Dictionary - Part Deux

As promised - more trucker dictionary terms.

DROP DECK
A trailer similar to a flat bed, but much lower to the ground. Used primarily to transport heavy equipment, its deck is actually lower than its attachment to the tractor.

DROP YARD
A large, fenced area – normally with security – where trailers are stored. They act as transfer stations where empty trailers are dropped and loaded ones picked up. Most large companies have them scattered around the country.

DRY VAN
The trailers probably pulled by 75% of the nation’s trucks. These are the plain, ol’ box trailers that you see everywhere on the highways. They vary in length, but most are now 53’ long.

EARS
A term used to ask if your CB is turned on. As in, “Hey, driver - got your ears on?”

EVEL KNEIVEL
Motorcycle cop.

FIFTH WHEEL
The part of the tractor that the trailer hooks into. It’s shaped like a fat horseshoe with the opening facing to the rear of the tractor. The trailer’s kingpin slides into that opening and locks in place.

FOG LINE
The white line painted on the right shoulder of a highway. (I’d bet a whole lot of money that you didn’t know that one.)

FULL GROWN
A “bear” is full grown if he’s a state trooper and in a completely marked vehicle.

GLAD HANDS
Attachments at the ends of the air lines which run from a tractor to a trailer. They connect the lines controlling a trailer’s brakes. Without them, no air can be fed to the trailer’s brake system and the brakes cannot be released.

GRANNY LANE
Slow, or right-hand, lane of traffic.

HAMMER LANE
Passing lane. “You got a bear comin’ up fast in the hammer lane.”

HAMMER DOWN
Accelerator all the way to the floor and traveling at very high speed. Formerly called “pedal to the metal.”

HAZMAT Abbreviation for HAZardous MATerials. There are many classifications of Hazmat loads. Some items, such as cosmetics, would not considered dangerous by the average person. In large quantities, however, they do pose a health risk in the event of an accident.

HONEY BEAR
Female police or DOT officer.

JAKE BRAKE
This one goes by a number of different names, with Jake brake being the most common. It can also be called an engine retarder, an engine brake or an exhaust brake. This device forces exhaust gasses back through the engine to slow it down. It also makes the truck sound very loud and cool.

JERSEY WALL
Concrete barriers that highway crews use to separate lanes when they’re working on an Interstate. I can’t imagine why they’re named after the loveliest state in the Union.

KING PIN
A steel pin, about as round as a tin can, that sticks down from the bottom of a trailer. It slips into the fifth wheel on a tractor, and the two lock together. Because it’s round, it lets the trailer pivot so that it can turn.

LANDING GEAR
The legs that support a trailer when it’s not attached to a tractor.

LOAD LOCKS
Metal poles that expand to the inside width of a trailer. They are placed against the freight, then expanded to wedge them against the trailer walls and “lock” your load in place.

LOT LIZARD
An affectionate nick-name for a prostitute who normally works truck stops. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and usually hawk their wares over CB radios.

OTR
Abbreviation for over-the-road trucker. Also called a long-haul driver. They are normally dispatched to anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. Other classifications include “regional” where a driver runs only in one area of the country (say, the southeast) or “day” drivers who are only out one day at a time, usually making all their drops in one city. There are also “dedicated” drivers who always run the same route.

OUT OF SERVICE
What the DMV will do to a truck if it’s found to be unsafe. The truck does not move until the violations are corrected. A driver can also be placed out of service for logbook violations.

PARKING LOT
Automobile hauler.

More soon.

Later,

obi