Question:
The other day, I was in West Sacramento, CA at the Fed Ex yard, patiently waiting for the yard jockey to bring me my trailer.
In pulls a Swift cabover and it heads straight for the empty line and promptly hooks up to a trailer. The driver, a female, which incidentally has no bearing on this story, hooks up airlines, electric line and dollies up the landing gear. THEN she walks around the back of the trailer, opens the right hand door and checks to make sure it's empty. Personally, I would have checked that before I went to all the work of hooking everything up. But, I digress.
She now is unable to get the door to latch on top. Try as she may, it just won't go. She got mad and walked to the tractor. I figured she would pull the trailer out to a flatter piece of ground, but nope she didn't.
What she did amazed me. She took some wire, wired the door to the left door and promptly left.
This opens her and her company up for a huge lawsuit if the door swings open on the highway and hits a vehicle or it causes some poor scared 4 wheeler to swerve, causing an accident.
Please don't do something as dumb as this. If your door won't shut, first try using you right hand on the handle to get hooked, while you push up as high as possible with your left hand. This usually works. I know that Swift, Crete and the like use a lot of these plate trailers that flex. If you're not on level ground, the doors will not shut, period. Sometimes just straightening out your tractor will take enough of the flex out to make the door close easily.
BTW, I didn't offer to help, as this woman just had attitude written all over her. I would have been pig if I would have offered my services. She saw me sitting there, she could have come over and asked for my help. Oh well.
Answer:
I use to pull a reefer and did multi stops. Often after loading at one stop I would have a pallet sitting by itself until I was fisnished loading. Sometimes that pallet, usually drivers side, would cause some flex making the doors a pain to shut. Plus the trailer was old and the doors were sloppy. First thing I did was look for more level ground. Some times a screwdriver on the bottom pushing up while latching the door would work. because of the slop in the doors. Wiring the door or otherwise tying it shut isn't an option and very unsafe. Doors are heavy and stopping/starting would put alot of stress on a piece of wire.

Answer:
Have had the same problem with closing doors, an I'm a gurrrrrl (maybe a little past prime ).
AS U SAID!
If its the rh door, get to level ground and try again. If that don't fix, ASK FOR HELP. If that don't work, see if you have a crow bar or long handled tool such as a screw driver (I have a heavy duty one about 18 inches in length), and if locks on doors are configured, may be able to slide it under the bar on the door that is closed and locked (drivers side) and wedge it against the door that is refusing to close, and with your weight behind it, pry the handles towards the closed position until you feel the claw catch the hooks. At that point, use all weight against handle to close door (may have to rock against it to add force, just don't release, when you relax). Watch out for those pinkies though! One tough door, I shut, but it's handles got me back; the finale thrust that close that door caught my little finger behind the handle and smashed my nail.( Fortunately it all opened it up at the base and bled so I never had to drill the nail to release the pressure from the bruise. Lost that nail in about six weeks; new one grew with a scarred ridge accross it until the scar finally grew out. Considered meself lucky I still kept the finger w/o breaking it....and taught me a good lesson -it did -- about door safety)
When its a driverside door that wont close, try closing both doors at the same time with the lip of the right door on the outside and against the left door, and sometimes this is enough to push it, the left door, into place, to secure the left door....
I love this forum, cause we all had to start somewhere, and most stuff that are real problems, you dont get in school or from trainers..... I've been blessed that others with more experience were willing to share with me what they've learned. The other part is having to be able to think through the problems for my self and see if there's a reasonable solution. And always consider the risk, that is, don't monkey around with chance when it comes to safety -yours and others. As for my attitude, I don't imagine I looked particularly over joyed those times I had to raise a loade trailer to get the 5th under it, or the time I had to do half turns with a screw driver cause the landing handle was missing, or the time when the tandem pull bar was bent and wouldn't catch in its saddle to keep the pins pulled. But u do what u have to do and r grateful for the help that comes ur way.Rejoice in the LORD
John Adams, 1799 "the general principles, on which the fathers achieved independence, were the general principals of Christianity."

Answer:
MAGICMAN;
Are you saying the door wouldn't latch at the top?
I've had to pick up preloaded and already sealed trailers in that condition. Notified the shipper before leaving the yard to give them opportunity to replace the seal and correct BOLs, and notified my company of condition, before driving off.....as no telling what kind of weather may have entered and comprised the contents......But even then, the door had an additional mid door lock between the two doors for my padlock, which I placed, and that secured the two doors together, in addition to the claw door latch which was caught on the bottom........And believe me, generally have to stop every 2-3 hrs anyway so never missed that chance to do a walk around to check and eyeball the condition of those holds and hinges!Rejoice in the LORD
John Adams, 1799 "the general principles, on which the fathers achieved independence, were the general principals of Christianity."

Answer:
I HAVE HAD THAT PROBLEM ALOT OF THE YEARS I CARRY A HAMMER AND MOST OF THE TIME IF YOU HIT THE BOTTOM LATCH UPWARD IT WILL LINE UP IN CLOSE. I SAT IN TERMINAL ISLAND CA FOR FIVE HOURS ONE TIME WAITING FOR TRAILER MAINTANCE. WHEN THEY SHOWED UP THAT IS ALL THEY DID, SINCE THEN THATS ALL I USE AND I HAVENT HAD A PROBLEM .

Answer:
Oh come on you havent had a bad day before you should have gone over and been a mentor. Trust me her day would have gone alot better she just didnt know. If i can help anyone I will. I will never forget the time that in salt lake city on xmas eve at there stores u by booze. and my car broke down I hooked the battery cables up hopen somebody would jump me, my frustration I was young. People were so buzy and i didnt think my kids were going to get santa claus. I finally asked. oh my god. if you are a watcher u are amused by people being mad.( Quote) To be a mentor is everything u know you have the knowledge . To laugh at the lack of knowledge is igornet on your part. Truck drivers stick together. Or mabee your freek show. I will help anyone I can.

Answer:
Well this may sound crazy to some. But almost every time I had a door that would not latch because the top cam was too far away from the latch cleat on the top of the trailer to "hook", I would close the door quickly giving it momentum, the doors do flex some, as the momemtum carried the top latch forward I would quickly rotate the bar. For a split second the top is close enough due to flex in the door and if you rotate your latch handle at just the right time you can "catch" it.
I learned how to do this b/c of a door that was bent out at the top a little. You can't put enough pressure up high by pushing (unless you have a ladder) so I just used the doors own weight and momentum to get it close enough. Sometimes, though it does just need level ground.
Answer:
I think most drivers will help another if they can. Some may be lazy, tired or what ever but most will. I've helped a few close doors, slide tandems, back, load and what ever. Then there are those drivers with an attitude. You try to help and you get an imediat "I got it" or some other rude reply. You can tell your going to get it before you ask. When their attitudes are sticking out of their chest I just leave them alone.

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L_______WHAT HE SAIDRejoice in the LORD
John Adams, 1799 "the general principles, on which the fathers achieved independence, were the general principals of Christianity."

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Nope,I used it thousands of times dealing with
"rail" trailers. Very efficient method to use.
Answer:
Stuffs hit the nail on the head with a sledge hammer ! "Pain is weakness leaving the body."
"Nobody ever drowned in their own sweat."
U.S.M.C. '89-'95 0351, '95-'99 6531 (I.Y.A.O.Y.A.S.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/cyanide971/Carlo8919.jpg

Answer:
I use to run multi stop LTL.
Trailers twist.
Just turn the tractor one way or the other or straight, the doors will close. You do not "need" to be on flat land. Just by turning the tractor either way a few feet will give you the results you'll need to be able to untwist the trailer and close the doors.