Lesson Learned

An hour before I was done with my 10 hr. I got a pre-plan that gave me my best week so far, at 2396 miles. I was 4 hrs from the DC, and it was 4 hrs to the first drop from the DC. After working out my trip plan, I was able to make the Syracuse Terminal , with an hour left on my clock, and accounting for the on duty trailer swap, and delivery time. And this is where my mistake began. I was so focused on the 1 hour window, that I made myself feel rushed. I dropped my empty, grabbed my load paper work, and found my trailer. In my haste, I high hooked the trailer. As soon as it happened, I knew exactly why it happened. In my rush, I didn't get out and check the skid plate/apron. I called the shop, they came out, laughed at me, and got me situated. By the time I left the yard, i was resigned to spending the night at the Walmart.

That is when I realized that if I changed my routing, I could gain back time, but adding 20 miles to the trip. Plus the weather conditions made me really uncomfortable going the recommended route. I encountered a herd of Deer all deer survived, but I think one is missing its tail. And I also encountered a cow escape. 14 cows just chilling on the road, as the police tried getting them to the shoulder.

I pulled into Syracuse with 5 minutes left on my clock.

Do not rush yourself, because that is when mistakes happen. I was lucky that my high hook didn't damage anything except my psyche. It was a a hard way to learn a lesson, but I am glad it. Even now, I feel calmer, because I know that I am a better driver for it. I will always be thorough in my routine, candy not let myself be rushed.

Those cows, though.....

Guess what? you are not alone. i decided all rookies will jump the 5th wheel, lock themselves out of the truck and hit something.

heres a link i started that might help. you are still doing GREAT!

Tips for newbies

Daniel indeed a great lesson.

Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. To this day I G.O.A.L. every time before getting completely under a trailer, ensuring some level of contact between the fifth wheel and the front edge of the upper coupler. This requires seconds and as your post can attest, potentially save hours of time, worst case thwart a preventable from occurring.

Many of the trailers we deal with were dropped by a driver with limited experience; a tendency to "crank" the landing gear to the point of lifting the trailer completely off the fifth wheel. A quick walk though our tractor parking area quickly reveals the drivers practicing this habit; thus the fifth wheel plate is level, not angled-up in the front.

The inverse of this; when dropping an empty leave about a half inch gap between the landing gear "shoe" and the ground. If the trailer you are dropping is fully loaded, the "shoe" should just make contact with the ground.

Your 5 minutes to spare on the "14" experience? This is a common occurance running Walmart Store loads.

Fortunately I haven't had a "high hook".....how does someone resolve/fix being high hooked

Fortunately I haven't had a "high hook".....how does someone resolve/fix being high hooked

you can place a hammer under the skid plate to make it flat rather than angled. you can also drop the airbags and pull straight out after. ;)

Fortunately I haven't had a "high hook".....how does someone resolve/fix being high hooked

you can place a hammer under the skid plate to make it flat rather than angled. you can also drop the airbags and pull straight out after. ;)

Thanks! I'll try to remember that if I'm ever faced with that dilemma

Fortunately I haven't had a "high hook".....how does someone resolve/fix being high hooked

you can place a hammer under the skid plate to make it flat rather than angled. you can also drop the airbags and pull straight out after. ;)

Thanks! I'll try to remember that if I'm ever faced with that dilemma

Unfortunately, that trick didn't work for me, or the shop guys. They had to crank the trailer up further, and then had me jacknife out from under it. Somehow, the landing gear "adjusted" so that once I jumped the kingpin, the apron was flat on the skid plate. Dropping the air bags didn't help much. They had me red tag it, upon return to the DC.

Having high hooked as recently as last night, here's the trick. Raise the trailer and/or dump your airbags. Raise the fifth wheel so it's flat. Use an empty soda can or other crushable object so as not to damage anything. Look to make sure you're clear. Pull out slow.

I am bumping this based on recent replies...devil is in the details; prevention...see below.

Daniel indeed a great lesson.

Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. To this day I G.O.A.L. every time before getting completely under a trailer, ensuring some level of contact between the fifth wheel and the front edge of the upper coupler. This requires seconds and as your post can attest, potentially save hours of time, worst case thwart a preventable from occurring.

Many of the trailers we deal with were dropped by a driver with limited experience; a tendency to "crank" the landing gear to the point of lifting the trailer completely off the fifth wheel. A quick walk though our tractor parking area quickly reveals the drivers practicing this habit; thus the fifth wheel plate is level, not angled-up in the front.

The inverse of this; when dropping an empty leave about a half inch gap between the landing gear "shoe" and the ground. If the trailer you are dropping is fully loaded, the "shoe" should just make contact with the ground.

Your 5 minutes to spare on the "14" experience? This is a common occurance running Walmart Store loads.

I am bumping this based on recent replies...devil is in the details; prevention...see below.

Daniel indeed a great lesson.

Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. To this day I G.O.A.L. every time before getting completely under a trailer, ensuring some level of contact between the fifth wheel and the front edge of the upper coupler. This requires seconds and as your post can attest, potentially save hours of time, worst case thwart a preventable from occurring.

Many of the trailers we deal with were dropped by a driver with limited experience; a tendency to "crank" the landing gear to the point of lifting the trailer completely off the fifth wheel. A quick walk though our tractor parking area quickly reveals the drivers practicing this habit; thus the fifth wheel plate is level, not angled-up in the front.

The inverse of this; when dropping an empty leave about a half inch gap between the landing gear "shoe" and the ground. If the trailer you are dropping is fully loaded, the "shoe" should just make contact with the ground.

Your 5 minutes to spare on the "14" experience? This is a common occurance running Walmart Store loads.

Thank you for posting this G-Town! Will this be covered during training?