Unlocking a fifth wheel that has accidentally tripped shut......

I just used a hammer

 

And for future reference; get out and check the height of your trailer before backing all the way under it. Could've been worse for you.

 

There is no such thing as Job security when some one fails to tell you something. It's your job to learn, or find someone to teach you.

You are lucky that you apparently did not overshoot that 5th wheel plate and trap your king pin. Or in a cabover destroy the gear behind the cab which is usually a a big preventable and a instant firing.

It goes without saying when you get this sorted out, always approach the trailer you want making sure that the nose lip is at or below the 5th wheel's center post which is that angle it flaps on. Make sure that your trailer is above the frame of your tractor but below the hole of your plate. So that it will make two noises when you hook up. FLAP! then CLANK!

The next problem is pulling on that pin with the tractor gently to be sure you are indeed hooked and also every time you park and set brakes with it in tension.

Everyone else took the time to tell you many things. I just filled in where possible.

Next time your thinking about job security ... it's not. Clear your head. You will learn. Your ability to learn determines in part how long you will continue to be a trucker in life.

 

Yep forgot about that since I haven't drove in a while .

 

I was cleaning 5th wheel grease off and around the jaw and trigger it to close by itself, pulling the release handle fix it...

But you're saying it could close and lock and the handle wouldn't work?

I should probably stop using my 5th wheel pully to clean grease off...

 

You triped it closed as in? Bumped the handle and in set in or you got the jaws to clamp closed?

 

Some fifthwheel handle is real hard to pull.What you can to is either buy a fifth wheel puller from a trk stop or see if the shop at the terminal has one they'll give you.I never was without a puller.Also make sure there isn't any tention between the trailer and the fifthwheel,that will make it very difficult to pull.Winter is coming which means snow slush ice, just a mess all around,you're going to need a 5th wheel puller believe me.

 

It is referred to as a high hook. It was an automatic termination when I first began driving. Maintenance can tell when a 5th wheel was subjected to high hook. Safety claimed the driver did not get out to verify. If you were to drive with the trailer in this condition, it would eventually seperate from the power unit, probably at speed and the rest is a tragedy.

 

One of those terms that has slipped out of my memory. I've never done one, and I don't think anybody I know has ever done one, so I couldn't remember what it was. Thank you!

 

Those high dropping drivers want to save the grease on the 5th wheel because that's much cheaper than the medical bills for a torn shoulder, broken arm, broken thumb, etc. Besides one time in 1974 they found a low trailer, so they drop them a foot above the 5th wheel just to be safe.