Feeders - Proper coupling/uncoupling procedure?

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I'm on the list for feeders. So I find this interesting because one day I will need to do it. What's a dolly?

The thing with two wheels that connects trailers to one another.

 

[hondo]

The thing with two wheels that connects trailers to one another.

Four wheels. I've haven't seen the company use 'wide base'/'super singles', yet.

 

[Johney]

The thing with two wheels that connects trailers to one another.

Speak of things you know.....it has 4 wheels.

 

[Johney]

Four wheels. I've haven't seen the company use 'wide base'/'super singles', yet.

Dam ninja post.

 

[barnyard]

What's a dolly?

They will go over that during your unproductive week. If not then, during your productive week for sure.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Four wheels. I've haven't seen the company use 'wide base'/'super singles', yet.

Give me credit for at least knowing what it was.

 

[Myleftsideistan]

There are a few running super singles. Select areas

 

[olroadbeech]

a dolly used to be called a con-gear. they also used to have a spare tire on them as a counter weight. if that spare was gone it was very difficult to lift. now the weight is built in.

 

[raceanoncr]

I'm on the list for feeders. So I find this interesting because one day I will need to do it. What's a dolly?

 

[robot]

I've only seen a super single dolly once on our yard. It was brand new and very clean

 

[Mugarolla]

Four wheels. I've haven't seen the company use 'wide base'/'super singles', yet.

We had a couple of those years ago. I'm sure they were just testing a few.

I know a guy that managed to keep his for a few months before it finally disappeared.

 

[retiredTxfeeder]

Never be afraid to ask a senior driver a question about anything. More than once I asked someone to check my couple on a rear box. Never assume it was a good couple because it sounded right when it latched. Like has been said before check for a gap between trailer and dolly after coupling. Be sure handle is in all the way. If the dog didn't wrap around the kingpin, it will still be sticking out. Always tug after coupling and first thing you do is check for the dog around the kingpin with a flashlight. A flashlight is a must. If it doesn't latch properly and you move it, the sound it makes as it hits the ground is unforgettable. I heard that sound a couple of times in in my 29 years in feeders It is no fun cranking a trailer up that is sitting with it's nose to the ground. Get you a 5th wheel puller if they don't give you one. You can buy them at a truckstop. Good for reaching the handle without getting your shoulder in a greasy hula skirt, as well as using the handle to thump your tires. Keep a bag with you of some essentials-a couple of wrenches that fit glad hands, 3/4" I think, and the bolts on mirror brackets 1/2", I think. zip ties, electrical tape. Good luck to you, and for goodness sake, don't be the noob that drives around the yard wearing your greasy gloves. The fellow that shares with you will thank you. lol.

 

[Dracula]

your post gets the winner rating with me. the zip tie on the gladhand thing i have done many times especially with SC's ( short containers) . however the DOT at the scales told me I could get cited for that. they said if the glad hands don't lock together properly without help from a zip tie then it needs to be repaired. they let me slide that day.

what i did to make a tighter connection was to bend the the glad hand clamp in a little with a small hammer that i carried in my bag. that usually did the trick. if that didn't work and i was away from the shop I just used the zip tie anyway. or you can use electrical tape if no zip ties . you do what you have to do if you're out in the middle of nowhere.

I've heard the same thing, about the scales stop. That said, however, many of us do the meet thing with other(careless/lazy drivers) where you might have a loose red glad hand. In that case, the odds of actually getting inspected at the scales is far less than taking a chance that SC busting the red glad hand off--especially if that thing is empty. BTW, I really don't see many of those SCs anymore, but the principal is the same if that red glad hand is loose at your meet.

If it's in the yard, though, that red glad hand has a date with the grumpiest mechanic. They were made for each other, because, that there, is a shotgun wedding that only a driver could appreciate.

 

[Dracula]

Never be afraid to ask a senior driver a question about anything. More than once I asked someone to check my couple on a rear box. Never assume it was a good couple because it sounded right when it latched. Like has been said before check for a gap between trailer and dolly after coupling. Be sure handle is in all the way. If the dog didn't wrap around the kingpin, it will still be sticking out. Always tug after coupling and first thing you do is check for the dog around the kingpin with a flashlight. A flashlight is a must. If it doesn't latch properly and you move it, the sound it makes as it hits the ground is unforgettable. I heard that sound a couple of times in in my 29 years in feeders It is no fun cranking a trailer up that is sitting with it's nose to the ground. Get you a 5th wheel puller if they don't give you one. You can buy them at a truckstop. Good for reaching the handle without getting your shoulder in a greasy hula skirt, as well as using the handle to thump your tires. Keep a bag with you of some essentials-a couple of wrenches that fit glad hands, 3/4" I think, and the bolts on mirror brackets 1/2", I think. zip ties, electrical tape. Good luck to you, and for goodness sake, don't be the noob that drives around the yard wearing your greasy gloves. The fellow that shares with you will thank you. lol.

Never buy a puller in a truck stop. Brown makes billions, and I'll pester the shop before I ever leave the yard without a pin puller. No way does my wallet open up for this company.

 

[Dracula]

When you pretrip your dolly, look UNDER the fifth wheel on the driver's side of the dolly. There you will see the spring which puts pressure on the bar that locks in behind the kingpin. Make sure this isn't broken.

I've seen a handful of broken ones the last few weeks. I'll let you guess what happens if that spring doesn't do it's job....

I've found if that spring is broke, or out of place, you will know if you give the handle a good tug. If everything is OK, it won't pop out. If it DOES pop out, usually that spring is above (if I remember right) that small round pin at the base of the slot. I know, I know, this should have pics, but when you pre-trip after you've snagged the back box, and tug the dolly handle and it slides easily out of the hole, that 6 or 8 inch bar below the handle is above that pin. If you have a screwdriver, you can flip that bar below the pin and the handle will stay put. This all looks confusing in print, I know, but what we need to remember, is if, after you're hooked, you tug on the dolly handle, and it pops out of the slot, you've got a problem, and most likely, it's just that little bar above the pin, instead of below it. Always tug, and if it comes out of the groove, head to the shop.

Bottom line, if you can jerk that dolly handle out of the slot without pulling it UP, it wouldn't take much, say a stray air line, to pull that handle towards the driver's side. If that happens, you better be looking in your mirrors, because you'll need to tell the tow company where to pick up your back box.

I'll see if I can take a clear picture of that 6 inch bar and the little pin it hooks below tonight and post tomorrow. And, of course, I'll make sure I'm on my meal while I do it. HAHAHA.

 

[retiredTxfeeder]

Never buy a puller in a truck stop. Brown makes billions, and I'll pester the shop before I ever leave the yard without a pin puller. No way does my wallet open up for this company.

The shop at the building I worked out of would make you one if you asked them...I wasn't sure if all shops did the same, that's why I suggested the truck stop.

 

[olroadbeech]

when some of our drivers needed a pin puller they would just take it off another truck. i lost a couple that way and had to lock mine in the cab.

we had drivers painting their chains too because of theft in the yard.

unfreakinbelievable.

 

[retiredTxfeeder]

we had drivers painting their chains too because of theft in the yard.

I used to leave mine in the tractor till they started growing legs and walking off. After that, it went into my bag and into my locker daily.

 

[govols019]

I painted mine red...it might sprout legs and walk off but I'll know it when I see someone with it.

 

[Coldworld]

I've found if that spring is broke, or out of place, you will know if you give the handle a good tug. If everything is OK, it won't pop out. If it DOES pop out, usually that spring is above (if I remember right) that small round pin at the base of the slot. I know, I know, this should have pics, but when you pre-trip after you've snagged the back box, and tug the dolly handle and it slides easily out of the hole, that 6 or 8 inch bar below the handle is above that pin. If you have a screwdriver, you can flip that bar below the pin and the handle will stay put. This all looks confusing in print, I know, but what we need to remember, is if, after you're hooked, you tug on the dolly handle, and it pops out of the slot, you've got a problem, and most likely, it's just that little bar above the pin, instead of below it. Always tug, and if it comes out of the groove, head to the shop.

Bottom line, if you can jerk that dolly handle out of the slot without pulling it UP, it wouldn't take much, say a stray air line, to pull that handle towards the driver's side. If that happens, you better be looking in your mirrors, because you'll need to tell the tow company where to pick up your back box.

I'll see if I can take a clear picture of that 6 inch bar and the little pin it hooks below tonight and post tomorrow. And, of course, I'll make sure I'm on my meal while I do it. HAHAHA.

Have you known anyone who has dropped the back trailer on a freeway??? If you were going 55 mph and the back box got unhooked would the trailer flip over or are they designed to stay upright ??