Occasional trailer-use risks (forgetfulness)

[NCL4701]

Only time I recall having a stupid moment with loading or unloading was, of course, in front of a crowd. Was unloading in an asphalt parking lot at a church workday. About 50 guys were meeting with a couple of project leaders figuring out who brought what equipment and breaking up into teams for various projects. Out of those 50, at the time, I knew maybe two.

I was the only person who brought a loader with grapple so I already had my assignments and just needed to unload to get started. Chocked the trailer wheels, but forgot to block the back of the trailer. Was slowly backing the tractor off. Just as the rear wheels got completely on the ramps, the back of the truck lightened up. Full speed reversed down the ramps and the wheel chocks held, but the whole rig still slid about 4” forward which made a very loud grinding noise as the ramps slid on the asphalt. Of course everyone stopped, turned around, and stared. I waved at them and yelled over the engine noise, “That’s the way I always do that.” I think a couple of them believed it.

 

[Donystoy]

I installed implement jacks on the rear corners of my trailer when I purchased it 20 years ago. Came in handy when I replaced all four "original tires and wheels" recently. Did that before I hauled my LX for the first time.
I had a single axle trailer years ago and was at a lumber yard picking up lumber for a fence. Was going from one location to another in the yard and the attendant decided to hitch a ride and sat on the lumber that was hanging out the rear of the trailer. His weight caused the hitch to separate and the safety chains pulled the hitch into the trunk lid of our new 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

 

[Russell King]

I am surprised that @GeoHorn did not have a checklist for attaching trailer and loading the tractor!

 

[D2Cat]

@ GrumpyFarmer : Thanks. I think I know what you mean with the flip-down ramps …the types which already have-attached supports beneath them when deployed…. But you are correct, they only work on level-ground…. no slopes are extreme angles.

This afternoon I grabbed some old pipes I had and welded up and drilled some supports for the rear of my trailer.

View attachment 169882 View attachment 169883

I appreciate a man that has a "GO" button! Get 'er done.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Glad everything worked out for you!

One thing I will mention about those “rear jack stands” is that you need to account for the “squattting” of the trailer when you set them up.

If not, when you load the trailer, you can’t get them out, or remove the pins, cause they are trapped underneath it.

Ask me how I know this…...

I don’t want to "derail this thread" by listing all the stupid things I have done though…….Carry On


And for anyone interested, I now use this brake pedal tool to lock the front brakes when loading/unloading

https://www.amazon.com/Yueidung-Ped...5473a3fabbdf16cfbe9305b&qid=1771408967&sr=8-6
https://www.amazon.com/Yueidung-Ped...5473a3fabbdf16cfbe9305b&qid=1771408967&sr=8-6

 

[chim]

At work we had 20-some utility trailers, some enclosed trailers, a few "landscape" trailers and a couple deckovers. I can't say I've seen everything, but I've seen a lot. *A utility trailer about to leave the shop with the hitch locked and sitting on top of the ball. *A tandem axle box trailer with cable puling gear loaded to capacity connected with the tongue so high the rear set of tires overheated an blew on the PA Turnpike. *Trailer returned to the shop and parked with the cord under the jack - and jacked till the cord ripped. *Utility trailer lost the unlatched tailgate going west on PA 283. *A box trailer that some moron overloaded so badly that the trailer end of the tongue broke off when it went over a bump while still on site. Loading (overloading) was one of the first issues dealt with when I took over the shops. *Fenders and being ripped off to the point I had them armored.

 

[GeoHorn]

BTW, speaking of ad hoc trailer ”improvements”…. the pics I posted earlier also show the trailer-bed I made out of 8” C-purlins when the oem wood planks rotted.

I’ve done this to 3 of my trailers now with no regrets.

 

[dirtydeed]

And for anyone interested, I now use this brake pedal tool to lock the front brakes when loading/unloading


View attachment 169894

I use a pair of these on the trailer wheels.

The two are tied together with a length of rope so that the chocks fit on both sides of 1 trailer wheel. Not only does it keep the tow vehicle from running away, but it will keep the trailer from running away on a slope when uncoupled from the vehicle. Can you guess why I know this????

 

[Fastball714]

My ramps have a support built in so the trailer can't raise the rear of the truck. I still always put my truck in 4 wheel drive prior to loading or unloading.

 

[GeoHorn]

I picked up my tractor from the dealer yesterday PM.

The telescoping pipe-supports added to the trailer work fine.

I used 4WD and park-brake on truck while loading. No issues.

The policy at the dealer (Ewald Kubota, Marble Falls, Tx) is to grease and wash tractors when service work is performed…. but 2 yrs ago when they changed my steering cylinder ….the grease-job was hap-hazard (some grease shot ON-to zerks….not actually injected.….many zerks clearly over-looked completely. And the ”wash-job” (performed w/pressure-washer) … blasted/splattered grease randomly and wet the cloth-covered seat.

Recalling that… during last Friday’s service-scheduling-call…. I mentioned to the mgr that there was ”no need to grease or wash” my tractor…and that I hoped to pick it up within couple days.
The response was “It’s POLICY that we wash and grease All tractors brought in.”

When I dropped it off, they handed me a W.O. to sign…. indicating the expected labor of $1K, plus $450 to “Top off w/UDT”.
I pointed out that I’d recently performed a complete hyd-fluid change….using SUDT2…and crossed-out the “UDT” on the W.O. and hand-wrote SUDT2…but also commented this tractor holds 11 gals of fluid and I didn’t expect changing the seals on 4 cyls to require “top off”…and that I did not want the fluid ”topped off”.
I followed up with a phone call to re-confirm No Top-Off of hyd fluid.

I dropped it off Monday morning, and they called 2PM yesterday (Wed) that it was ready.

One of the reasons I selected the dealer was because I expect dealers to perform work more precisely and completely than “field repairs” .
I can only hope All the seals in the kit were used/replaced and not only the ones at the end-nut.

Basically, the loader cyls no longer seem to leak. The Invoice was roughly $1K labor, $450 seal-parts., and 1 qal of UDT $28…I presume was used to assemble the cyls).

The tractor was dirtier even than when I presented it. 2 or 3 (but not all 8) of the loader cyl zerks had been greased (using red grease, not moly) …. None of the rest of the tractor.
That’s OK by me….but then wonder why they specifically mentioned their “policy”. (They neither complied with My Wishes…OR their “policy”. )

Evidenced by the tooth-marks on the cyl-end-nuts, they did the cyl work using common pipe wrench for disassembly instead of a spanner.

Yes. I’m a picky bassard.

Glad to have it back home.

(BTW, while out-and-about… I picked up some 3/4” PVC pipe Tees and 45 fittings to complete a plumbing job back at the house.
I first stopped by Tractor Supply to grab some 1/2” pins for my new trailer-pipe-stands ….so while at TSC I also grabbed two PVC “Tees” and two 45-fittings.… $4 ea for the T’s…. $3 ea for the 45’s.
Thinking about that on the way to/from Kubota…. I passed by a Lowes hdwr. So I stopped-in…. to discover that Lowe’s charges 86-CENTS for the T’s…and 94-CENTS for the 45-fittings.

TSC is not competitively-priced at all on such things. (yes, on the way back home I stopped and returned them.)

(just being conversational about this thread)

OTT is a good place. thx

 

[trikepilot]

One thing I will mention about those “rear jack stands” is that you need to account for the “squattting” of the trailer when you set them up.

If not, when you load the trailer, you can’t get them out, or remove the pins, cause they are trapped underneath it.

Ask me how I know this…...

And don't ask me either!!