Ask a Feeder Driver, Feeder Driver FAQ

[Jones]

When going to hubs my center wanted me to bring back an empty but the hub I was at demanded I bring back a load to that hub (at end of the day) instead of the empty. make up your mind people. I hate being the middle man.

It's just another trailer, don't worry about it. Always better to take a load than an empty.

 

[Ya Dad]

Sometimes you dont have a choice.

Under what scenario would you HAVE to cowboy a hook over spotting a dolly?

 

[trickpony1]

Under what scenario would you HAVE to cowboy a hook over spotting a dolly?

When it's raining like hell;
when it's cold;
when the yard of the extended center you're hooking in looks like a pig sty;
when the yard of the extended center you're hooking in is icy and treacherous.

Should I continue?

 

[Dracula]

What he said ^.

 

[Jones]

When it's raining like hell;
when it's cold;
when the yard of the extended center you're hooking in looks like a pig sty;
when the yard of the extended center you're hooking in is icy and treacherous.

Should I continue?

Eh, those are times when it's convenient to hero hook vs spotting, it's not required. If you screw up and spear a trailer because you didn't get out and check the height no one is going to ask you if it was raining that day.

 

[Dracula]

My concern is moving the dolly, by hand, as little as possible.

I see younger drivers getting their front box with a dolly attached positioned in front of their back box, then disconnect the dolly and struggling with it, trying to drag or push it in front of the back box. I'm talking 20 or 30 feet.

I won't do that. It's too easy to get injured that way. Plus, it just makes the job harder.

Learning how to do a hero hook is a handy skill to have. When you're trying to learn it, it's frustrating, and seems impossible. But like anything else, once you do it a few times, it becomes easier.

It’s easier to learn in a spotter, but it’s all about getting a feel for how that dolly is going to move and how to correct it before it does.

 

[mxblue]

Just to add something that may or may not be completely obvious;

If for whatever reason when you're outside the tractor, hooking your lines or pretripping a set, and it slowly (hopefully) starts rolling away, yank the emergency (red line) from either the tractor to front box/front box to gear/gear to rear box. It'll stop.

I had a brain fart and supplied air to the trailers after hooking, but prior to hooking air to the gear/rear box. As soon as I turned on the air for the gear/rear box, the whole set started to slowly roll.

It's extremely ominous, but can be resolved safely with quick thinking.

 

[trickpony1]

Did your heart go "pitter patter"?

 

[Ya Dad]

When it's raining like hell;
when it's cold;
when the yard of the extended center you're hooking in looks like a pig sty;
when the yard of the extended center you're hooking in is icy and treacherous.

Should I continue?

Yeah. Out of all of those, your only halfway decent point was the last one.

 

[over9five]

I got no problem with hero hookers who know what they're doing. But 99.5% of them do not.
If you're all alone in a yard somewhere, have a ball. But if you're in a busy hub like mine, do us all a favor and do it the right way. No need to tie up the yard while you do 25 backs trying to couple. See it every night...

 

[Indecisi0n]

I got no problem with hero hookers who know what they're doing. But 99.5% of them do not.
If you're all alone in a yard somewhere, have a ball. But if you're in a busy hub like mine, do us all a favor and do it the right way. No need to tie up the yard while you do 25 backs trying to couple. See it every night...

That's probably me.

 

[Indecisi0n]

I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go
There's no stopping me

 

[pickup]

I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go
There's no stopping me

You contain multitudes.

 

[trickpony1]

Yeah. Out of all of those, your only halfway decent point was the last one.

How many years you got in feeders?

 

[Ya Dad]

How many years you got in feeders?

Not enough to whine about being outside in the rain 2 minutes longer.

 

[104Feeder]

Any time I've ever watched a guy cowboy a dolly it's taken at least 7-8 pull ups to do it. It's fun to watch but unless you can do it faster than that it doesn't seem very practical.

When you have no options and are building in a rutted dirt lot and the dolly knocks you on your you will understand. Sometimes the go together in 1-2 movements, sometimes it's 10. The more you practice the more likely it's 1-2.

 

[trickpony1]

When you have no options and are building in a rutted dirt lot and the dolly knocks you on your you will understand.

I agree.
I suspect those who question "hero hooking" are young, relatively new, bulletproof and want to impress everyone with how macho they are.

"Ya dad" mentioned being in the rain two minutes longer. He seems to be a newer driver, possibly just out of pkg cars that still has the pkg car mindset of "gotta do everything really fast".

When, not if, he hurts his back:
-it could be career ending and;
-the company is not gonna be there for him.

The cemetery is full of hero's.

 

[Indecisi0n]

When you have no options and are building in a rutted dirt lot and the dolly knocks you on your you will understand. Sometimes the go together in 1-2 movements, sometimes it's 10. The more you practice the more likely it's 1-2.

I was in the yard yesterday playing around with a pup and dolly while reversing and it's weird. I couldn't imagine being able to back that under a trailer anytime soon.

 

[Ya Dad]

When you have no options and are building in a rutted dirt lot and the dolly knocks you on your you will understand. Sometimes the go together in 1-2 movements, sometimes it's 10. The more you practice the more likely it's 1-2.

Fair enough. I can respect that.

 

[Indecisi0n]

I want to break free
I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
You're so self satisfied I don't need you
I've got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free

Ever since I joined the team I can't stop singing.