Center Roller / Shelf Feeders - My Hat's Off To You

But Benefits Are Great! · 07-24-2008, 12:40 PM

I don't know what they were/are called - the feeder trailers with the rollers down the middle, plywood fold-up shelves on the side. I understand that is what UPS used exclusively in years past.

For any of you who used those exclusively in the past - my hat is sincerely off to you - for staying with UPS, as well as surviving this long.

One of our doors gets one every once in a while. Today it was horrendous rainstorm from 3am-9am, the thing leaked like a strainer, and for some reason, it was tilted so the packages ran back INTO the trailer.

Wise-ass sorter (that I like by the way) kept yelling "LEAKER!!!" every three seconds, belt shutting down, packages rolling backwards at me, and plywood sides falling on my head.

That, added to every time a SUP walked past, they said "Oh, Yeah, UPS was to get rid of these YEARS ago"

I could not leave work soon enough today.

Big Babooba · 07-24-2008, 01:06 PM

We call those H frames. Imagine one with a wall down the middle with rollers on both sides of it. Now imagine it backed up to a loading door with a chute lowered to the rollers. Imagine how many swear words were invented by the poor loader trying to keep that chute from jamming up while loading another trailer. That was me 30 years ago.

Diegotron · 07-24-2008, 01:16 PM

Not sure which is worse, loading or unloading one. I load one for midnight everynight lately. I try to keep the heavy ones on top for you unloaders. Imagine packages flooding down the slide and onto the small rollers down the middle while trying to load the underside of that thing. Packages fall over the sides so much it's hard to move backwards while loading. Gotta pick em all up and scan em while building little walls down there. Then you gotta dodge the rollers while loading the upper section. Retarded.

scratch · 07-24-2008, 03:25 PM

I haven't seen any of those trailers in years. When I first started with UPS, I was a Loader and that is what we used. There was also a type of trailer that had offset flaps. They are hard to describe, I don't remember the name. W-Frames or Y-Frames, maybe? And yes, it does hurt when one of those heavy flaps falls on your head when you are loading the bottom.

Diegotron · 07-24-2008, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scratch

I haven't seen any of those trailers in years. When I first started with UPS, I was a Loader and that is what we used. There was also a type of trailer that had offset flaps. They are hard to describe, I don't remember the name. W-Frames, maybe? And yes, it does hurt when one of those heavy flaps falls on your head when you are loading the bottom.

You talking about those trailers with a shelf accross the middle? Folded up on one side. /\ Folds out like that?

helenofcalifornia · 07-24-2008, 03:48 PM

Try stepping back off one of the flaps, falling into the bottom of the trailer onto your back when you are five months pregnant.

scratch · 07-24-2008, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diegotron

You talking about those trailers with a shelf accross the middle? Folded up on one side. / Folds out like that?

No, not like that. The flaps were higher on one side than the other. These things were obsolete back in the mid 70s, they have been long gone.

Big Babooba · 07-24-2008, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scratch

I haven't seen any of those trailers in years. When I first started with UPS, I was a Loader and that is what we used. There was also a type of trailer that had offset flaps. They are hard to describe, I don't remember the name. W-Frames, maybe? And yes, it does hurt when one of those heavy flaps falls on your head when you are loading the bottom.

I remember those. I think you are right about being called a W frame.

cgrant55 · 07-24-2008, 04:21 PM

We call them drop frames, and we get two or more everyday. Unloading them is he!!, and any day you dont have to do one is considered a good day. Oh and this got me wondering if any of you guys have seen this other type of trailer. Ive probably seen 5 or less in the year+ ive worked here. Its basically a flat bed but it has this like other floor thats elevated probably two foot off the trailer floor. They fold up piece by piece and are made of metal.

100088 · 07-24-2008, 05:22 PM

I thought getting a flap dropped on your head was called "ups hazing" that combined with a broken fan would equal a pretty terrible day. However, the friendships that I made loading and unloading those stupid trailers last to this day.

Fnix · 07-24-2008, 05:26 PM

The ones in my center have rollers missing so anything small will fall through or jam the boxes up. So you gotta find a box that will fit snug into the missing roller spot and use that as a substitute.

But Benefits Are Great! · 07-24-2008, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100088

I thought getting a flap dropped on your head was called "ups hazing" that combined with a broken fan would equal a pretty terrible day. However, the friendships that I made loading and unloading those stupid trailers last to this day.

You guys have fans?

Our sorter have these great big blue fans - really nice. Nothing blowing into the trucks

.

Our "hazing" is turning off the lights pointed into the trailers. Take like ten minutes to turn bACK ON.

100088 · 07-24-2008, 06:37 PM

It is so hot were we are at if you don't have a fan you might die perhaps. Just tell the safety committee that you need a fan, if they don't listen, tell the union. That should get it fixed.

Diegotron · 07-24-2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgrant55

We call them drop frames, and we get two or more everyday. Unloading them is he!!, and any day you dont have to do one is considered a good day. Oh and this got me wondering if any of you guys have seen this other type of trailer. Ive probably seen 5 or less in the year+ ive worked here. Its basically a flat bed but it has this like other floor thats elevated probably two foot off the trailer floor. They fold up piece by piece and are made of metal.

Those are the ones I was talking about. We just leave them folded up and load them like flats. Stupid to extend the shelves as you go.

ladmeih · 07-24-2008, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by But Benefits Are Great!

You guys have fans?

Our sorter have these great big blue fans - really nice. Nothing blowing into the trucks

.

Our "hazing" is turning off the lights pointed into the trailers. Take like ten minutes to turn bACK ON.

You can't even really feel our fans past 10 feet of a trailer unless you have a nice one on the extendo/roller doors for 45+ footers.

They used to use drops as the hazing here, if you lasted 2 weeks doing those you'd last for a while. Now they won't even put a new guy in one during the summer because they're so hard up hiring people and they don't want them to quit in 2 days. It's funny when they quit the day after doing a drop for the first time after a few weeks on the job.

During peak we get the longer drops, I think they're 40 feet? I love my extendo though

brownrodster · 07-24-2008, 08:22 PM

I hated loading or unloading those trailers too.

However, I loved sorting into them. I would take all the smallest packages so we'd be there forever...

Baba gounj · 07-24-2008, 10:37 PM

the worst were "z" frames; rollers to one side , which were all so bent that nothing moved, it was push,push all night with your legs { had many a "charlie horse " } , the flaps folded up over the rollers.
I've been in many feeders and there are tricks to prevent one form getting a flap slamming on your head, use any slim thing you can find { package, piece of wood or metal } overlap it on to a flap that has a good hook.Just be VERY careful when it come time to remove that slim thing.
As for roller that are missing , use another roller next to the missing one { they are put in by compressing pins } angle it to cover the missing area { best as one can }.
If you can't hack it then its either you become a driver or {god forbid } a sup.

trplnkl · 07-25-2008, 12:33 AM

I never worked as an unloader as such but did live in a sat center for 6 years, we ( the drivers)unloaded the trailer and loaded our own cars. The only trailer we ever saw was the one that had plywood flaps over the drop frame on either side of the middle roller. One of our drivers received a concussion and a badly strained neck from a flap falling on his head.Not much fun unloading those things, would have hated having to unload for 4 hours a day. I tip my hat to those boys and girls that unload and load trailers.

dillweed · 07-25-2008, 12:41 AM

I unloaded with the rollers and flaps and it was sure harder than what they have now.

One fun thing was the sound the rollers made when I had a good, fast flow going. My game was to keep that scream up as long as possible without jamming pkgs. My nightmare was climbing over the crap to break my own jams.

trplnkl · 07-25-2008, 12:55 AM

That is a pretty neat sound and breaking those jams is sure enough no fun. Our trailer was backed up to a door that had an extend able set of rollers that emptied onto the main rollers running between the trucks being loaded. There were plenty of jams to deal with. What did help was the guys that had the first spots out of the trailer would usually break the jams if close enough to the door.

Big Babooba · 07-25-2008, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baba gounj

the worst were "z" frames; rollers to one side , which were all so bent that nothing moved, it was push,push all night with your legs { had many a "charlie horse " } , the flaps folded up over the rollers.
I've been in many feeders and there are tricks to prevent one form getting a flap slamming on your head, use any slim thing you can find { package, piece of wood or metal } overlap it on to a flap that has a good hook.Just be VERY careful when it come time to remove that slim thing.
As for roller that are missing , use another roller next to the missing one { they are put in by compressing pins } angle it to cover the missing area { best as one can }.
If you can't hack it then its either you become a driver or {god forbid } a sup.

A Z frame is any trailer built for TOFC service. They come in both straight and drop frame style. Some have rollers down the middle and some don't. They don't have a power lift for the landing gear and have reinforced frames to enable them to be lifted at the railyards. I've never seen a Z frame with rollers down the side. I've seen many CPU trailers with side rollers pressed into feeder duty.