About To Pass My 9 Month Mark

I'm about a week away from hitting my 9 month mark as a professional driver. I've been working hard and staying positive as we all know some weeks up and some are down but I keep plugging away. I've always try to learn something new everyday and implement that into my daily routines. One thing I have implemented into my routine when I hook up a Trailer (I remember reading about Grumpy's trailer save a few months back) I check to make sure the trailer is attached to my tractor. First: When I back in and capture the King Pin I do a tug check, Second: I visually check by getting under the trailer and looking. Third: I do a final tug check before I move. I know it's a bit redundant but I know that those extra couple of seconds that it takes to do this ensures that I don't have a trailer drop. I also take a moment to check for air leaks after I hook up my air lines I'll hook them up and push in the trailer parking break and listen for air leaks. Even simple things like letting the landing leg crank handle hand down so the any water can drain out before I crank the legs down especially after driving on wet/ rainy roads. I've also noticed that one distraction can throw off your routine. The other day I picked up a trailer I was more worried that I'd get stuck in the snow I didn't verify that the tandem pins were locked in before I moved the trailer- I could see that the tandems we slid up so I assumed the pins were locked in. That was not the case as I stopped to make a left turn I heard a loud "Bang" I thought the trailer had disconnected about gave me a heart attack! The tandems slid all the way back to the end of the trailer. After I calmed down I found a safe spot to slide the tandems forward and make sure the pins locked. I now make sure that I don't allow anything to disrup my routine. These are only a couple of examples of what I have learned so far and I know I will continue to learn and gain experience.

I'm about a week away from hitting my 9 month mark as a professional driver. I've been working hard and staying positive as we all know some weeks up and some are down but I keep plugging away. I've always try to learn something new everyday and implement that into my daily routines. One thing I have implemented into my routine when I hook up a Trailer (I remember reading about Grumpy's trailer save a few months back) I check to make sure the trailer is attached to my tractor. First: When I back in and capture the King Pin I do a tug check, Second: I visually check by getting under the trailer and looking. Third: I do a final tug check before I move. I know it's a bit redundant but I know that those extra couple of seconds that it takes to do this ensures that I don't have a trailer drop. I also take a moment to check for air leaks after I hook up my air lines I'll hook them up and push in the trailer parking break and listen for air leaks. Even simple things like letting the landing leg crank handle hand down so the any water can drain out before I crank the legs down especially after driving on wet/ rainy roads. I've also noticed that one distraction can throw off your routine. The other day I picked up a trailer I was more worried that I'd get stuck in the snow I didn't verify that the tandem pins were locked in before I moved the trailer- I could see that the tandems we slid up so I assumed the pins were locked in. That was not the case as I stopped to make a left turn I heard a loud "Bang" I thought the trailer had disconnected about gave me a heart attack! The tandems slid all the way back to the end of the trailer. After I calmed down I found a safe spot to slide the tandems forward and make sure the pins locked. I now make sure that I don't allow anything to disrup my routine. These are only a couple of examples of what I have learned so far and I know I will continue to learn and gain experience.

My trailer incident was a drop and I got distracted and forgot to lower the gear.

I have had that tandem slide twice now, both during hard braking in traffic. In my case it turns out some of our trailers have a locking notch in the tandem release handle when you push it in. If you don’t lock it in the notch they can pop loose. I never knew that.

The noise wakes you up, doesn’t it? :)

Ah, yes. Routines are very important. Continuing to learn things on a frequent basis is too.

For dropping and hooking I learned from one of our members (PackRat maybe) an easy way to keep the routine the same. When dropping, remember L-A-P (Landing gear, Air lines, Pin) in the same order everytime. And when hooking, remember P-A-L. Very helpful.

Congratulations on making it this far. One year is right around the corner!

Oh, and also, after splattering my face a few times with rusty water, I finally learned to shake/swing the excess water out of the crank handle too. Some of us took longer than others to remember to do this I'm thinking.

some of our trailers have a locking notch in the tandem release handle when you push it in. If you don’t lock it in the notch they can pop loose. I never knew that.

Unless you have very old trailers, that handle shouldn't be the only thing holding the pins in the locked position, though it may be. There should be springs somewhere in the system forcing the pins outward. It's important to look over the system and know how it works.

I've also noticed that one distraction can throw off your routine.

Indeed, it can. That's where checklists come in handy. You might keep a checklist for different routines like drop-and-hook. Before you take off, look over that list and make sure you checked everything.

I know it's a bit redundant but I know that those extra couple of seconds that it takes to do this ensures that I don't have a trailer drop

Absolutely. I'm obsessive about double-checking my triple-checks. I check and re-check time and again with things. As a climber, we're always using rope systems and various types of anchoring. I check, double-check, and triple-check everything over and over. If you miss one tiny detail like tying a knot wrong or forgetting to lock a carabiner it can be fatal.

It's no different with trucking. Overlooking one detail could be catastrophic. Keep checking everything until you're certain it's perfect, then check it one or two more times.

I read G town's post to put tension on trailer when parking. Makes it almost impossible to pull release handle. I tried couldn't get it to release. Thanks G town.

For dropping and hooking I learned from one of our members (PackRat maybe) an easy way to keep the routine the same. When dropping, remember L-A-P (Landing gear, Air lines, Pin) in the same order everytime. And when hooking, remember P-A-L. Very helpful.

I learned it at orientation with Roehl. I still do it this way every single time, too.

some of our trailers have a locking notch in the tandem release handle when you push it in. If you don’t lock it in the notch they can pop loose. I never knew that.

Unless you have very old trailers, that handle shouldn't be the only thing holding the pins in the locked position, though it may be. There should be springs somewhere in the system forcing the pins outward. It's important to look over the system and know how it works.

I've also noticed that one distraction can throw off your routine.

Indeed, it can. That's where checklists come in handy. You might keep a checklist for different routines like drop-and-hook. Before you take off, look over that list and make sure you checked everything.

I know it's a bit redundant but I know that those extra couple of seconds that it takes to do this ensures that I don't have a trailer drop

Absolutely. I'm obsessive about double-checking my triple-checks. I check and re-check time and again with things. As a climber, we're always using rope systems and various types of anchoring. I check, double-check, and triple-check everything over and over. If you miss one tiny detail like tying a knot wrong or forgetting to lock a carabiner it can be fatal.

It's no different with trucking. Overlooking one detail could be catastrophic. Keep checking everything until you're certain it's perfect, then check it one or two more times.

Old might be an understatement. I think Noah used them to transport animals to the ark.

I learned the PAL/LAP procedure with a twist.

Pick up my PAL and go to town, time to go got to get this lady off my LAP.