Ideal Height of Fifth Wheel when hauling Chemicals/Tanker......Your input??

Interesting concept. Thanks for the idea and I'll make a note of it, but I'm sure you would have to weld it or make sure it's secure in order for it to work.
But I can understand why you would use square tubing as opposed to round.I've got a contact in Houston, I'm going to visit and he's supposed to be
a wizard with metal and welding.

 

Thanks for the info. Well I certainly understand the logistics of sliding the fifth wheel as I've done it before but it does seem that DOT is more concerned about the weight on the drives over anywhere else. I think I need to scale out a load before I go for fixing the FW. But it would be frustrating to find I'm under gross and yet be over on my drives and can't adjust it by sliding. That's what I don't want.
My buddy also says fixing the FW would give me a better ride, but that could well be his personal preference. YMMV
All of this may not be as bigger issue as first anticipated. Time will tell. Good luck and thanks again.

 

Most of the trailers are unloaded in the belly region and a few at the back, but those are not as popular. They are just classic chemical trailers, cylindrical, just like food grade. Some straight bore, some have 3 compartments. My tires are 22.5 so I can't mess with those as they are pretty new. I'm going to check out a couple of shops that are willing to do the job. The consensus seems to be around a minimum of 50" or 51" Thanks for your input.

 

Thanks for the info. A friend of mine is leased on with QC. He had his done at the local Peterbilt store in Austin. Cost him $1600 which seemed a bit steep
but I guess his rationale was that the Pete store would do it right. He even extended his wheelbase in order to get a nicer ride. The problem I have is that Texas DOT can be a bunch of hard ##### at times so you have confirmed to me that 51" is a good number to work with and I agree with you that around 45000 lbs seems to be where the plants like to load you at. I guess the tare weight will influence their decision. Your truck maybe a little lighter than my Pete 387, so time will tell. As my Fifth stands at 47" right now, I do feel I need to make a move and get it higher before I hit the road. I've only myself to blame if I ignore the sound input I've received on this thread, so I do appreciate all of the good info I've read. Of course I can slide the Fifth if needbe.
Good luck and thanks