The process is 1)place dolly uncoupled in front of rear trailer 2)back lead trailer to dolly 3)couple dolly to lead trailer 4)back trailer dolly combination to hook rear trailer. If you couple the dolly to the rear trailer using only the truck 2 things happen 1)the force of the trailer weight on the dolly makes it virtually impossible to disconnect it from the truck's pintle hook 2)if you do manage to get the dolly unhooked from the truck you would have a very hard time getting the lead trailer in the exact correct position to couple it to the dolly.
It is more difficut to steer the dolly when it is attached to the front trailer. Drivers that do not know how to control the dolly can easily jackknife the dolly and cause serious damage, so many companies do not want drivers backing the dolly behind the trailer more than a few feet.
This is a great video if you work out of terminals. But if you are heading out with a set of joints full of freight going to some obscure warehouse, the set up may be different. There are a lot of little tricks you need to know. For example, if you are dropping your trailer on a curbed street be sure to drop your trailer with the front of the trailer nosed out from the curb a ways. If you drop it straight against the curb then when you go to back under the trailer it will slide toward the curb because the crown of the road surface will cause the landing gear to slide up against the curb. When that happens your duals will run into the curb and you will never be able to line up the kingpin into the center of the fifth wheel. When that happens you have to call a tow truck ($400.00 in 1974), to come and lift the front of your trailer back away from the curb so you can get under the trailer to hook up. One of several expensive lessons I learned the hard way during my trucking career. Nobody ever told me Jack.
Curious? I'm trying to start a youtube channel myself! Try to do some tutorials. One would be how to hook and disconnect a set. I was showing a video to a friend and he was all "This is so interesting! Also educational " And it got ME.....pumped / hyped to try to make videos MYSELF!
When connecting to a trailer at a dock, make sure to knock/bang on the trailer before anything to check for loaders. I worked at FedEx for 2 and a half years And there was many times where the truckers hooked up and some even took off with me in the trailer.
Make note. If your dolly that you pick has a problem. Please "RED TAG" the dolly. Note/state problem on Red Tag. Also let your dispatcher know that there is a problem with the dolly. Also goes for the trailers. Don't have RED TAGS? Ask your dispatcher/local maintenance shop. It makes my job a lot easier know what's wrong with the equipment and not just someone red tagging a dolly or trailer so NO ONE can us it. Thanks!!!
i love turnpikes trailers that the the fifth wheel is connected in the rear of the trailer, and you just slide in, when you have to back up in a loading dock.
Please put your dolly in the dolly lot when you are done with it and not just wherever it lands in the yard or not even take the dolly off the trailer! ~switcher
*Brings back memories... I used to be the switcher / yard jockey at the DC Fed Ex Ground Hub for the overnight load. I used to help the line haul guys and get the doubles setup for them*
Back your dolly closer to the rear box. Try moving it the last 5 or 10 feet like he did in the winter. Have fun with that... or even better, back your front box and dolly together onto your rear trailer. makes winter do so much easier.
Thanks for your insight! One trick in the winter when you're on fresh snow is to back all the way to the trailer and let the dolly's 5th wheel plate bump the trailer. Then pull forward a couple feet to unhitch the dolly from the tractor. Doing this creates tracks in the snow so you can still move the dolly by hand. Backing the lead trailer and dolly combination to the rear trailer is doable, but you should practice caution when doing this. The dolly can jackknife quickly. Risking damage to the dolly and lead trailer when doing so, so be careful!
And other issue with backing lead and dolly together, FedEx has these safety bars on a lot of trailers and dollies that put pressure on the pintle hook when air is supplied. This unfortunately makes is hard to maneuver the dolly because it won't turn as freely, you pretty much have to jack knife the trailer to get the dolly to turn. Can't be annoying. With out the safety bar is easy as pie. But it's rare to get a trailer and dolly without this feature.
Isn't that the person you'd want to call when you're having a problem? Edit: It was my idea to make this video, and it's actually turned out to be a very useful tool with recruiting. Thank you for watching!
I worked for FedEx Ground for just over 3 years in the New England area unfortunately I moved and I'm trying to get back in with FedEx Ground in arizona and it's not easy. The thing is most trucks I used was a dual axle and u can't get under the trailer to check ur fifth wheel if you have dual axle
You can....the 5th wheel on the truck needs moved back. Since the video, as a company we no longer have single axle trucks and only operate twin screw trucks. If the spacing between the mud flaps of the truck and the landing gear on the trailer is too tight to get in and check jaws, make a hard turn to the right, about 4 feet. This will allow you to look into the jaws from the driver side directly. Due to the position of the truck to the trailer as it will be in a "turning" configuration, you can see the 5th wheel jaws easier.
I also pull doubles for a FedEx Ground contractor. This is a very good video but I do things a little different. 1. If the dolly chains are long enough they should be crossed. 2. Before hooking my air lines and electrical plug up I make sure the 5th wheel jaws are locked. Then I hook up the air lines and electrical line. 3. When dropping the rear trailer I disconnect all of my air lines to my dolly after pulling the 5th wheel and lowering the landing gear. It does save a little time when pulling the dolly away from the rear trailer because you do not have to sit and wait for the dolly to air up again. Plus some people drop their trailers too high and it can be a pain to lower them.
Been pulling these things for over 15 years. You will pick up tips like also putting air to the brakes and cracking open the blue line at the rear to make sure you have sufficient brake air supply there too, especially in the winter because ice can form in the lines and boom no brakes back there. Also to insure you have no air leaks in the brake lines too. There are other tips even when selecting your dolly etc. etc. good video.
I used to be a DedEx Fround contractor 15 years ago...absolutely the worst....started at 3 pm, sometimes done at 11 pm or 12, and other days, the sun was coming up again...they didn't really care. Get home at 7 am, go to bed so I could wake up and do it all over again. Look at your pay settlement, not much difference between the 2. I never had the guts to do it, but, I always admired the guys who could break doubles by releasing the pintle hook on the dolly and slide it out from under the rear trailer at the same time! It always looked great! Dolly bang the pavement. My luck, it wouldn't come out under the trailer all the way and be stuck up in the air! Also, the guys who can back up doubles, turn them around...that is talent! There just isn't any money in running for $1.40 a mile, I don't care what EdFex does for fuel supplement. Cost of repairs, insurance, tires just keep going up. I have my own authority and haul my own freight. Much better off.
Shouldn't you have left the landing gear "slightly raised" until after the pull to ensure you had a proper connection? Im just going by what Im studying and this isn't what I'm learning.
I've been working for FedEx for 25 years. And it's shocking to me that all the truck drivers on here that missed the one thing he missed on the pre-trip. That was obvious as someone putting a live chicken in the cab your truck. There's no way you could pull these doubles down the road like this legally. Let's do a challenge let's see who notices what's wrong with this set of doubles and why you can't pull it down the road the way it is? I will tell you what it is if someone doesn't see it in the next couple days. It's a safety violation.
Very good video only parts i would recommend is wear gloves always for safety and so your not getting grease all over your steering wheel and every where else in the truck and hook up everything on the dolly from the other side that just so you can stay clean no lean against equipment also most importantly I wouldn’t spin the landing gear like that I’ve seen numerous people bloody there nose with catching it on there nose you could even break your nose just a thought to be safe stay safe to all the truck drivers out there good luck and have safe trips
That two trailer are small. Why they have to make it two trailers instead of a one whole size of a semi trailer. Basically that double trailers is considered only as the whole normal size of a regular semi trailer. It doesn't make sense. Your just only making your job harder. I will be much impress if the double or triple trailers in America is just like the one in Australia what they called the ROADTRAINS.
Did this for Fed Ex the last 2 years I drove before retiring. once you do it a few times it goes fast and quick. I could bring in the 1st set, drop them, get the new paperwork and hook the 2nd set and out of the yard in 30 minutes.
Great video, 8:47 .. I first thought the plane was an STOL de Havilland DHC-5 Buffalo, now I think it must be a Russian Stroukoff YC-1 34A one of which went to the NASA Ames Research Center in California :)
I can’t believe that FEDEX GROUND does not have corporate produced teaching videos that cover all aspects of the work that employees are required to do as part of there job descriptions. From customer service to package handlers delivery drivers & feeder drivers There were no shortages of training videos that covered virtually every job that was being done at FedEx Express. When I worked as a courier. Managers/supervisors used various teaching tools Furnished by Corporate.
That blurs the line between Customer and Employer. As a contractor, we're the employer and FedEx is our Customer! May the best operating model win the market!
Thanks for your input Cedric! There's always room for improvement and your concerns are duly noted! Hopefully you took more good from this video than your comment suggests!
Good training video....only critique is to not spin handle while rolling up landing gear. Place one hand on trailer for support and roll up slowly. Too easy to loose grip and slip or hit yourself with the spinning handle. Current CDL A driver of 30 years and 1 year with Fedex Custom Critical. Thanks for your video.
This is the smallest b-double I have ever seen, in Australia our dollies have 2 axles and the trailers have either 2 or 3 axles at the rear, we even have road trains with 3 or more trailers up to a length limit of 53 metres for the whole combination (unless it is driven on roads privately owned by mining companies)
14:26 HAHAHAHA OHOH! I don't think I'm supposed to be in the picture! 16:28 I'm not a trucker, will Somebody explain to me why it looks like the tractor drops down from underneath the first trailer at this point?
Its strange to see so much room between truck and trailer. In the netherlands we move our 5th wheel much closer to the cabin. This is probably because of our length regulations. Truck/trailer maximum length is 15.5 meters. Driving a double trailer, its 25.25 meters. there is also a categorie that is aloud to be 18 meters. But i am not sure how it is called in english.
Versatility. For example; we run from Sioux City to Kansas City and back, but on they way back we pull one Sioux City and one Omaha trailer. We then stop in Omaha on the way back to drop the Omaha trailer, then pickup a trailer that's assigned for Sioux City from Omaha. So Sioux City receives 2 loaded trailers.
Thanks for your input Veronica! There's always room for improvement and your concerns are duly noted! Hopefully you took more good from this video than your comment suggests!
Pulled doubles for 3 years for Carolina Freight carriers from 6pm to 3am. Noticed changes in the converter dolly (Bogey). We never had air bags on the bogey back then. You haven't lived till you had to walk back in a muddy field at some warehouse where the bogeys got dropped off. Sure they roll real nice on blacktop! Not so easily in mud with big holes in the dirt in snow and darkness. Good times!
Plus! Our Pups (28 foot long trailers with single axles ) had a safety bar in the front of the trailer to drop and secure so some poor soul on a forklift bringing freight in didn't get hurt when the trailer tipped down because the driver forgot to lower the bar and put a pin in it.
Anyone know a FedEx driver? I've seen one pulling TRIPLES before but can't remember what states allow that. I was somewhere between California and Texas, LOL, could be any of 4-5 different states.
The 13 states that allow triple trailers are mostly in the West, where roads are flat and straight: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and Utah.
Congratulations! First time showing doubles to a driver always makes me smile! It's not a hard process, and I truly believe doubles are better to pull than a 53' just for their agility while cornering. Safe travels!
@@C2CCorps I'm struggling with maneuvering the dolly in fact I had one the other day roll away after I released the brakes when I was gonna hook it to the back of the bobtail
@@tamipotirala6973 That can be a problem, especially if you're not working on a level surface! There is a way to work on hill, you just need to be hooking perpendicular to the slope! Hopefully it was a non-event an nobody was hurt!
I know these guys work hard and u have to have a special skill driving doubles. At the same time I’ve never understood why these companies even have these. Like what’s wrong with full size trailers 🧐
How you unhook the dolly to the last trailer without first releasing the brakes to the dolly? It won’t budge because of the weight of the trailer until you release the brakes you’ll see the trailer drop then you can release the handle for the trailer .
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-05lVyEYOaPA.htmlfeature=shared&t=1031 By replacing the airlines on the glad hand retainers inside the dolly basket, it blocks the air from traveling out of the dolly, and it releases the dolly brakes. After pressing the "red/emergency air" or "red/trailer air supply valve" within the cab, the dolly brakes will release and you can pull the dolly out from underneath the rear trailer.
Und wie oft hat es schon einen Fahrer zwischen dem ersten und den zweiten Dolly Auflieger eingeklemmt , beim Zusammenhängen . Per Hand den Anhänger ziehen , um anzuhängen ist in Deutschland verboten 🙈
I worked for various FedEx ground contractors in Washington state and we were never assigned dollies on the hitch slip. We just found one and called the number in on AVR
I heard somewhere that two people should NOT disconnect or connect a set, its a one man job . For safety issues and I think that makes sense. Yet everyone at Fedex always want their teammate to come help. I am not one of those people. Is it true that one person is the right way??
Safety is always essential! I would agree that its much safer for this to be a one man job. We have solo runs, so it is a one man job day to day. But there are instances when a helping hand can be beneficial, just want to be sure the truck operator has the helper in line of site while the truck is in motion to mitigate an incident.
