Simple question from a new driver - 5th wheel grease and winter

Mix in a capful of engine oil with the grease when it is cold

 

Learn something new everyday. I previously wouldn't have thought that petroleum grease was capable of freezing.

 

When you hook up to a trailer, try dumping the air suspension, back under the trailer until trailer is over the fifthwheel, then raise the suspension, then back up to pin until it hooks, this keeps you from scraping the grease off the fifthwheel when you back under the trailer. When doing this you must be very careful that you don't back up to far and overshoot the pin, get out and look. Also do the reverse when dropping the trailer so that it won't wipe the grease off when you pull out as well.

 

yep, what taildragon said.

too many drivers just scrape the trailer, they don't care.

as for being overfilled. that's how they do it. and is normal.

 

I'm posting this here in a slight haze since I woke up 5 minutes ago... So if what I say is wrong, or would do harm, correct me asap.

When in training, one of the people giving our "final" at SNI gave me a pretty good tip, he carried a spray bottle with him that contained the diesel fuel/water mix from the separator when you drain it. It's sticking in my mind that he used it on cold cold days to temporarily lube the 5th wheel.

Im going to go back to my haze now and catch more sleep... And OP, good luck and don't tell any shippers you're new. They "like" to chew on the newbies. Until someone else confirms/disproves what I said, you might not want to use it...zzzzzzzzzzz

 

Oh, and I know you can't dump your airbags, but you know it's still possible to raise the trailer up over the 5th wheel and then drop it down on top.

And I don't think it actually freezes, but it does get really hard and stiff. Closer to molasses than an ice cube.

 

I used to put some grease on a small piece of cardboard (or wide putty knife) and schmear it on the plate of the trailer, around the pin. I always thought that was dumb to put it on the 5th wheel and have it scrapped off when backing under the trailer, and have a big glob of grease on the deck plate.