Oh my!
Today I too was not fast enough with a camera. We were headed for much needed home time and decided to take the scenic route on 70 east in Tennessee to scope out the area around ****son and Waverly where we plan to make our home before hitting my least favorite fuel stop.
We saw:
A Toyota Prius Police Car. It had tinted side windows, because I'm sure the officer driving it wished to remain anonymous; and then we saw:
A larger shed/storage looking building sitting back from the road with a huge sign proudly offering "Heritage Cremation Services". Located directly next to that was a shack type affair proudly named "Bozos Pit BBQ". Hungry, anyone?

Oh my!
Today I too was not fast enough with a camera. We were headed for much needed home time and decided to take the scenic route on 70 east in Tennessee to scope out the area around ****son and Waverly where we plan to make our home before hitting my least favorite fuel stop.
We saw:
A Toyota Prius Police Car. It had tinted side windows, because I'm sure the officer driving it wished to remain anonymous; and then we saw:
A larger shed/storage looking building sitting back from the road with a huge sign proudly offering "Heritage Cremation Services". Located directly next to that was a shack type affair proudly named "Bozos Pit BBQ". Hungry, anyone?
Thanks for the laugh.
Always double check your coupling! Hey, you are standing right there to connect your air/electrical lines, and to raise your landing gear. I really see no reason to EVER drop a trailer like that. 
Always double check your coupling! Hey, you are standing right there to connect your air/electrical lines, and to raise your landing gear. I really see no reason to EVER drop a trailer like that.
Famous last words 
You're right, there's no great reason, but people forget stuff when they get in a hurry and they're stressed. Yesterday I almost drove off without locking my tandems--I hooked up to my trailer and pulled the tandem bar, then took a break cause my blood sugar went low. The only reason I didn't drive off without sliding the tandems is that I decided to do a quick walk-around after the break to make sure I didn't miss anything.
I've never come very close to forgetting to put the landing gear down, but if you forget then you're pretty much screwed because you can't see the landing gear from your mirrors--you won't know you forgot until it's too late.
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Always double check your coupling! Hey, you are standing right there to connect your air/electrical lines, and to raise your landing gear. I really see no reason to EVER drop a trailer like that.
Famous last words
You're right, there's no great reason, but people forget stuff when they get in a hurry and they're stressed. Yesterday I almost drove off without locking my tandems--I hooked up to my trailer and pulled the tandem bar, then took a break cause my blood sugar went low. The only reason I didn't drive off without sliding the tandems is that I decided to do a quick walk-around after the break to make sure I didn't miss anything.
I've never come very close to forgetting to put the landing gear down, but if you forget then you're pretty much screwed because you can't see the landing gear from your mirrors--you won't know you forgot until it's too late.
But if you go slow when unhooking, the trailer will fall on the frame of your truck instead of hitting the ground. Pretty easy to recover that, but not so easy if it hits the ground.
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Sue D. saw a...
Toyota Prius Police Car. It had tinted side windows, because I'm sure the officer driving it wished to remain anonymous.
I think this is even better...

Based on the company the driver was from, I know they can go to that Ryder place for fuel and maintenance. He was exiting their lot. The curb cut is steep and he was making a right coming out of the lot. I think his fifth wheel came/was unlocked. I don't know if he was just finished his deliveries or was picking that truck and trailer from service. I need to find out.
This is an aerial view of the Ryder place. The arrow is where he was coming out. His tandems were in the end of the driveway and his truck was turning in the direction of the arrow.
Here is a street view of it. 
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Sorry, I didn't take a picture. Leaving work today and there is a little traffic. A truck coming out of a Ryder yard lost his trailer. The air lines were still attached and man, they were stretched at least 15 to 20 feet. The poor driver didn't know how it happened. He was cranking his landing gear down to raise the trailer up. Good thing he was empty. Wish I had thought to take a picture.
UPDATE: The driver of this truck delivered to me today. He had just had some repairs done and was leaving. He said it scared the s@&t out of him. The cause of the problem was a faulty fifth wheel release/lock switch in the cab. They had to replace the switch and the air lines. Thankfully no one was hurt.
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Sorry, I didn't take a picture. Leaving work today and there is a little traffic. A truck coming out of a Ryder yard lost his trailer. The air lines were still attached and man, they were stretched at least 15 to 20 feet. The poor driver didn't know how it happened. He was cranking his landing gear down to raise the trailer up. Good thing he was empty. Wish I had thought to take a picture.