Fifth Wheel Adjustment

There is a bolt head on the side of the 5th wheel that if you turn it counter-clockwise it should tighten the wedges thereby making the space between the throat and locking bar tighter around the trailer kingpin.

 

That is correct Scottie, only if its a fontaine or jost- hendrickson AND Holland have a wedge bolt in front of wheel

 

Holland FW35 has the front bolt. Holland FW 17 has the bolt inside the jaw opening on the passenger side.

 

If you're having that much trouble adjusting the 5th wheel it's time to get replaced. A new one will run you about $1200 but there are truck scrap yards that will manufacture and sell 5th wheels. Got mind for $500 and installed it myself

 

Rebuild kits $250- do it yourself in 2 hours- Just did my Fontaine 6000

 

Not sure if u guys r still on this forum, but if u r wat r the "sliders," Im trying to help my dad fix his fifth wheel lol.

 

They’re referring to the sliding rails that the fifth wheel sits on. Only applies if you have a sliding fifth wheel. Some are stationary. The slider rails have locks on each side. They fit into the teeth on the slider rails. If they fit loose, or don’t lock all the way in, that’s not good. There’s also bushings where the top plate mounts onto the riser brackets. One on each side. The mounting pins go through them. If the bushings are bad, it will cause it to move. I suggest getting it adjusted and inspected at a Shop. There’s a special tool, basically a king pin mounted on a wrench, that’s used to set it properly. Tight enough, but not so tight that jaws won’t lock. Not something to be guessing at.

 

Whether or not to put in a kit is dependent on the condition of the fifth wheel itself.

You have to examine the fifth wheel and see if there are any cracks in the fifth wheel or any other issues. You have to look at the neck where the kingpin slides into and see if that's beat up or whether it's smooth and look at the area where the Kingpin sits and see if that's egg-shaped or beat up.

If your fifth wheel is in good shape then rebuilding it is fine. If your fifth wheel you can see that it's got time on it it's better just to buy a new one and replace the bushings and pins and the whole thing when you install it to make sure everything is the way it should be.