i back under
then tug test 2 times
handbrake on
get out of cab and put the clip in
then on cat walk for suzis
then legs
then park brake
hen reg plate
have done it that way for 25 years or more its sort of habit and i know many drivers couple up differently
funny enough on this subject i was in a volvo unit last night and it has one of those drivers aids in the cab to single the 5th wheel is coupled up or not,
it would not turn to green and kept on showing red and beebing
i did many things to try to fix the problem ire tried cleaning the senor, pulled the unit and trailer forwards and backwards etc nothing worked, i even got under the trailer to check it the pin was locked so i know it was secure and i would of happily taken it out down the road
but i refused to take it out as i figured if anything went wrong down the road at all and that dam thing is going off in my cab i wouldn’t have a leg to stand on in court and if someone got killed with the trailer coming off well i would be in prison for the long time.
can you just see the question coming out of the lawyers mouth in court asking me why i would take a trailer out on the road that has a safety device fitted and alarming me that its not coupled ? erm erm i did all my safety checks and it was fine even looked under the trailer to make sure the pin was in so it was ok
i would be seen as a liar trying to save my bacon
so i took it to volvo dealers unit only and they couldn’t do anything but disconnect the device as it was a wiring problem and the electrician wasn’t in till Monday
they gave an undertaking to my boss that it was roadworthy and made notes over it and i was happy now to proceed and use the unit as if anything happened now i was covered
now the unit becomes just a normal unit with no safety device in operation so it was back to good old tried and tested methods that have served the industry for all these years
however i did lose 3 hours work over it all and there are some that would of just ignored the thing and got on with the job and i felt like doing the same as i knew it would of been ok but in the end i wasn’t ready to take that chance as lives are at risk if we do take chances etc that safety clip is our only defense if things go wrong. you will get the book thrown at you big time if you lose a trailer and there inst a safety clip engaged. thats why in my coupling up routine its first thing i do when i get out the cab as its number 1 for me of importance
truckyboy:
‘…i think some of you guys need a reality check, you all seem so nervous when picking up a trailer…’
My ‘…reality check…’ includes reasonable suspicion of material specification for fifth wheel component parts - of which there are one or two - not getting the fullest attention of the International (cost cutting?) Material Specification Agency 
Fatboy slimslow:
m1cks:
I’ll always check the clip if I’ve ever left the truck alone. Always better than leaving a trailer behind somewhere you shouldn’t.
especially after a 45 min break on the services! 
and having a night out TOO! 
you NEVER know
+1, I do a complete walk round check when I park up & a complete walk round before I pull away in the morning, you never know if you’ve peeed someone off.
I’d like to think that I would hear someone messing about with my 5th wheel or diesel tank but if you’re in a deep sleep you might not hear it.
One of ours got his diesel done up on the A1 near Doncaster & he had his window open a bit, he reckons that he never heard a thing !!!
truckyboy:
Never in all my years have i needed to get underneath with a torch, and neither have i failed to secure a trailer…i merely get under the trailer, do a good tug test, then put the dog clip on, i think some of you guys need a reality check, you all seem so nervous when picking up a trailer, but i suppose we all have our own way of doing things.
In the last couple of years on Ice Road Truckers, Alex Debagorsky & good old Pork Chop have had trailers come off, Alex’s was because the mechanism was frozen & Pork (can’t stop the) Chop was just bad practice/rushing around.
I’m not sure if their 5th wheels are the same as ours, but if they’d checked that the bar was across, maybe they wouldn’t have dropped their trailers ?
(Alex was lucky, he caught his before it completely fell off.)
So my reality check is to double check that the bar is across the pin, job done !
I once a a Daf 85 come in complaining of excessive play in the coupling. Full weight on the trailer.
The horseshoe jaw was gone, completely, and all that was left was the straight jaw. He’d driven about 12 miles from his yard to ours and I’d say if it wasn’t so heavy, it was gone.
Happy Keith:
truckyboy:
‘…i think some of you guys need a reality check, you all seem so nervous when picking up a trailer…’
My ‘…reality check…’ includes reasonable suspicion of material specification for fifth wheel component parts - of which there are one or two - not getting the fullest attention of the International (cost cutting?) Material Specification Agency
Keith i assume truckyboy is at the troll
If you don’t know your hooked in you shouldn’t be in the seat. Dog clips and torches listen to yourselves.
Everytime I have seen a trailer on its nose the driver always comes of with the “I was hooked in there must be a fault with it”
A 5th wheel could fail like any mechanical device, then both front tyres could blow out going down the cats back grossing 44t think the chances would be about the same.
Imagine the panic no number plate and no dog clip in.
Get a grip you soft ****
toby1234abc:
I check to see if somebody has pulled the fifth wheel release handle if stopped for the loo or a coffee.
You never know who is about,a disgruntled ex employee owed wages or kids for a laugh.
+1, it’s usually tesco muppets that have a habit of doing things like that.
I like to check mine for peace of mind & to see how competent the previous driver is, nothing shocks me anymore with what I’ve observed over time.
No dog chain over here. Hook up tug twice walk underneath make sure locking is engaged properly and away you go.
I have to admit I’m a torch up the ■■■■■■■/jaws guy myself and may even have 3 tugs if I’m not sure of the first one or lost count.
The torch thing does fly over a lot of old drivers heads though, as well as a lot of other stuff hence why we all have to do the CPC.
Can’t teach an old dog new tricks though so each to their own…
nearly there:
Happy Keith:
truckyboy:
‘…reality check, etc…’
‘…My ‘…reality check…’ etc…’
‘…Keith I assume truckyboy is at the troll…’
Doh, cheers 
Meanwhile:
taffytrucker:
‘…No dog chain over here. Hook up … and go…’
That’ll be in the land of newspaper for bogroll & jam-jars for ale glasses then 
I have 3 tugs which the driver trainer thinks is overkill but i don’t think you can be too careful. There are times when it didn’t sound right or you get a niggly feeling so you check what you can
especially when 2 63 plates units needed new fifth wheels within 3 months of service. That makes you wonder how many more could have faults
Caused by giving 3 tugs, lol
My routine from getting out of the cab entails first putting the clip on, and then I duck under the trailer to get to the legs. The few seconds I save by doing this - as opposed to walking around the front of the cab - are spent by quickly flashing a torch to see if the bar is across. It’s about peace of mind and absolute certainty. I know it is definitely in, and in my opinion that is a more professional attitude than “tug it and eff off”.
I suppose those who just lock in, tug, and go, are the same ones who won’t bother giving a quick hand check of their trailer wheel nuts. In 10 years of class 1 driving I have quickly checked all my wheel nuts on every trailer. Lo and behold I once found, on the trailer of a VERY big national company, several loose nuts on one wheel - very loose.
I couldn’t care less if people think I’m soft. I don’t care if I’m labelled ‘nervous’ or ‘panicky’. I have a lot of patience and a mindset which looks ahead at consequences, and the lost few seconds are an investment into road safety, peace of mind, and a clear conscience - which are priceless and is how the haulage industry should operate. It’s this archaic macho mentality which led to the airline industry clamping down on egoistic pilots who scoffed at “silly” safety rules, and as a result thousands of people per year don’t die.
If you don’t know with 100% certainly that your bar is across, and that the bar itself isn’t damaged in any way, then you shouldn’t be on the road.
Been around long enough and seen enough half wits performing to always check the vehicle is properly coupled, never trust anyone else.
Yes when i connect up a quick poke nose with a torch to see the bar is across, it’s not soft or weak or mamby pamby, its good common sense, and far better than explaining the mayhem should the bloody trailer slide off or worse still jump off at 50 mph when you hit a bump.
Not sure which is worse, idiots who still drop empty trailers far too high, and they managed to do this just as much when we were still on steel springs, or idiots that back straight under mirrors only and assume a tug test is all thats needed, those same twerps think the safety clip being on is evidence that all is well.
wired4smoke:
If you don’t know your hooked in you shouldn’t be in the seat
Absobleedinlutely! If you don’t develop a “feel” for when the pin is securely fastened maybe it’s time to ask for a job driving rigids! I’ve had probably 4 instances over the years where due to uneven ground or other factors when it hasn’t felt right when I’ve hooked up. The easy answer to that is to merely pull the pin, draw forward and then go back under. It only becomes as difficult as you make it guys.
rob22888:
I don’t pull a trailer anywhere until I have used the torch on my phone to have a look underneath, many think thats OTT but for the 5 seconds it takes whilst walking around it gives me piece of mind.
I did take an empty trailer to a drop once though The trailer id’s weren’t even close either, complete balls up!
I always go underneath to look at the pin every time I take over a trailer, where I am now the FLT Driver was shocked at what I was doing as he said he has never ever seen anybody do that before in the 3 years he had been there.
Better to be safe then sorry for the sake of a few seconds
I also remove all the trailer wheels and inspect the brakes, then retighten nuts with torque wrench and wipe the grease off the pin and inspect that then regrease…
In daylight I have been known to wedge a brush up the brake pedal so i can walk to the rear of the trailer and check the brake lights- try telling the old hands that I’m considered a bit girly as any professional should be able to push the brake pedal and know from the feel of it if the brake lights work or not.
Dipper_Dave:
I also remove all the trailer wheels and inspect the brakes, then retighten nuts with torque wrench and wipe the grease off the pin and inspect that then regrease…
In daylight I have been known to wedge a brush up the brake pedal so i can walk to the rear of the trailer and check the brake lights- try telling the old hands that I’m considered a bit girly as any professional should be able to push the brake pedal and know from the feel of it if the brake lights work or not.
Failed…you didn’t re-torque the wheelnuts after 30 minutes, neither did you grease the brake pivots whilst waiting for the 30 mins to pass… 
