A trailer that comes off a hitch at 55 mph is the worst day this company will ever have. Everything on this page is written so that never happens.
Tier 2/3 — Procedure + Field Card · Rev 1.0 · Issued July 27, 2026 · Owner: Field Supervisor Supersedes: NU-FLT-300 (NU-OPS-006) Card 5 "Trailers" and the "Pintle hitch connect" rows in the Field Quality list — both retired and replaced by this document. Parent: NU-FLT-300 Equipment & Fleet Program · Safety authority: NU-SAF-100
The Gate
non-negotiable
Hard Gate — Nothing Rolls Without It
A loaded trailer does not leave the yard until one person has done the walk-around in §7 and can point at every item on it. The man who hooks it is the man who owns it — no matter who loaded it.
A trailer that comes off a hitch at 55 mph is the worst day this company will ever have. Everything on this page is written so that never happens.
Record: the 11-point walk-around is on the pre-trip DVIR (§7). All 11, out loud, then you go.
§1 · Who Is Allowed to Tow
Qualification · Licensing · Fitness
WHO IS ALLOWED TO TOW
§1
Requirement
Rule
Qualified
Signed off on the trailer skill in the Training Tracker (NU-PPL-405), by a Crew Lead or Supervisor who watched them do it
Licensed
Valid license for the combination weight. If the truck + loaded trailer is over 26,001 lb combined GVWR and the trailer alone is over 10,000 lb, that is CDL Class A territory.[Adam: confirm the actual GVWR/GCWR numbers on the fleet — see §11.]
Medical
DOT medical card current, if Nova is a motor carrier [see §11]
Sober
Zero tolerance, NU-PPL-403
Nobody tows a loaded trailer solo on their first week. First loaded tow is with a qualified man in the passenger seat.
§2 · Before You Touch Anything — The Weight Math
Once per combination · Written on the Fleet Register
THE WEIGHT MATH
§2
Done once per truck/trailer/machine combination, written on the Fleet Register, and never guessed at again.
Check
Where the number comes from
The rule
Truck GVWR
Driver's door sticker
Truck + everything in it + tongue weight must stay under it
Truck GCWR
Door sticker or owner's manual
Truck + trailer + load, all in, must stay under it
Trailer GVWR
Trailer VIN plate
Trailer + machine + tooling must stay under it
Hitch / pintle rating
Stamped on the hitch and on the pintle hook
Must be above the loaded trailer weight — every component, including the ball, the receiver, and the lunette eye
Tongue weight
Load position
10–15% of loaded trailer weight for a bumper pull or pintle · 15–25% for a gooseneck
Tongue weight is what kills. Too little and the trailer sways until it takes the truck with it. Too much and the front wheels get light and the truck won't steer or stop. Fix sway by moving the load forward, never by driving slower and hoping.
Rule of thumb the crew can use without a scale: the machine sits with its heaviest end just ahead of the trailer axles — roughly 60% of the load weight in front of the axle centerline.
§3 · Hookup — Ball Coupler (Bumper Pull)
in order · every time
Do these in order · Every time · Even on a five-minute yard move
BALL COUPLER HOOKUP
§3
Step
☐
1
Chock the trailer wheels before you do anything else.
☐
2
Back the truck square to the trailer. Spotter or get out and look — as many times as it takes.
☐
3
Check the ball size matches the coupler. The size is stamped on both. A 2" coupler will sit on a 1-7/8" ball and look fine, and it will come off.
☐
4
Ball is tight — wrench it, don't wiggle it. A loose ball nut is a dropped trailer.
☐
5
Lower the coupler fully onto the ball. All the way down — the coupler sits on the ball, not on the ball's neck.
☐
6
Close the latch and insert the pin or lock. A hitch pin. Not a bolt, not a nail, not a screwdriver.
☐
7
Crank the jack up until the truck's rear squats. If the coupler lifts off the ball, it is not seated — start over.
☐
8
Safety chains crossed under the tongue, forming a cradle. Crossed, so if the coupler drops, the chains catch the tongue instead of letting it dig into the pavement. Enough slack to turn sharp; not enough to drag.
☐
9
Breakaway cable to the truck frame or the hitch receiver — NEVER to the safety chains. If it's on the chains and the trailer separates, the chains go with it and the breakaway never pulls. Check the breakaway battery is charged (monthly test per the PM schedule).
☐
10
7-pin plugged in, cord routed with enough slack to turn and not enough to drag.
☐
11
Jack fully retracted and stowed / swung up.
☐
12
Tug test — in low gear, against the chocks, feel it hold.
☐
13
Pull the chocks last.
☐
§4 · Hookup — Pintle Hitch
same sequence, with these differences
Same sequence as §3, with these differences
PINTLE HITCH HOOKUP
§4
Step
☐
1
Ratings check: the hook, the lunette eye, and the truck all rated above the loaded trailer weight.
☐
2
Inspect the lunette eye. A worn eye goes egg-shaped — oval instead of round. An egg-shaped eye is scrap, not a "watch it" item.
☐
3
Set the hitch height so the trailer tows LEVEL — move the channel pin position. A nose-high or nose-down trailer wanders, wears tires, and won't brake straight.
☐
4
The eye seats IN the saddle of the hook, not riding on the lip.
☐
5
Latch closed AND the locking pin inserted. Touch the pin with your hand. Looking at it is not the same as touching it. Pintle latches walk open on washboard.
☐
6
Chains crossed, breakaway to the frame, lights, tug test, chocks — same as §3.
☐
§5 · Hookup — Gooseneck
Bed-mounted ball
GOOSENECK HOOKUP
§5
Step
☐
1
Chock, back square, spotter.
☐
2
Coupler fully over the ball, latch closed, safety pin in.
☐
3
Look at the bed. A gooseneck ball that is pulling up on the bed sheet metal instead of the frame is a failure waiting to happen.
☐
4
Jack up until the truck squats; confirm the coupler doesn't lift.
☐
5
Safety chains through the bed anchors, not around the ball.
☐
6
Breakaway to the frame. Lights. Tug test. Chocks last.
☐
§6 · Loading & Securement — The Machine
§6.1 Loading
LOADING
§6.1
Step
☐
1
Trailer hooked and chocked before anything drives onto it. Never load an unhooked trailer — the tongue lifts.
☐
2
Ramps down and pinned. Ground under the ramps is solid — not soft shoulder, not mud.
☐
3
Nobody stands beside or behind the ramps while a machine is climbing. Spotter in front of the operator's line of sight, always visible, always outside the crush path.
☐
4
Machine centered side to side, positioned so about 60% of its weight sits ahead of the trailer axles.
☐
5
Attachments fully lowered to the deck — bucket down, blade down, boom down and resting. Then the machine is shut off and the parking brake / travel lock set, and the key comes out.
☐
6
Articulated machines get restrained against articulation — locked or strapped so they can't fold in transit.
☐
§6.2 Securement — the Nova four-point standard
SECUREMENT — FOUR-POINT STANDARD
§6.2
Nova standard: every machine gets four tiedowns, every time, regardless of weight. Federal rules require four on machines 10,000 lb and up and allow fewer on lighter ones — Nova does four on everything, because a rule with an exception in it is a rule that gets skipped on the machine that happens to be lighter.
Rule
The number
Tiedowns per machine
4 minimum — one as close as practicable to each corner, restraining forward, rearward, and sideways
Aggregate strength
The WLL of all tiedowns added together must be at least 50% of the load's weight
Attachments
Bucket, blade, boom, thumb: lowered and secured separately — they are not covered by the four
Edge protection
Anywhere a strap or chain crosses a sharp edge. A strap cut halfway through holds like a strap cut all the way through
Loose gear
Rod boxes, reels, tooling, fuel cans, mats — every one gets its own tiedown. Loose gear in a panic stop goes through the back of the cab
How to read a Working Load Limit (WLL)
It is stamped on the tag or the link. No tag, no marking, no WLL — the strap or chain is out of service. Not "probably fine." Out of service.
The WLL of a chain assembly is the lowest-rated part, and that is usually the binder or the hook, not the chain.
Typical: 2" web strap ≈ 3,333 lb · 4" web strap ≈ 5,400 lb · 5/16" G70 chain ≈ 4,700 lb · 3/8" G70 chain ≈ 6,600 lb. Verify against the actual tags on Nova's gear — don't use this table as the answer.Verification against Nova's actual tags is an open item — §12 #5.
Rope, bungees, and ratchet straps off a hardware-store shelf do not count and are not allowed on machines.
§6.3 Out-of-service criteria
PULL IT AND CUT IT
§6.3
Anything on this list gets destroyed, not put back in the box. A bad strap that goes back in the box gets used by the next guy.
Straps
Chains & binders
Any cut, hole, or burn on the edge
Cracks, gouges, nicks
Knots — a knot is an instant 50%+ strength loss
Stretched or elongated links
Broken or pulled stitching
Bent or twisted links
Worn, fuzzed, or sun-rotted webbing
Hook throat opened up, or hook twisted
Missing or unreadable WLL tag
Missing or unreadable grade marking
Damaged ratchet or slipping cam
Bent handle, worn binder pawl
Never put a cheater bar on a lever binder. Ratchet binders are the standard.
§7 · The Walk-Around (Before the Wheels Turn)
one person · out loud · every time
This Is the Moment the Whole Document Either Works or Doesn't
Four straps or chains on the machine — shake every one. If it moves, re-crank it
☐
5
Attachments down and secured separately
☐
6
Loose gear tied · nothing on the deck that can walk
☐
7
Tires — both sides, all axles: pressure looks right, no bulges, no cords showing, lug nuts all present
☐
8
Lights — somebody works the brakes and blinkers while you walk it: running, brake, left, right, markers
☐
9
Brake controller connected, gain set
☐
10
Chocks pulled and back on the truck
☐
11
Nothing and nobody behind you
☐
All 11, out loud, then you go. It takes 90 seconds. It's on the pre-trip DVIR.
§8 · On the Road
Driving the combination
ON THE ROAD
§8
The first-miles stop is mandatory. 10–15 minutes out, pull over safely and re-check: every strap and chain (they settle and go slack), the pin, the chains, and put a hand near each hub and tire. A hot hub is a bearing about to fail. Nobody skips this because they're running late.
Re-torque the lug nuts at 10, 25, and 50 miles after any wheel has been off or serviced.
Following distance doubles. A loaded combination doesn't stop like a truck.
Turn wide, look further ahead, and use the mirrors more than the mirrors feel necessary.
Sway = slow down smoothly and let it settle. Never jerk the wheel and never stab the brakes. If it sways again, stop and move the load forward — the tongue weight is wrong.
NEVER tow two trailers at once.
Backing: get out and look, or use a spotter. No spotter and no clear view means you don't back — you pull forward and set up again.
Machine keys are not left in a machine on a trailer.
§9 · Unhooking & Arriving on Site
Arrival sequence
UNHOOKING & ARRIVING ON SITE
§9
Step
☐
1
Set the work zone first. Cones and signs go up before anything comes off the truck (NU-SAF-105).
☐
2
Park on solid, level ground. Truck in park, parking brake set.
☐
3
Chock the trailer wheels BEFORE unhooking anything.
☐
4
Jack down onto a solid pad — a jack foot sinks in wet ground and drops the trailer.
☐
5
Disconnect in reverse: 7-pin, breakaway, chains, then the latch pin and the coupler.
☐
6
Ramps down on solid ground, spotter out of the crush path, machine off in low idle.
☐
7
Post-trip DVIR on the truck AND the trailer at end of day. Every defect written up the same day — reported tonight it's fixed by morning; reported tomorrow it shuts a crew down.
☐
§10 · The Never List
non-negotiable
1. Never tow with an unpinned latch.
2. Never clip the breakaway cable to the safety chains.
3. Never move a trailer with a machine on it that is not strapped — not even across the yard.
4. Never use rope, bungees, or untagged straps on a machine.
5. Never stand behind or beside a machine on a ramp.
6. Never tow with a bad light, a bad brake, or a bad tire — "it's only 10 miles" is how it happens.
7. Never tow two trailers.
8. Never load an unhooked trailer.
9. Never put a cheater bar on a lever binder.
10. Never let anybody who isn't signed off tow a loaded trailer alone.
§11 · Defects That Stop the Truck
do not roll — call the Supervisor
Do not roll — call the Supervisor
DEFECTS THAT STOP THE TRUCK
§11
Defect
Why it's a stop
Trailer lights dead after 15 min of troubleshooting (per NU-FLD-200 Driver ch.)
No brake or turn lights = the rig does not move. Period.
Egg-shaped lunette eye, cracked hitch, loose ball
The connection is the whole thing
Missing breakaway cable or dead breakaway battery
The trailer has no brakes if it separates
Fewer than 4 rated tiedowns available for a machine
Not a "make it work" situation
Cords showing, bulge, or missing lug nuts on any wheel
Blowout on a loaded trailer takes the whole combination
Trailer brakes not engaging on the controller test
Stopping distance goes up by half
§12 · What This Document Needs From Adam
open items — unresolved
Open items — this document is not fully live until these close
#1
The DOT question, and it's the big one. Does Nova have a USDOT number, and what are the actual GVWR / GCWR numbers on the truck-and-trailer combinations? With 7 trucks pulling equipment trailers, Nova is very likely a motor carrier — which pulls in driver qualification files, DVIR retention, hours-of-service records, and DOT drug testing (NU-FLT-313/314, NU-SAF-120). One phone call answers it and it changes what's urgent on the whole fleet list.
#2
CDL check: confirm whether any loaded combination crosses 26,001 lb combined with a trailer over 10,000 lb. If it does, §1 is a live compliance issue with the current crew, not a future one.
#3
Fill the Fleet Register. GVWRs, VINs, hitch ratings, and trailer types are still [fill] — §2 cannot be done without them, so today every driver is estimating.
#4
Confirm Georgia-specific requirements — trailer brake threshold, safety chain rules, and maximum dimensions for moving rigs on GA roads (feeds NU-FLT-316 permits).
#5
Verify the WLL numbers in §6.2 against the actual tags on Nova's straps and chains, and set the standard load-out per truck.