That reminds me...Last time I ran a Swift trailer and had a live unload, I'd been running WalMart trailers with rollup doors for so long I backed in and forgot to open the doors.
Durp!
Roll Up Doors Vs. Swing Doors
- Thread starter Injun
- Start date
Durp!
Rigjockey
In Gord we trust!
Yeah, I done that a few times. Buddy is like I cant unload it with the doors closed. Not sure why barn doors became so popular. Roll up doors seem better.That reminds me...Last time I ran a Swift trailer and had a live unload, I'd been running WalMart trailers with rollup doors for so long I backed in and forgot to open the doors.
Durp!
Kiwi303
Not a fruit
You can probably blame a desk jockey for that. They probably looked and thought to themselves "Hmm... if we eliminate the tracks and space for the door above the load area we can squeeze another 3" of product in." without considering mass, or that trailers rarely get filled that high due to weight limits.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Our van trailers are 13' 6" tall. (4.118 meters)
There's no f***ing reason for them to be that tall. Probably 0.1% of the loads I've hauled in ten years were stacked that high.
Plenty of room for roll-up doors.
I have no idea why swing doors are the standard.
It's because rollup doors narrow the opening by about four inches on each side and reduce top clearance by about six. Forklift drivers were having a hard time not running into them and trailer owners got tired of repairing them all the time. That's what happens when you put people on docks who haven't been told you're supposed to wear the aftershave, not drink it.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Simplicity of design is the only reason I can think of.swing doors were the norm since the beginning.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Narrower opening or shorter clearance doesn't seem to be a problem at 99% of the time. I've never seen a forklift with its vertical lift rail things tall enough to hit something, being used to load trailers inside a warehouse. If dumb operators hit them, it's because they don't know what they're doing & they should be fired.
I see 12'6" trailers with roll up doors all over the place in urban areas.
We do run some freight that is stacked very tall in the trailer, not sure if the roll up doors would become an issue or not, but it would be close. However, only takes once to show up with a trailer that you can haul a load with to cause you to lose an account.
Also got loads that cannot get wet. Roll up door will carry water into the freight area and it can pose a problem with some loads. Again, rare situation, but you have to have all of your trailers capable of carrying all loads in order to run the company efficiently.
Having to deadhead someone 500 miles out of an area because their trailer can't pick up a load in the area, then deadhead someone 500 miles into an area because you need that load picked up by their trailer becomes wasteful in terms of expense.
And finally, rollup doors have more issues, which is only going to be increased when they are being dropped all over the United States and go for long periods of time away from a terminal of any sort. With a company like Walmart, the trailers see the DC and can be regularly repaired with they have a track issue or something.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Think about it more as if rollup doors were standard.
The few loads requiring that extra clearance in the rear would have to go on a swing door trailer.
With most trailers having rollups, a swing door trailer would be hard to find & therefore it would have a higher rate. Like how stepdeck loads pay better than regular flatbed.
Oh well.
The industry just wasn't smart enough to figure that out.
BTW, the only loads I've ever hauled that used the full height of the trailer interior were not loads of tall single objects. It was lightweight stuff stacked high. The only purpose for the extra height was to allow the shipper to cram more cheap plastic junk in a cheap brokered load.
I prefer swing doors. Easy open, easy close. Worst problem I ever deal with is a latch or chain that keeps them pinned open being broken or missing, but that is extremely rare and easy to work around if the problem arises
I had countless battles with rollup doors at US Foodservice, having to sometimes literally hang from the strap to get the doors to close, and fight like crazy to get some of the doors to open. Been soaked by water standing on an opened door when I pull it closed, and ragged old doors having roller issues and having no choice but to work on it and fix it in order to get the job done.
I had countless battles with rollup doors at US Foodservice, having to sometimes literally hang from the strap to get the doors to close, and fight like crazy to get some of the doors to open. Been soaked by water standing on an opened door when I pull it closed, and ragged old doors having roller issues and having no choice but to work on it and fix it in order to get the job done.
mndriver
curmudgeon extraordinare
Loaded fluff for jewelry boxed. That white stiff inside the box your cheap bracelets come in. Pillow stuffing really.
They vacuumed the bags down and packed the truck. If it weighed 7000#, I was surpried.... It was fun messing with drivers going up hills across PA with it.
" hey you loaded....?"
"Yop, 80,000. See the seal on the door....may want to get your truck looked at. You don't seem to be pulling this hill too good."
They vacuumed the bags down and packed the truck. If it weighed 7000#, I was surpried.... It was fun messing with drivers going up hills across PA with it.
" hey you loaded....?"
"Yop, 80,000. See the seal on the door....may want to get your truck looked at. You don't seem to be pulling this hill too good."
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Paper rolls would be a "specialty" load & pay better if most trailers had rollups.
The pillows would just have to be shipped sixteen pounds lighter, lol.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Bluto
Member
A chicken company I worked for several years ago had some trailers with roll up doors.
I hated them.
In the winter, the chicken juice would freeze the door to the floor of the trailer.
That was bad enough, but if you had a broken cable AND a frozen door...
If a cable broke while you were closing the door, it became a spring loaded dull guillotine death and dismemberment weapon.
But the best part was when the drains would stop up with a wet load on. You throw that door up not suspecting a damn thing, and you get hit in the face with 50 gallons of an ice cold bloody juice cocktail.
I still curse fluently when I think about those nights/days.
I hated them.
In the winter, the chicken juice would freeze the door to the floor of the trailer.
That was bad enough, but if you had a broken cable AND a frozen door...
If a cable broke while you were closing the door, it became a spring loaded dull guillotine death and dismemberment weapon.
But the best part was when the drains would stop up with a wet load on. You throw that door up not suspecting a damn thing, and you get hit in the face with 50 gallons of an ice cold bloody juice cocktail.
I still curse fluently when I think about those nights/days.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Solution for the cable whips,.. Don't hire sissies who need springs to lift the door.
Solution for the bloodbath,.. Tell ANY OTHER MAN you're not strong enough to open the door. Even if he's a little 110 lb mosquito with bony little toothpick arms, he'll still give it a try.
Geez, do I gotta explain everything to you people?
Similar threads
