Greasing of kingpin/fifth wheel

Some companies prohibit their use because the thickness of the disc between the fifth wheel plate and the bottom of the trailer keeps the pin from being properly latched in the fifth wheel...causing excessive wear to the pin and the latch mechanism.

Also, there are parts of the fifth wheel that STILL will need to be properly lubricated...all of the moving parts & pieces. Just because you don't have to smear grease on the top plate doesn't mean it is "greaseless". Failure to properly grease the moving parts & pieces decreases the useful life of those parts & pieces.

However, despite their drawbacks, to the best of my knowledge they are legal to use....

 

I suppose with a 5th wheel camper one would like to mitigate the greasy mess. On my tractor I grease the 5th wheel before hooking to every loaded trailer. A lot of times the previous driver drops the trailer too low, so I back under and jack it up and hop out and run the landing gear down to touch then pull ahead and grease the top plate and zerks on each side. My 5th wheel bushings where the 5th wheel pivots are starting to get worn and sloppy, because the previous driver of this truck never greased it (probably only during the 20,000 mile interval oil change PM's).

I don't mind getting a little grease on my hands and honestly it isn't that much if you keep the grease gun clean in the first place. WD 40 spray the entire thing down and wipe off every time before you put it away and careful use while pumping the grease there really is no reason to get grease all over your clothes.

Even if you were to invest in a teflon grease-free 5th wheel there are still plenty of grease zerks throughout your equipment that needs to be greased.

 

We used teflon coated 5th wheels when I was doing linehauls in Iraq. Made much more sense over there cause of all the sand. All of our civilian drivers used the standard greased wheels... But they had to recoat them after each trip.

 

I use one and love it. I'm hooked to the same trailer all the time so when I separate the units, I put some grease on the pin before hooking them up. Loving my clean truck frame.

 

They are OK but when they come off & wont stay put while backing under a trailer they are a pain....Id rather just use grease

 

Generally used by dirt haulers ( end & belly dump ) where the environment is harsh, & trailer is not unhooked regularly. Still as the other posters have noted...you still should stay on top of greasing EVERYTHING....

 

I always just used White Lithium grease.. same kind you use to pack bearings with. A can or tub at Walmart in the automotive section is dirt cheap.. I'd go in and buy a can and then over to Kitchen supply and buy a .99 cent wooden spoon. I used what I needed and tossed the rest.. spoon too.. I never liked carrying grease in my sidebox.. it always seemed to escape whatever was trying to confine it an make a real mess. Less than 5 bucks and a clean way to operate.
I usually only changed trailers once or twice a month .. might be a diff story if you were dropping/hooking all the time.

 

I use disposable gloves and smear grease from a tub on the 5th wheel. Works great.