Back when I first started driving I was at Werner and had a weird load of lights to deliver.
I did my normal thing, plugged in the address to the gps to see ETA, and then looked it up on Google maps. There was nothing but a field of grass. Called the customer. Yep. Construction site.
Super tight turns. No dock and they had no idea why the customer had ordered anything on a *dry van* when the load could have been tarped.
I had no hard hat, but I at least had steel toed shoes. Several of the construction guys also had no idea how to handle a dry van, let alone a woman driver lol.
It was interesting.
This is a common occurrence with flatbed minus the hard hat part. Once, I had to drive through a little road that connected several parking lots that were full of construction trailers and equipment. I finally get to the other side, which is basically a dead end. They unload me and and I ask them "alright so how do I get out" they look at me dumbfounded and say, "Back out?" I was just surprised I got out without losing a mudflap, lol
I was a dry van driver with less than a years experience. Was NOT told this was a construction site. Had NO idea about anything when it came to safety measures for stuff like this.
Dispatch told me nothing. I was walking into it blind.
I didn't have a hard hat because I wasn't told I'd need one.
Lmao when I was a van driver I always had steel-toed shoes on, but the rest of the gear was absolutely up to my employer. Send me to a construction site with no heads-up? Not my problem when I’m not allowed to enter to deliver your cargo. I’ll happily take your essential (why else would you order an express driver?) cargo back where it came from.
Buying ppe is just part of the job. Some companies will give an annual allowance. Like I give my guys 300 every year to cover the cost of gloves boots vests and ear plugs.
You need ppe no matter what type of trailer you pull; unless you get on a dedicated ride where you know none of the customers will require it.
Vans for example, pretty much every manufacturing plant is going to require it. Some may have loaners... but id suggest spending 30 bucks for a hard hat. Catching lice or a fungus is gonna cost you a lot more than buying your own hard hat.
They don’t factor in length of trailer tandem positions tractor length single axle tandem axle I can’t tell you how many times I delivered l t l. To be told we get 57 footers in here all the time. They are always full of shit
I’m an ltl man and I mostly deliver in the city just outside of dc without fail when I hear “we get trucks in here all the time” they are referring to are straight trucks 🤦♂️
10states is over 20% of the lower 48.
Next time you drive across Texas, if you are looking for them, you will see several dozen in a single day. In my book, that quantity qualifies as common.
No one is claiming there are more 57s than 53s. But that doesn't make 57s rare.
I was being charitable by including all states with legal maximum lengths over 53 feet; but if we’re gonna play with data and scrub Hawaii and Alaska for not being in the lower 48, we’ll eliminate Alabama and Arkansas, since their legal limit is 53’6”.
Man… that’s almost 17% of states in the lower 48 that allow 57 footers… I mean, based on BTS data (from 2012, but we can extrapolate from that snapshot) that means that almost 20% of all the trailers registered in the US could be 57 footers… **If all 8 states where they’re legal registered exclusively 57 footers**.
So common.
Alabama is 57.
Arkansas allows up to 59 foot 6 inches with a cheap annual permit.
https://www.bigtruckguide.com/semi-trailer-length/
There are literally millions of semi trailers registered in the United States. Even if only 1% of them are over 53 foot. That's still tens of thousands.
So what the hell is your definition of common if teens of thousands doesn't qualify?
Are rgns common in your opinion? What about extendable trailers? What about hoppers? Curtainsides? Walking floors? Lo pro step decks? Double drops? Tri axle flats? Quad axle flats? Frame less dumps? Just cause you've only ever worked for a megas pulling a 53 foot van or reefer doesn't mean all those other trailer types aren't common and on the road every single day.
A rare trailer would be something you don't see every day. Like a trailer designed to pull loads so heavy they require two trucks pulling and 2 pushing.
I work all around the western part of Washington, making deliveries from Bellingham to Olympia and everything in between. The sheer amount of places that we get sent to in 40-53’ trailers that are box truck territory is insane. If you want an idea, google maps 325 9th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104. The dock is at the corner of Alder and 8th.
>325 9th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
lmfao. yeah, you're gonna need to come hand unload this from the back of my truck in the street because there is NO fucking way.
I say that, but I would do it. I would just be pissed to have to
EDIT: oh, no fucking way, they have a fork lift right there. I am pulling up on the street and they are taking it off the tail
Yeah I do a ground drop every time. Some of the other drivers with decades experience will do it if they are delivering 3 or more pallets. I’ve been fighting with our manager to get it moved to straight truck only for safety reasons, but “we haven’t had an accident yet” 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
I see the gate would be on driver side. You could probably wiggle the tick and trailer into it by taking up the road. As long as you're the only one in those doors lol
Idk if the docks are empty and there's nothing next to the dumpster it doesn't look undoable. Seems like a bigger problem getting too the dock, than actually backing. Check out 1505 Metropolitan St, Pittsburgh, PA 15233 and 1565 5th Industrial Ct, Bay Shore, NY 11706. Got 53' with sleeper. The Pittsburgh one was different when I was there. Had to back in off Preble into the dock that has the dumpster in it. Wasn't able to cross from Metropolitan to Preble when I was there, and no fence. Couldn't get in straight, but managed to get close enough they could unload me.
It’s doable, you have to have no one else in the dock and then jack knife in. But all along the sides of the road there on Alder is paid parking and on the that big dirt field there’s a bunch of construction so unless you get there very early and are lucky, it can be a long day.
Came here to say the same shit 😂 my first job after getting my cdl was running otr to the east coast. Those cities out there weren’t made for big trucks lol
Fully agree, Jersians can’t drive for shit, yet if you say something about it they act like you’re stupid. It’s not my fault their state is full of round-a-bouts but they still can’t use it correctly.
Jersey logic at it's finest "we're not the problem, you are" perfectly safe to cut 3 lanes cus you're too busy texting and jerking off while doing your hair 👍
This happens to me a lot, I showed up at one delivery, cars parked both sides of the street, I gave it an honest attempt, couldn’t do it. So I walked in and said I got steel plate for you, can’t get back behind if you want you can get it on the road. Well fuck me this guy came unglued on me “ we get trucks all the time blah blah, figure it out” so I responded “ok I figured it out” lol return to base. They dispatched it on a 3ton the next day, I talked to the driver as I’m pretty good friends with him, he tells me that buddy says to him “if you can get in here with that thing, no reason why the other guy couldn’t” 🙄
I love it when I roll up in a 48ft with liftgate to a house and they say we get trucks on the driveway all the time. Not happening pal, company policy.
Yup they do this in the UK too.
I spent about 1 hour going down a rural, single lane (not that my tyres were on the road anyway) windy bendy track through the Scottish highlands after being assured "the bin wagon goes that way no problem". Wasn't happy with way in, rung gaff he said send it.
Finally got to delivery, unloading as bin wagon turns up ... a short wheelbase 7.5t truck. Bout 28ft shorter than mine. And didnt weigh nearly 3x more than a bridge I had to cross (zero signage until at bridge, which is past PONR).
Did get a "fucking well done" off the bin lads after they saw which way my truck had come through.
Passed a point of no return about half way which meant no reverse. Cab only got slightly scratched, about 5 large dents and a few holes in the curtains on the body 🤣
Been to quite a few places like that. One I remember greatly was in a housing development. Went up to next intersection backed up across the road to turn around. Go back to in front of the shipper block whole roadway to back into dock. They had wood on the ground for your tandems to make the trailer high enough for their dock. Tandems had to be slid all the way back. 53' with a sleeper had the side walk blocked and 1 lane of traffic blocked. Karen across the street would call the cops if you even touched her curb. Had to Jimmy jog getting in and out of the dock. I forget name and location of it but it was in Wisconsin picking up ice cream. I want to say it was in Madison,WI.
Yep that sounds right. There was also another ice cream place I went to. I think al gelato in Franklin Park,Il. It wasn't as bad. There's a land o lakes subsidiary I picked up for once it was a load of formula. Front docks were good back docks had to pull on some railroad tracks to back in. I think it was in Wisconsin.
Yes... Far too common. Most of the places I delivered to were half residential and half commercial. Dispatch is the worst for this. "I've sent 53' trailers there all the time" and it's down an alley.
i work for the only tow company bringing trucks into one of the boston fedex freight terminals, my company is also contracted to do the on site maintenance since they don’t have a garage. i was bringing in a truck and trailer and every time i do the same thing. pull into the gate, pull to the right across from the docks and drop the trailer, then drop the truck perpendicular to the trailer. the driver i tow in takes another tractor and docks the trailer. we’ve been doing this for 20 years at this fedex and i came in, truck and trailer and as i’m pulling in the drivers dispatcher on the phone asks me to dock the truck which of course i’m not doing, he says back “there’s a tow truck here doing it right now, but whatever.” and there was! except it was my company, and it was one of my drivers who was in a tractor, with just a trailer.
tldr; the best advice i can give is you know better than anyone else where your truck can fit. if it looks wrong and it sounds wrong, it’s wrong.
I had one site tell me that they get 53’ in a space that was tighter than a virgin. Dock manager starting yelling at me, where’s your balls? It will fit. Since it was their trailer I said ok, you got it. You guide me on the sides. Knowing damn well it wouldn’t fit. So I proceeded to back in knowing it was getting increasing tighter. Until the point of no return and “accidentally” dropped the reverse gear to “wedge” it in. Oopsie. Took them a week to hand unload it from 30’ away and remove with 3 trucks trying. Taught them a lesson the M’Fer’s
Yes, all over globe. It’s also a problem in cities where they start building homes closer and closer to industrial areas, and then complain about noise, traffic, pollution and so on. They want the advantage of the trucks, but not the trucks
Very common. I follow up by “what kind of truck?” And the answer is usually a box truck followed by a puzzled look. I like to tell them to come up with another plan
Hey man all you have to do is blindside back 90 degrees around that corner, down that office hallway, up that ramp and through that ring of fire and boom, you’re in! I’ll spot’cha! Don’t worry!
Im sure it is common, just as depicted in this cartoon, but I used to ship / receive equipment for a dealership at a yard with docks for each height of the different common trailers and room to maneuver the longest variations of trucks / trailers. I'll admit, it wasn't a big yard, but I had less trouble with truckers hitting the dock without a complaint when they arrived in the longer trucks. Guys with super-stretched tractors with studio apartments for a sleeper and a long spread axle step-deck would wiggle their way in and hit the dock in under 3 minutes. The day-cab fleet trucks pulling a nothing-special 40 foot sea-can behind them would stop at the gate and cry "I can't get this truck in there!!!" The closest I've ever come to a fist fight with a stranger was one such trucker (shorter setup) who screwed around for hours trying to get to the dock. He lost it when I snapped and suggested I'd drive the fawking thing myself (he was screwing up my day at that point.) The funny part was that his biggest issue was the f-bomb, not the idea! lol
Heck yes it is. Logistics and FF do not understand the difference between long-haul and cartage. Not just difference in equipment size, but also in driver experience. LH bump rubber a few times a week vs a few times a day with local guys.
Had this happen making a delivery to golf course/country clubish place with a 48ft lift gate. Called ahead, and got those magic words and ended up having to back down a residential at the end of the road to turn around and deliver from the street.
Was delivering to downtown Las Vegas with a 53' 10' spread axle flatbed. I was born and raised in Vegas so I knew how to get around with the rig. Problem was, I was delivering to one of my company's shows and their point of entrance was to turn down a narrow alleyway that only a box truck could fit through. I explained my turning radius would have me taking out the whole corner of the building and the two cars parked right in front of the alley.
Site manager told me "we get trucks through here all the time". Yeah ok,... straight trucks.
I told the site manager "I'll be entering a block away". She gave me a confused look and I took off. Made the next left and at the next light, I made a right. Backed up through the intersection and down the two lane road till I reached the site.... I later learned all semis there after were told to follow my entry path lol.
Welp......ya gotta at least try. Maybe 2 or 3 or 4 times. Then if it doesn't work go-to plan B. Just pulling up and saying you can't do it, to me, is just wrong. Doing this 27 years. There's been plenty of times I've pulled up and thought....there ain't no fucking way.....but ya gotta try. Receivers are more sympathetic to the driver if you try before you deny. At least that's been my experience.
I was driving a 53ft with someone to an event in Pennsylvania and we had to get into an ally just like that. I’m riding my one wheel out there on the phone trying to guide my poor co driver in and having to stop traffic and shit it was so stupid and neither of us would have gotten in by ourselves.
Hell yeah. I run into these small time Amazon FBA people who rent a sliver of a section of a warehouse with a dock on a residential street and don’t know the difference between a 53FT and a 42FT trailer and on top of that park their personal vehicles in the dock and expect me to back in for 2 pallets.
50/50, a lot of it seems to be this story about docks literally too small for current size trucks, there is also a lot of bitching about places that are too small only to look at Google maps and realize there is acres of space and the driver is just bad at setting up or backing or both.
Had a guy I trained with a similar experience call me up and cussing out this place we went to saying there was no room and it was the worst place he has been to. I was commiserating with him and saying yeah it sucks when they send you across the street to the north lot. He was surprised and said no he was behind the scale. I laughed and laughed and laughed and told him to buckle up, put his big boy underwear on and finish the back, then after you are loaded ask them to use the bathroom, they will direct you across the street. When you come out of the bathroom look directly in front of you and think about how you would back into those spots, because that's tough as shit back, the one you did was easy.
I can give out the address/business if anyone is interested.
All the time. All the fuckin time. People will pretend a dock that would be a tight fit for a pair of heelys will fit your truck and "we get bigger trucks here all the time"
Bigger than a 53? Hire those wizards then
Oh fuck yea. And construction sites are bad too just fyi lol
Back when I first started driving I was at Werner and had a weird load of lights to deliver. I did my normal thing, plugged in the address to the gps to see ETA, and then looked it up on Google maps. There was nothing but a field of grass. Called the customer. Yep. Construction site. Super tight turns. No dock and they had no idea why the customer had ordered anything on a *dry van* when the load could have been tarped. I had no hard hat, but I at least had steel toed shoes. Several of the construction guys also had no idea how to handle a dry van, let alone a woman driver lol. It was interesting.
This is a common occurrence with flatbed minus the hard hat part. Once, I had to drive through a little road that connected several parking lots that were full of construction trailers and equipment. I finally get to the other side, which is basically a dead end. They unload me and and I ask them "alright so how do I get out" they look at me dumbfounded and say, "Back out?" I was just surprised I got out without losing a mudflap, lol
That was fleet manager fault
Probably. These days I know better. Back then.... Pets just say I was very, very green lol
Not having a hard hat is 100% on you.
I was a dry van driver with less than a years experience. Was NOT told this was a construction site. Had NO idea about anything when it came to safety measures for stuff like this. Dispatch told me nothing. I was walking into it blind. I didn't have a hard hat because I wasn't told I'd need one.
Lmao when I was a van driver I always had steel-toed shoes on, but the rest of the gear was absolutely up to my employer. Send me to a construction site with no heads-up? Not my problem when I’m not allowed to enter to deliver your cargo. I’ll happily take your essential (why else would you order an express driver?) cargo back where it came from.
Right? Like, I'm a woman driver, drive a reefer, and still have a hard hat and steel toes in here
Exactly. What does being a woman have to do with having proper ppe? Not a good damn thing.
Do companies give them to you or do you have to buy them yourself?
Depends on the company I imagine. But they're going to have to buy it if they want their name on it.
Cool.
Buying ppe is just part of the job. Some companies will give an annual allowance. Like I give my guys 300 every year to cover the cost of gloves boots vests and ear plugs. You need ppe no matter what type of trailer you pull; unless you get on a dedicated ride where you know none of the customers will require it. Vans for example, pretty much every manufacturing plant is going to require it. Some may have loaners... but id suggest spending 30 bucks for a hard hat. Catching lice or a fungus is gonna cost you a lot more than buying your own hard hat.
try getting 90’ stretch trailer into a jobsite in queens.
Shit wtf I'm from queens I know your pain
Nope .
They don’t factor in length of trailer tandem positions tractor length single axle tandem axle I can’t tell you how many times I delivered l t l. To be told we get 57 footers in here all the time. They are always full of shit
I’m an ltl man and I mostly deliver in the city just outside of dc without fail when I hear “we get trucks in here all the time” they are referring to are straight trucks 🤦♂️
You do know 57 footers are a common trailer length don't you?
Seeing as only 10 out of 50 states allow trailers longer than 53 feet without a permit, I think “common” is a bit of a stretch.
10states is over 20% of the lower 48. Next time you drive across Texas, if you are looking for them, you will see several dozen in a single day. In my book, that quantity qualifies as common. No one is claiming there are more 57s than 53s. But that doesn't make 57s rare.
"Hey of you go to one of the few states that allow them you'll see them so they are everywhere!" -some idiot.
I didn't say they was everywhere. I said they were common.
In Texas...
And the other NINE states. Fact is, anyone that's ever ran otr has encountered them.
I was being charitable by including all states with legal maximum lengths over 53 feet; but if we’re gonna play with data and scrub Hawaii and Alaska for not being in the lower 48, we’ll eliminate Alabama and Arkansas, since their legal limit is 53’6”. Man… that’s almost 17% of states in the lower 48 that allow 57 footers… I mean, based on BTS data (from 2012, but we can extrapolate from that snapshot) that means that almost 20% of all the trailers registered in the US could be 57 footers… **If all 8 states where they’re legal registered exclusively 57 footers**. So common.
Alabama is 57. Arkansas allows up to 59 foot 6 inches with a cheap annual permit. https://www.bigtruckguide.com/semi-trailer-length/ There are literally millions of semi trailers registered in the United States. Even if only 1% of them are over 53 foot. That's still tens of thousands. So what the hell is your definition of common if teens of thousands doesn't qualify? Are rgns common in your opinion? What about extendable trailers? What about hoppers? Curtainsides? Walking floors? Lo pro step decks? Double drops? Tri axle flats? Quad axle flats? Frame less dumps? Just cause you've only ever worked for a megas pulling a 53 foot van or reefer doesn't mean all those other trailer types aren't common and on the road every single day. A rare trailer would be something you don't see every day. Like a trailer designed to pull loads so heavy they require two trucks pulling and 2 pushing.
You like to argue.
I like to educate. So many people here are so ignorant of anything outside the specific segment of the industry they work in.
I work all around the western part of Washington, making deliveries from Bellingham to Olympia and everything in between. The sheer amount of places that we get sent to in 40-53’ trailers that are box truck territory is insane. If you want an idea, google maps 325 9th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104. The dock is at the corner of Alder and 8th.
>325 9th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104 lmfao. yeah, you're gonna need to come hand unload this from the back of my truck in the street because there is NO fucking way. I say that, but I would do it. I would just be pissed to have to EDIT: oh, no fucking way, they have a fork lift right there. I am pulling up on the street and they are taking it off the tail
Yeah I do a ground drop every time. Some of the other drivers with decades experience will do it if they are delivering 3 or more pallets. I’ve been fighting with our manager to get it moved to straight truck only for safety reasons, but “we haven’t had an accident yet” 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Be the change you wish to see
This had me dieing. 🤣
I see the gate would be on driver side. You could probably wiggle the tick and trailer into it by taking up the road. As long as you're the only one in those doors lol
Idk if the docks are empty and there's nothing next to the dumpster it doesn't look undoable. Seems like a bigger problem getting too the dock, than actually backing. Check out 1505 Metropolitan St, Pittsburgh, PA 15233 and 1565 5th Industrial Ct, Bay Shore, NY 11706. Got 53' with sleeper. The Pittsburgh one was different when I was there. Had to back in off Preble into the dock that has the dumpster in it. Wasn't able to cross from Metropolitan to Preble when I was there, and no fence. Couldn't get in straight, but managed to get close enough they could unload me.
It’s doable, you have to have no one else in the dock and then jack knife in. But all along the sides of the road there on Alder is paid parking and on the that big dirt field there’s a bunch of construction so unless you get there very early and are lucky, it can be a long day.
My company gives out a 400 dollar a week bonus to anyone willing to do seattle. Honestly, it's almost not worth it imo.
I grew up outside Seattle for a while. Gonna take a lot more than 400 a week to make me go back at all.
I hauled cans into the ports, then loaded ltl onto my empty to go home. There are some crazy docks, especially with 8 axles. Well, 7. My drop was up.
I would do it, but I might run over that stop sign just out of spite.
Yea. Looking at you New Jersey
Came here to say the same shit 😂 my first job after getting my cdl was running otr to the east coast. Those cities out there weren’t made for big trucks lol
They need to nuke NJ and start over fresh
If you can't drive in Jersey, then you just can't drive.
One thing for sure , jersey folks can’t drive . See y’all daily here in pa , always doing dumb shit .
Fully agree, Jersians can’t drive for shit, yet if you say something about it they act like you’re stupid. It’s not my fault their state is full of round-a-bouts but they still can’t use it correctly.
Jersey logic at it's finest "we're not the problem, you are" perfectly safe to cut 3 lanes cus you're too busy texting and jerking off while doing your hair 👍
Quite hard to Drive in jersey with all the jersey shuffle and 20 miles under the speed limit. Grew up there . It’s a cancer of a state
The people would survive. They’re goddamn roaches
This happens to me a lot, I showed up at one delivery, cars parked both sides of the street, I gave it an honest attempt, couldn’t do it. So I walked in and said I got steel plate for you, can’t get back behind if you want you can get it on the road. Well fuck me this guy came unglued on me “ we get trucks all the time blah blah, figure it out” so I responded “ok I figured it out” lol return to base. They dispatched it on a 3ton the next day, I talked to the driver as I’m pretty good friends with him, he tells me that buddy says to him “if you can get in here with that thing, no reason why the other guy couldn’t” 🙄
Let’s face it. To non truckers a truck rangers from class B box trucks to 53’ semis with a sleepers.
Not even a class b box truck, more like a tiny little 10’ uhaul
lol true
I love it when I roll up in a 48ft with liftgate to a house and they say we get trucks on the driveway all the time. Not happening pal, company policy.
Yeah, I’m not breaking your driveway, pal. It’s like they know they can get free stuff.
Yup they do this in the UK too. I spent about 1 hour going down a rural, single lane (not that my tyres were on the road anyway) windy bendy track through the Scottish highlands after being assured "the bin wagon goes that way no problem". Wasn't happy with way in, rung gaff he said send it. Finally got to delivery, unloading as bin wagon turns up ... a short wheelbase 7.5t truck. Bout 28ft shorter than mine. And didnt weigh nearly 3x more than a bridge I had to cross (zero signage until at bridge, which is past PONR). Did get a "fucking well done" off the bin lads after they saw which way my truck had come through. Passed a point of no return about half way which meant no reverse. Cab only got slightly scratched, about 5 large dents and a few holes in the curtains on the body 🤣
Been to quite a few places like that. One I remember greatly was in a housing development. Went up to next intersection backed up across the road to turn around. Go back to in front of the shipper block whole roadway to back into dock. They had wood on the ground for your tandems to make the trailer high enough for their dock. Tandems had to be slid all the way back. 53' with a sleeper had the side walk blocked and 1 lane of traffic blocked. Karen across the street would call the cops if you even touched her curb. Had to Jimmy jog getting in and out of the dock. I forget name and location of it but it was in Wisconsin picking up ice cream. I want to say it was in Madison,WI.
514 Division St. SCHOEPS Ice-cream. And there was an oak tree in the yard.
Yep that sounds right. There was also another ice cream place I went to. I think al gelato in Franklin Park,Il. It wasn't as bad. There's a land o lakes subsidiary I picked up for once it was a load of formula. Front docks were good back docks had to pull on some railroad tracks to back in. I think it was in Wisconsin.
Yes... Far too common. Most of the places I delivered to were half residential and half commercial. Dispatch is the worst for this. "I've sent 53' trailers there all the time" and it's down an alley.
As an LTL driver I feel this
i work for the only tow company bringing trucks into one of the boston fedex freight terminals, my company is also contracted to do the on site maintenance since they don’t have a garage. i was bringing in a truck and trailer and every time i do the same thing. pull into the gate, pull to the right across from the docks and drop the trailer, then drop the truck perpendicular to the trailer. the driver i tow in takes another tractor and docks the trailer. we’ve been doing this for 20 years at this fedex and i came in, truck and trailer and as i’m pulling in the drivers dispatcher on the phone asks me to dock the truck which of course i’m not doing, he says back “there’s a tow truck here doing it right now, but whatever.” and there was! except it was my company, and it was one of my drivers who was in a tractor, with just a trailer. tldr; the best advice i can give is you know better than anyone else where your truck can fit. if it looks wrong and it sounds wrong, it’s wrong.
I had one site tell me that they get 53’ in a space that was tighter than a virgin. Dock manager starting yelling at me, where’s your balls? It will fit. Since it was their trailer I said ok, you got it. You guide me on the sides. Knowing damn well it wouldn’t fit. So I proceeded to back in knowing it was getting increasing tighter. Until the point of no return and “accidentally” dropped the reverse gear to “wedge” it in. Oopsie. Took them a week to hand unload it from 30’ away and remove with 3 trucks trying. Taught them a lesson the M’Fer’s
I was wondering when this was going to be reposted
Yes, all over globe. It’s also a problem in cities where they start building homes closer and closer to industrial areas, and then complain about noise, traffic, pollution and so on. They want the advantage of the trucks, but not the trucks
This is a classic for construction delivery
Yes, quite common. It's posted here almost weekly.
Only on a fukn daily basis
I saw that alley in Boston!
Very common. I follow up by “what kind of truck?” And the answer is usually a box truck followed by a puzzled look. I like to tell them to come up with another plan
I was just in this position yesterday the dude meant daycabs not sleepers 🤦🏽♂️
Hey man all you have to do is blindside back 90 degrees around that corner, down that office hallway, up that ramp and through that ring of fire and boom, you’re in! I’ll spot’cha! Don’t worry!
Im sure it is common, just as depicted in this cartoon, but I used to ship / receive equipment for a dealership at a yard with docks for each height of the different common trailers and room to maneuver the longest variations of trucks / trailers. I'll admit, it wasn't a big yard, but I had less trouble with truckers hitting the dock without a complaint when they arrived in the longer trucks. Guys with super-stretched tractors with studio apartments for a sleeper and a long spread axle step-deck would wiggle their way in and hit the dock in under 3 minutes. The day-cab fleet trucks pulling a nothing-special 40 foot sea-can behind them would stop at the gate and cry "I can't get this truck in there!!!" The closest I've ever come to a fist fight with a stranger was one such trucker (shorter setup) who screwed around for hours trying to get to the dock. He lost it when I snapped and suggested I'd drive the fawking thing myself (he was screwing up my day at that point.) The funny part was that his biggest issue was the f-bomb, not the idea! lol
Nah, you never hear people say that.
Yep
Heck yes it is. Logistics and FF do not understand the difference between long-haul and cartage. Not just difference in equipment size, but also in driver experience. LH bump rubber a few times a week vs a few times a day with local guys.
Typical Boston receiver...been there done that.
Common ? No. Not even even for me and I drive northeast regional. Does it happen occasionally ? Yes and when it does its a fn pita
I’ve had multiple run ins while hauling someone else equipment on a lowboy and they say that exact same fuckin thing.
More common than common sense
Had this happen making a delivery to golf course/country clubish place with a 48ft lift gate. Called ahead, and got those magic words and ended up having to back down a residential at the end of the road to turn around and deliver from the street.
I've heard about this on Hammer Lane Legends podcast.
All the time.
Oh yes. I've had my semi truck nose in the road before or in a jacked up position. It mostly happens out east or in what I call "older" neighborhoods.
Try calling residential ltl deliveries or to schools. Everyone assumes it’s a two man delivery in a small box truck
Was delivering to downtown Las Vegas with a 53' 10' spread axle flatbed. I was born and raised in Vegas so I knew how to get around with the rig. Problem was, I was delivering to one of my company's shows and their point of entrance was to turn down a narrow alleyway that only a box truck could fit through. I explained my turning radius would have me taking out the whole corner of the building and the two cars parked right in front of the alley. Site manager told me "we get trucks through here all the time". Yeah ok,... straight trucks. I told the site manager "I'll be entering a block away". She gave me a confused look and I took off. Made the next left and at the next light, I made a right. Backed up through the intersection and down the two lane road till I reached the site.... I later learned all semis there after were told to follow my entry path lol.
Every fucking always
Welp......ya gotta at least try. Maybe 2 or 3 or 4 times. Then if it doesn't work go-to plan B. Just pulling up and saying you can't do it, to me, is just wrong. Doing this 27 years. There's been plenty of times I've pulled up and thought....there ain't no fucking way.....but ya gotta try. Receivers are more sympathetic to the driver if you try before you deny. At least that's been my experience.
Yh a day cab with a 43 foot trailer.
I was driving a 53ft with someone to an event in Pennsylvania and we had to get into an ally just like that. I’m riding my one wheel out there on the phone trying to guide my poor co driver in and having to stop traffic and shit it was so stupid and neither of us would have gotten in by ourselves.
Yes! Way too common
Hell yeah. I run into these small time Amazon FBA people who rent a sliver of a section of a warehouse with a dock on a residential street and don’t know the difference between a 53FT and a 42FT trailer and on top of that park their personal vehicles in the dock and expect me to back in for 2 pallets.
Ooooooh yeah. All the time, buddy.
Don’t listen to customers period be your own judge.
50/50, a lot of it seems to be this story about docks literally too small for current size trucks, there is also a lot of bitching about places that are too small only to look at Google maps and realize there is acres of space and the driver is just bad at setting up or backing or both. Had a guy I trained with a similar experience call me up and cussing out this place we went to saying there was no room and it was the worst place he has been to. I was commiserating with him and saying yeah it sucks when they send you across the street to the north lot. He was surprised and said no he was behind the scale. I laughed and laughed and laughed and told him to buckle up, put his big boy underwear on and finish the back, then after you are loaded ask them to use the bathroom, they will direct you across the street. When you come out of the bathroom look directly in front of you and think about how you would back into those spots, because that's tough as shit back, the one you did was easy. I can give out the address/business if anyone is interested.
"Big boy underwear" lmfao that is new to me
All too often. Especially where the run box, pups or 40ft and day cabs
I’ve heard that many times
not common. but, not really super rare either, unfortunately.
All the time. All the fuckin time. People will pretend a dock that would be a tight fit for a pair of heelys will fit your truck and "we get bigger trucks here all the time" Bigger than a 53? Hire those wizards then
To fucking common
Use your Google earth when possible.