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Johnny Jaws Operation Tutorial
Step-by-step operator training on Johnny Jaws, including the lock mechanism, maintenance routine, and driver safety benefits.
How to Operate Johnny Jaws on a Front-Load Truck
Joe Ruby with Johnny Jaws trains a new driver, Caesar, on every step of operating the attachment from the cab of a front-load truck. Johnny Jaws is a patented aftermarket pair of jaws that bolts onto a front-load truck's existing front-fork assembly in place of the bumper pads, letting that same truck service any metal rear-load dumpster up to 4 yards in capacity. No modifying the cans, no second truck for rear-load routes. One truck. One driver. Both routes.
It's the same routine as any front-load pickup, just with two extra switches.
The full sequence:
Line up to the metal rear-load dumpster
Catch the trunnion bars in the pocket
Throw the cylinder lock
Engage the airbags
Dump the container like any normal front-load
Set the back wheels down before unlocking
That's all of it. Two toggle switches in the cab handle the lock and the airbags, and an experienced front-load driver is running Johnny Jaws on their own by the end of a single training day. Caesar is comfortable on his first hands-on attempt.
The lock itself is machined with a half-moon design that grips the trunnion bar cleanly, even when the container is taken past vertical to fully empty stubborn refuse. Once the cylinders are engaged, the container cannot release until the operator unlocks from inside the cab, even if the truck's hydraulic or pneumatic systems fail.
Maintenance is light. Over time the lock can mushroom from repeated use, but a file kept in the truck handles it in a couple minutes. Joe's brother does it about once a year. Cold weather doesn't seize it up, and it doesn't need lube. The weekly routine is hit all three grease points, check that the bolts are tight, look for any cracking on the Johnny Jaws itself, and inspect the airbag. If the latch indicator ever stops popping up, the adjustment bolt brings it back.
The biggest day-to-day difference is safety. No climbing on the back of a rear-load to throw levers while traffic flies past, and the cab cameras handle visibility on every pickup.
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Video Transcript:
0:07 I'm Joe with Johnny Jaws. This is Caesar. We're gonna train him to do the operation of the Johnny Jaws
0:14 today. Okay, are you ready? Yes sir. So how we do it is, we come in with our forks down a
0:20 little bit and you're gonna drive in and try to catch the trunnion bar in that pocket.
0:34 Just a little bit.
0:38 Once you have the trunnion bar in the Johnny Jaws, the first switch you will throw is the cylinder.
0:46 So throw that. And then your next one is to throw your airbags.
0:54 And now just dump it, just like you would with a normal front-load container.
1:16 Set your back wheels on the ground first. Right there. Go ahead and unlock it.
1:24 And you can either throw the airbag switch to push the container out, or you can back right away from it.
1:36 Take both of them. There you go. So we've completed the training now.
1:42 Are you ready to go? Sure. Try it out on the route? Yes. Will it take a little bit of time to get
1:48 used to it? Just like everything else, but yeah, I think we're good. Okay. Yeah. Well, let's go
1:52 ahead and try it then. Alrighty.
2:03 It's hitting that gusset. He was wondering about that. Yep, go ahead and rotate up. So when you're
2:11 pulling into it, if you just run this, even with the edge of your fork,
2:17 it'll align perfectly in for you. There you go.
3:02 Tilt your forks down a little bit and you're going to drive in and try to catch the trunnion
3:06 bar in that pocket. Yep,
3:14 and lock. Throw the cylinder lock and then run the airbag.
3:21 Now just dump it, just like you would with a normal front-load container.
3:46 For the most part, it'll just take a little bit of practice. But I think the best practice coming
3:51 into your containers is to be tilted just a little bit. Once you've got your height for the opening,
3:57 it's more of just a rotation of your fork. Yeah, because you got this gap here, so that's why you
4:02 bring it. Yep. Yeah, I noticed that. So yep, just takes a little while. It's pretty cool how it locks it in.
4:08 Yeah, I thought it would rotate while it was in there, like move a little bit, but it doesn't move at
4:12 all. And then even when you tip it upside down. I'm going to lock it. So
4:24 this lock, a lot of people, we've had them go, "Our lock is wore out." It's machined with a half moon in
4:31 it. Okay, yeah, you see that now? Yep. So it will, I mean, it will go a little bit. And I was telling
4:38 Joe and Cody and Ryan yesterday that we've had them where this lock will lock, but then you go to
4:47 unlock it and it won't. Well, this has started to mushroom. So we keep a file in our truck, and you
4:55 just gotta hit it a couple times, file it down. My brother's doing it about once a year, that's what he's
5:01 seen. But they've also done an update on the material that they're using on this lock.
5:08 So have you guys ever replaced these yet? Nothing? Nope.
5:14 And then you guys deal with the same weather we got. So in the winter, does it ever seize up? We've
5:19 never had it. Never. Nope. You don't lube it up or nothing? Nope. Now maintenance on it.
5:25 When you're doing maintenance on it, because we do our weekly maintenance on the truck.
5:31 Is there any maintenance to keep it? So the weekly maintenance will be to grease it,
5:38 hit all three points of the greaser, and then tighten the bolts, or make sure the bolts are tight,
5:45 and then make sure there's no cracking going on on the Johnny Jaws, and check the airbag for any
5:50 cracks to make sure that's not going to blow out. And then you will see,
5:56 so right here is an adjustment bolt, so if he's throwing his latch,
6:03 and this indicator is not popping up, it could be just out of adjustment here.
6:09 Okay. Or if it is in adjustment and that's not going,
6:15 this may have broke. I know they've talked, there's some guys that they did have the top of it
6:20 break off, and they've just put weld back on it. Just filled it right back in.
6:28 Nice and easy and quick. Maybe we knocked out maybe 20 minutes.
6:35 One side, it'll take half hour. We did it in 15. You did it by yourself, basically.
6:40 It's good. It's good. I like it. Does it feel better being, like, you have cameras in your
6:45 truck that you're using the Johnny Jaws? You don't have to be on the back of the truck. Well, I
6:49 feel better in safety.
6:52 Safety is the main issue. So, yeah, it's good. How do you feel about seeing it in action?
6:57 Seeing it in action is pretty cool. I like the time that it takes that it'll take off, from going
7:03 to the rear and messing with the handles. Safety-wise, I don't have to worry about a driver
7:06 getting out, standing on the back, moving levers while cars are flying past them. So safety-wise,
7:12 this is an excellent pick.