feel hooked but may not be. This is why drivers are constantly dropping trailers in the yard. This also does a number on the landing gear. There is a very simple way to check if the 5th wheel is locked properly and you don't even have to do anything. All you have to do is LOOK!! If the 5th wheel lever is all the way in and the locking dog flap is down its locked. Im so sick of trying to put up or down landing gear that is bent and bound up. SAFETY MEN maybe you should give some classes on how to properly hook a trailer. Because every driver I see for some reason feels the need to drag a trailer with the landing gear down just to see if its hooked.

 

[BusterNite]

That is why all the O guys scarfed up the MC equipment.....Slight joke don't get all fired up......

Speaking of MC equiptment. I have not yet hooked to a MC trailer where the landing gear was all jammed up. Up and down so smooth. Give it time though. Does anyone realize why every other "O" trailer has problems with its landing gear? DONT DRAG THE FREAKIN TRAILER WHEN YOU HOOK TO IT! I see guy's do this all the time. They either drag it 3-5 feet away from the dock or another trailer so they can pre trip with out having to move the truck a second time. Or they drag it to make sure its hooked. I guess they don't know that you can drag it and tug on it all day long and it still may not be hooked properly. It may feel hooked but may not be. This is why drivers are constantly dropping trailers in the yard. This also does a number on the landing gear. There is a very simple way to check if the 5th wheel is locked properly and you don't even have to do anything. All you have to do is LOOK!! If the 5th wheel lever is all the way in and the locking dog flap is down its locked. Im so sick of trying to put up or down landing gear that is bent and bound up. SAFETY MEN maybe you should give some classes on how to properly hook a trailer. Because every driver I see for some reason feels the need to drag a trailer with the landing gear down just to see if its hooked.

 

[tomcat]

Speaking of MC equiptment. I have not yet hooked to a MC trailer where the landing gear was all jammed up. Up and down so smooth. Give it time though. Does anyone realize why every other "O" trailer has problems with its landing gear? DONT DRAG THE FREAKIN TRAILER WHEN YOU HOOK TO IT! I see guy's do this all the time. They either drag it 3-5 feet away from the dock or another trailer so they can pre trip with out having to move the truck a second time. Or they drag it to make sure its hooked. I guess they don't know that you can drag it and tug on it all day long and it still may not be hooked properly. It may feel hooked but may not be. This is why drivers are constantly dropping trailers in the yard. This also does a number on the landing gear. There is a very simple way to check if the 5th wheel is locked properly and you don't even have to do anything. All you have to do is LOOK!! If the 5th wheel lever is all the way in and the locking dog flap is down its locked. Im so sick of trying to put up or down landing gear that is bent and bound up. SAFETY MEN maybe you should give some classes on how to properly hook a trailer. Because every driver I see for some reason feels the need to drag a trailer with the landing gear down just to see if its hooked.

Perfect answer. This has been one of my complaints for years. I can't understand why guys are so lazy to take the time to pull away from the dock and pretrip without dragging. I've always thought that somewhere in maintanenc, they would holler to managment about the repair for dragging.
while we are on the subject of gripes, don't you just love the guys who come into a nice big open yard and have to stop right in front of the doors you are trying to hook to? People are just to lazy to walk a couple of feet more.

 

[RevItUp]

Speaking of MC equiptment. I have not yet hooked to a MC trailer where the landing gear was all jammed up. Up and down so smooth. Give it time though. Does anyone realize why every other "O" trailer has problems with its landing gear? DONT DRAG THE FREAKIN TRAILER WHEN YOU HOOK TO IT! I see guy's do this all the time. They either drag it 3-5 feet away from the dock or another trailer so they can pre trip with out having to move the truck a second time. Or they drag it to make sure its hooked. I guess they don't know that you can drag it and tug on it all day long and it still may not be hooked properly. It may feel hooked but may not be. This is why drivers are constantly dropping trailers in the yard. This also does a number on the landing gear. There is a very simple way to check if the 5th wheel is locked properly and you don't even have to do anything. All you have to do is LOOK!! If the 5th wheel lever is all the way in and the locking dog flap is down its locked. Im so sick of trying to put up or down landing gear that is bent and bound up. SAFETY MEN maybe you should give some classes on how to properly hook a trailer. Because every driver I see for some reason feels the need to drag a trailer with the landing gear down just to see if its hooked.

I used to do this because everyone else did. I've already learned on my own not to do it. If the gear was working fine then I stress it by pulling the trailer and it sticks until the weight is off. Now I slowly back under and listen until I hear the click. Then I double check with a flashlight, doesnt take me any more time than supertruckers. Here's another one I learned. If you're swapping leads and keeping the same empty disconnect the lines when you pull the dolly out. When you leave the lines hooked they drag across the fifth wheel and get covered in grease. It only takes two seconds to take them off, thats if you dont pull them off anyway by dragging the dolly too far. Or how about this one, when your hooking, getting out, parked, anything besides driving, turn off your headlights. You may be blinding a guy who's looking for trailer numbers, dock door numbers, trying to hook or whatever. I can't believe that after four months I already learned more than these guys so I can only assume they know and just dont care.

 

[Greezy Trucker]

Thats all well and fine...But SLC and DVR put the trailers so close you can't get to the handle.....And SLC docks doors are so close that you can't pull them out without dragging em.....The dock is a bit hard to change but the way they put them in the yard is ridiculous....And if I have to wait on the hostler to get them ...I would be there all night....I have never worked at a place where the allowed the trailers to be put so close together. I agree though...I hate to do that because with these old rusted out trailers....You might just tear the landing gear OFF!!!!!

 

[BusterNite]

Perfect answer. This has been one of my complaints for years. I can't understand why guys are so lazy to take the time to pull away from the dock and pretrip without dragging. I've always thought that somewhere in maintanenc, they would holler to managment about the repair for dragging.
while we are on the subject of gripes, don't you just love the guys who come into a nice big open yard and have to stop right in front of the doors you are trying to hook to? People are just to lazy to walk a couple of feet more.

Yup, Being lazy or just plain not thinking about the next driver. I see this every time I go to NBR. I can't get out. There might be only one set at the gate. But 5-6 bob tails with dolly's blocking the exit way. Got to get as close to that dispatch door as possable. LAZY!!!!:smilie_132:

 

[BusterNite]

I used to do this because everyone else did. I've already learned on my own not to do it. If the gear was working fine then I stress it by pulling the trailer and it sticks until the weight is off. Now I slowly back under and listen until I hear the click. Then I double check with a flashlight, doesnt take me any more time than supertruckers. Here's another one I learned. If you're swapping leads and keeping the same empty disconnect the lines when you pull the dolly out. When you leave the lines hooked they drag across the fifth wheel and get covered in grease. It only takes two seconds to take them off, thats if you dont pull them off anyway by dragging the dolly too far. Or how about this one, when your hooking, getting out, parked, anything besides driving, turn off your headlights. You may be blinding a guy who's looking for trailer numbers, dock door numbers, trying to hook or whatever. I can't believe that after four months I already learned more than these guys so I can only assume they know and just dont care.

I sometime's wonder if they have got there numbers to hook and found that there trailer is to high or to low and have to try to raise or lower the landing gear with twenty thousand pounds on it with bent and bound up landing gear. And then wonder how the landing gear gets damaged in the first place. Or maybe I just get lucky enough to get one of these trailers every other day.
Keep up the good work. Drivers like you make our jobs a bit easier and also may keep drivers like me from having a stroke trying to raise or lower the landing gear.

 

[BusterNite]

Thats all well and fine...But SLC and DVR put the trailers so close you can't get to the handle.....And SLC docks doors are so close that you can't pull them out without dragging em.....The dock is a bit hard to change but the way they put them in the yard is ridiculous....And if I have to wait on the hostler to get them ...I would be there all night....I have never worked at a place where the allowed the trailers to be put so close together. I agree though...I hate to do that because with these old rusted out trailers....You might just tear the landing gear OFF!!!!!

Yup, or the landing gear just might give out when you unhook the trailer. I know alot of terminals park the trailers to close to get at the hand crank, But man dragging a trailer with weight on it really does a job on the gears and the landing gear legs. I understand what you are talking about, But there is no need what so ever to drag a trailer if you can get at the landing gear. Watch drivers put there kite away. Put the landing gear up about 1 inch and drive away. The first turn and you have damaged landing gear. In other words most of the time it is nothing but lazyness and avoidable.:smilie_132:

 

[BusterNite]

I am also in the habbit of making sure both landing gear legs are down before pulling away. Have you ever been unhooking next to another driver while he pulled away not realizing that one leg did not come down. I have, Talk about the $hit scared out of me. Again, I believe this happend do to the abuse of the landing gear lazyness syndrome. The landing gear can only take so much before it eventually gives out.

 

[Apostolic]

Well the drivers that are to lazy to run the legs up so they will clear the ground are right up there on the lazy list.

I'd like to have a dollar for all the times I had to slam one or both of the pads back down with a heavy sledge hammer.
Sometime our repare vendor has to come to our terminal to take the pads of the legs,and put them back on again because they are so jammed up.

What does it take to do a few cranks to make sure the landing pads are going to clear the ground?

The funny thing is I've only seen this at Overnite since I've worked here?
Back in my old Teamster days I never saw these landing pads pushed up from bouncing them to low to the ground.

Come to think of it this practise may just be a non-union thing?

 

[BusterNite]

Well the drivers that are to lazy to run the legs up so they will clear the ground are right up there on the lazy list.

I'd like to have a dollar for all the times I had to slam one or both of the pads back down with a heavy sledge hammer.
Sometime our repare vendor has to come to our terminal to take the pads of the legs,and put them back on again because they are so jammed up.

What does it take to do a few cranks to make sure the landing pads are going to clear the ground?

The funny thing is I've only seen this at Overnite since I've worked here?
Back in my old Teamster days I never saw these landing pads pushed up from bouncing them to low to the ground.

Come to think of it this practise may just be a non-union thing?

Yup, Its a LAZY thing. I could'nt help but to think about these posts last night while I was hooking up. One of the newer style Great Dane trailers I had, I could not get the landing gear all the way up. I broke out in a sweat just getting it half way up. The legs were bent. WHAT A SHAME!!!!! and these Grate Dane trailers have nice landing gear when they are not abused.

 

[Apostolic]

Now from an old time trucker heres my method of dropping and hooking.
I'm sure there'll be a lot that will disagree.
But for all the years I've been doing drop and hooks this is the best way I've found,and also the safefest.

I line up to the nose after raising the pole.
If its at the dock I always give a blast on the air horn even though I know I've already closed the trailer door,and the dock door,or put the chain up in the door way.
Then I back under not hard enough to get whip lash,but enough so when the tractor comes to a stop I can feel its hooked.
The next step is getting out,and looking to see if the dog ear is completely laying flat across the pin release arm.
If it isn't I pull the arm back out,and try again.
Sometimes its not hooked in the winter even though it feels like it is.
If this step isn't right theres no other step thats going to happen untill its ok.
The next step is hooking up the lines,than cranking up the landing legs enough to pull out if its to close to the trailer next door.
If theres room I crank them all the way up,and secure the crank arm in the holder.
If theres no holder,then its going to get some wire,or tape to make sure its not going to swing in the breeze when I'm hauling it down the road.

The drop is just the opposet.
I lower the landing legs,pull the pin release arm out,and lastly pop the lines out,and secure them on the back of the tractor.

As far as I can see this is the safefest,and best way?
If not I'm sure I'll hear about it from the rest of you kindly posters?