A quick rundown on a sliding 5th wheel?

They don't load the trailer the same way each time.

 

The gauges don't really help... and they aren't really accurate. Cat scales are the real answer. Set it on a heavy load and you'll see your golden 90% or more most of the time. Fuel is the real solution for steer weight and don't forget its 8 lbs a gal. I go by 8.3 just for some wiggle room. The weigh station will give ya 200 or so. You can always say " maybe the load shifted" and get by too. Main thing is just set it for max steer weight. You'll appreciate the less bounce and extra traction on icy/ snow roads as well.

 

It's up too you to set your tandems. Just think about it... how often do you see guys dropping landing gear and adjusting their wheel? Like never lol.... scale for 12k.. you'll find over time you'll know your max gross and load capacity. All you can do is grin and say okay, go scale and come back to get reworked. There are alot if shippers that try to max their loads because of costs. Especially meat loads.

 

if you go over you give yourself wiggle room.. An extra 500 can make a difference if you need it.

scales won't stop you

 

For guys who pull different trailers an air slide 5th is very important. Pup trailers and Landoll type trailers will need the 5th wheel all the way back just to be able to pin it. Some guys even have to add extra rail to slide it back.

There are guys who can pull a different type of trailer everyday. They need it.

To the question about an air gauge, yes. Yes 1,000 times yes. They are accurate and very handy. Look a Cat scale isn’t always near by. Sometimes they are on the other side of the state scale. An air gauge tells you where you are. Having one on your trailer can remove the need for Cat Scales, unless you are right on the limit or want to check/recalibrate your air gauges.

 

Yes on the air gauge . I bought maybe a handfull of scale tickets last year , just went off my air gauge and tell the forklift guys how to load it and i was loading 47k about 70 percent of my loads last year... ive never moved my 5th wheel even 1 time. Its set all the way back . Not even sure how to move it or what it does. Easier for me to tell forklift guy move the freight , rather than try to screw with ur equipment and fuel to get legal.

 

It's not that hard to figure position and move 5th wheel.

Ez pz

 

It might be hard to move if it hasn't moved in awhile. A winter's worth of road crud on the slide will gum up everything.