How easy is it to damage those little rubber dock bumper things on the end of a truck?

It usually depends on how straight you hit it. There I a dock I go to with my box truck that if I don't dump the rear bags it hits high and screws them up because they hit right on the top edge of the dock plate.

 

Whenever I have ones like that I try to back up until it just barely touched and then move up an inch before running a forklift in it so the up and down motion of the truck doesn't rip them off.

 

the rubbing up and down ,( suspension give), while loading will knock them off.

 

They are a consumable product. 2 bolts and 30 bucks to replace. City trucks take a beating.

 

very common. back up, lightly tap the dock, pull forward about an inch. now you "prevent" those bumpers from rubbing on the dock breaking them off.

 

How common? Frequently, tho a good driver will lessen the damage as buddy has said above

 

Does not matter he size of your truck or trailer, you should be 1 to 2 inches from the dock, that way as a forklift drives n and out nothing is scraping.

 

It also pays to glance at the dock bumpers to make sure one is even there. The very first load I hauled in my new reefer, I backed into an enclosed dock with poor light. Bumped the dock and didn't think much of it until I arrived at the receiver and noticed this when I was opening the doors to unload. Turns out the bumper was missing entirely at the shipper and I bumped a sideways 1/2 inch steel bracket where their dock bumper use to be.