Drivers' Corner - Caring in Action

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Have you ever had a trailer get loose on you going down the highway? A driver in Longview, Texas had received his dispatch to load. It was cold and the air was so sharp it could cut paper. On the way, he needed to go by the yard to pick up his trailer. He left his heavy jacket at home and with only a windbreaker, he worked quickly to hook up the trailer.

He got about a half-mile down the road when he heard a noise in the back of the tractor. He looked in the mirror and everything looked all right. Then he noticed that the trailer had slipped back about four feet.

He eased to a stop on the emergency lane and got out to check the fifth wheel. To his amazement, the trailer was completely loose. The only thing that kept it from taking off were the holes in the deck plate above the fifth wheel, which caught on the curls of the hangers, for the mud flaps.

He lowered the landing gear, hooked up the trailer properly, and saved his job. Hooking up a trailer requires 100 percent of our attention at the moment of connection. Some points to observe:

1. Center the tractor alignment with the trailer and back up to the nose of the trailer. Hook up your service and emergency airlines and set the trailer brake valve in the cab.
2. In reverse, back into the king-pin to make sure it is seated, then pull forward to see if it is engaged. If so, back into it again and set your tractor brakes. Make a visual inspection of the king-pin lock. Look at the side and the rear of the fifth wheel to see if the lock is engaged. Check the release handle for seating. Then raise the landing gear.
3. As you stop for breaks or loading, check again before pulling away. The king-pin lock, thought to be the most reliable piece of equipment on the unit, is a mechanical device and is subject to disengaging.

Bottom line: The king-pin lock is one of the smallest items on your unit, however, it is not called the "king-pin" for nothing.

That's the way I see it - Bob Hataway - TransAlive.

Bob Hataway is president of TransAlive USA, an organization of 100,000 volunteers across America dedicated to serving drivers and their families in the transportation industry through their Caring in Action=Safety Program. They cover every zip code in the United States and move quickly to meet the needs of the drivers and their families when they experience an accident, illness, heart attack or even death on the highway. Call 800-USA-HURT for assistance.