Air ride height/5th wheel height?

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by sgreer78, Nov 25, 2008.

  1. bangngears

    bangngears Medium Load Member

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    Oct 30, 2008
    metamora, Ohio
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    you have to spec a truck properly. It sucks that they make different heights but thats the way it is. I hope you get it worked out otherwise just crank down every trailer 5 or so cranks and hook it up. The exercise is good for you LOL
     
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  3. sgreer78

    sgreer78 Light Load Member

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    Jul 26, 2008
    St Louis, MO
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    I know sometimes no matter what truck you drive you're gonna encounter an dropped trailer so long it just hits the tires and you gotta crank, and sometimes they're so high you could put the front of the trailer through the back of the sleeper and never even come close to the 5th wheels at all.

    I'll get it straightened out. I think it's a few things: My truck has low profile 5th wheel, and the air ride height may be a tad off. We'll see. I'll measure this weekend if it's not too cold out.
     
  4. chompi

    chompi Road Train Member

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    Jun 21, 2008
    Deland, FL
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    You can adjust your leveling rod. It's pretty simple. It will raise or lower your fifth wheel probably about 4 inches. Just make sure you don't lower it to much because it can bind up the drive shaft. Otherwise it's a pretty simple procedure. Should take you a few seconds.
     
  5. Hibred

    Hibred Light Load Member

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    Jan 10, 2008
    Canada
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    I noticed the very same thing on our Kenworth T600 and the biggest factor being the low profile 5th wheel, we ended up buying a higher profile frame for the 5th wheel and now we are up another few inches and no more problems,ours was so low i had to use a rod just to pull the 5th wheel handle to unhook, now i can reach in without getting my sleeves dirty, should work for you too.
     
  6. sgreer78

    sgreer78 Light Load Member

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    Jul 26, 2008
    St Louis, MO
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    Yeah, but how much did you have to pay for a new frame for the 5th wheel?
     
  7. Hibred

    Hibred Light Load Member

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    Jan 10, 2008
    Canada
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    Actually the price on the new high rise wasn't that bad, jkust under $800.00 Canadian, look around at a wrecking yard or a truck shop and for a couple hundred get a used one and then your all set, i know there are some used ones around at our local wrecking yards.
     
  8. BigSam

    BigSam Light Load Member

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    Illinois
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    Air suspension procedure per Freightliner maintenance manual... I hope this helps

    IMPORTANT: Before checking the AirLiner suspension
    height, make sure there is no load on
    the chassis, and the trailer is unhitched.
    5. Park the vehicle on a level surface, using a light
    application of the brakes. Do not apply the parking
    brakes. Shift the transmission into neutral,
    and build the secondary air pressure to at least
    100 psi (690 kPa). Shut down the engine.
    6. Mark the location of the front and rear tires on
    the floor, and chock the tires on one axle only.
    7. On single-drive rear axle configurations, measure
    the distance from the bottom of the left axle stop
    to the top of the U-bolt pad. On dual-drive rear
    axle configurations, measure the distance from
    the bottom of the forwardmost left axle stop to
    the top of the axle U-bolt pad. See Fig. 7, Ref.
    A. The correct distance for single and dual-drive
    rear axles is from 2-3/8 to 2-7/8 inches (60 to 73
    mm).
     
  9. MedicineMan

    MedicineMan Road Train Member

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    Jan 13, 2007
    Woodville, TX
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    do not adjust your supension out of the freightliner specs. if you do it will change your diveline angles and cause the synchro's in the trans to wear out and they it will whine and chatter like crazy. it will also cause premature wear of the u joints and possibly cause driveline vibrations.

    You bought a truck with the lowest low profile tires you can get and a low profile fifth wheel and now you are wondering why it's low.... Makes sense. Basicaly you screwed up not knowing what spec you needed when you bought it. I'd suggest switching it to low profile 24.5's or putting a higher profile fifth wheel on it. Most companies will want a 47 to 50" fifth whel height but no matter what when you have many trucks droping trailers you will always have some that you need to crank down, unless you are the tallest one.
    The shaker I'm driving is the same as yours and I have to crank allot of trailers down and I know him much it sucks
     
  10. sgreer78

    sgreer78 Light Load Member

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    Jul 26, 2008
    St Louis, MO
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    Well years ago when I drove a Werner company truck it had the same 5th wheel and tire size and I don't remember every trailer being 3" too high. I didn't screw up anything.
     
  11. rakesh

    rakesh Bobtail Member

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    Nov 25, 2009
    scarborough ontario
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    same i have problem if u have any idea just me know but i changed the air control valve now i dont know how much height i have to keep dealer says 2 5 8
     
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