Trailer Door Closing Problem

That is a big safety issue,I would contract whomever you work for and let them know what is going on before you end up costing them a lot more money from a lawsuit.

 

Did you check your hinges? Sometimes if the top hinge is damaged or loose the door would tilt just enough for you not to be able to close it... I also had a problem with a trailer bar that holds the handle was loose ( you could actually move the handle up and down about an inch or two )

Like the other post says here make sure you tell your company to fix it....

 

at transam sometimes our trailers don't see the terminal for a year at a time
I just have to get forceful with dispatch until they send me to a trailer shop

 

Sometimes with those swinging door trailers you have to be on level ground to get the doors to line up and close properly. That doesn't seem like the issue with yours though. But who knows.

 

Yeah, reefers are a little more stable, but the dry vans can really lean one way or the other depending on the slope of the ground. If hinges don't line up right, you get problems, too. And, if someone really rammed the trailer into a dock, they could have bent the siderails slightly and the door can't latch (tried to help a guy one time with this problem who was picking up an empty at a yard we shared and the door just couldn't close enough to latch, finally realized the dent from the impact forced the door to push out backward, meaning the latch couldn't reach far enough to actually hook, no clue what he did with it).

 

That door has suffered previous damage. Keep on securing it like you are. Write it up on your inspection report and tell your dispatcher. If they have any kind of a maintenance program they'll note on the computer to route it back to the shop for repairs.

As long as you are using a lock and zip ties it's secure for now. Make sure that top latch is catching. Some of them old trailers you have to slam the door shut and time closing the latch just right to get it to go in. There has been a couple over the years that I had to get a forklift to help close it.

 

Actually your refrence to zip ties being secure is inncorrect yeah to us it may be shut and closed but if you get a picky state patrol or weigh station they will put you out of service for it I would get the trailer fixed right bring it to a trailer shop that fixes that brand of trailer I wont comment on what may be wrong because there is several things it could be from previous damage to hinge alligment to yard layout but just let ya know this does fall with in the regulations of unsecured load and you can be fined

 

I haul pallets part-time and needless to say, trailers that are used for this type of operation are "junk". As stated, doors can give you a "fit". Time after time, I had to go find me a forklift and the operator of the forklift to push against the top of the right door. Then I came up with an idea. I got me a long piece of PVC pipe and a metal shelf bracket. I attached the bracket to the piece of pipe. If I have a right door that will not go in far enough at the top to latch, I get my "tool" , place the end of the bracket underneath the rod on the left door and this gives me leverage against the right door and then "bingo", the right door latches. Might not always work, but it has not failed with me.