Railroad Crossings

Today I had to drive almost all day on some narrow two lane roads to get to a delivery and back out. On Hwy 28 in Illinois, I came up to a RR crossing that was elevated. I stopped before the crossing and wondered if I could cross it without my landing gear catching on the rails. I opened my window so I could hear any scraping and proceeded at a snails pace. Fortunately everything including the trailer skirts cleared, but just barely. Has anybody damaged a landing gear on tracks like this?

Do you veterans have any advice about this type of situation?

Watch for warning signs posted about those “low trailer clearances”. Another tip-off would be seeing any past drag marks and scrapes on either side of the crossings. The rougher the crossing, the slower you should proceed. In my experience, if it is a legal truck route, there are no issues. Some side roads and driveways into a shipper/receiver will be exceptions, though. My GPS gives a warning alert near any low clearance spots. When in doubt don’t cross, and never, ever stop on those tracks. Lots of YouTube videos of vehicles taken out at RR crossings for a variety of reasons. **Spoiler Alert** The train ALWAYS wins!

Forgot to mention this : crank that landing gear ALL the way up. Don’t get lazy and only do 30 cranks when it takes 40 cranks. Some day it will cause you grief.

Also, sliding the tandems all the way forward will help too. Delivered to a Walmart store in PA that if you didn't slide the tandems, them skirts were gonna break. The pitch of the slope as you backed into the dock was not 53' friendly. Many victims scrape marks on the concrete as Packrat mentioned about approaching the RR tracks.

And if you ever get stuck on the tracks make sure to call the number listed or the local police right away since you never know if the tracks are live tracks or not.

Splitter and Jamie, great points. I had never thought of either things you mentioned. You may have saved a life with that advice.

Splitter wrote:

Also, sliding the tandems all the way forward will help too. Delivered to a Walmart store in PA that if you didn't slide the tandems, them skirts were gonna break. The pitch of the slope as you backed into the dock was not 53' friendly. Many victims scrape marks on the concrete as Packrat mentioned about approaching the RR tracks.

Keep in mind that sliding the tandems in the “1” hole may not be practical and in many north eastern states not legal because of overhang compliance >13.5’ from the center of the rear axle or tandem center depending on the in use. MD, CT & NJ enforce this, so use discretion when choosing to operate with the tandems set all the way forward.

Curious about the PA Walmart comment Splitter... I’ve delivered to every Pennsylvania Walmart store and Sam’s east of Harrisburg and never once encountered what you described. Do you recall the location of the store? (Thx)

And if you ever get stuck on the tracks make sure to call the number listed or the local police right away since you never know if the tracks are live tracks or not.

One minor correction. If you ever get stuck on the tracks, GET THE HELL OUT OF THE TRUCK

THEN, call the phone number!