As a new trucker, there are plenty of opportunities to learn as you go. Not all of these opportunities are things you actually want to encounter, nonetheless you have a chance to learn from it.
Check your trailer's landing gear before disconnecting. As B witnessed yesterday morning (not his own truck fortunately!), there is no guarantee that both supports will engage properly. So when this happens and you unknowingly try to pull forward? Your trailer threatens to tip over. When you're doing a swap and that load is on a tight deadline, a tipped trailer is not something you want to be calling RoadAssist about first thing in the morning.
Fortunately, disaster was avoided and the trailer didn't actually tip, but it was an unexpected delay. The culprit behind it all? A single 3/8" bolt that held a connecting rod that allowed the landing gear to deploy simultaneously decided to go AWOL. That one little bolt could have left an inattentive or hurried driver with a trailer on its side and you know that wouldn't go over very well with the higher-ups.
We can joke about it now since it ended up being nothing more than a hiccup in getting on the road for the day, but B will be checking that on his pre- and post-trips from now on!
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