Schneider

If you don't damage anything, it's one thing. Bend the release arm, hit the back of the cab, or in one spectacular case knock the king pin half off - then it's something else.

High hooking isn't a guaranteed firing, but as drivers talk, they don't always differentiate between high hooking and "unplanned disconnects". Any driver who drops as trailer will get fired. Schneider will have the 5th wheel inspected to make sure it wasn't a mechanical fault (it happens), but the shop almost always finds one of two things:

1. The 5th wheel latches just fine
2. The 5th wheel wouldn't latch at all because it was too grease covered and frozen.

Bad hooks happen, that's why you check the jaws with a flashlight. And not the flashlight on your phone, those things have such a wide beam you don't see anything. If you see this:


Pull out, pour some diesel over the jaws and try again.

 

If you can barely get the prongs of the 5th wheel under the apron, it's not too low.

 

What am I not seeing here? That's what mine always looks like.

 

See the shiny part on the latch? Not all the way in.

 

whats wrong with that picture the shinny metal on the right side…?

I have the fifth wheel with the bolt out the front…. Schneider hates those. But you can look at the bolt and washer and make sure they are pulled up right to the fifth wheel housing…..