Non Moving bolted 5th wheel?

Buy quality wrenches that fit the bolts and nuts off your fithwheel.
Buy a 4 to 6 foot steel pipe that fits over those wrenches.

That and some sweat is the price.

 

Heck if you need to, buy a cheap 1/2 ton come along. Hook it around a sturdy crossmember and winch it back. When I pulled my last 5th wheel I just hooked an ATV to it and pinned it lol.

 

Mine is just a couple holes from the very front....yours must be as far forward as possible

 

If that's your steer weight even when empty, you need to check your door tag for the axle ratings. If you have a 14.6K rated steer axle, and you run 16-ply 11R tires, then you aren't really overweight. You're allowed 20K on any single axle, or the manufacturer's limit on the axle, suspension, brakes, and tires...whichever is lower.

In other words, this MIGHT be a non-issue. I would make sure when you have 34K on the drives that you're legal (within the manufacturer's specs) and leave it. If you're "heavy" on the steers even when bobtail, you certainly don't want to get into a situation where your steers are getting lighter as you load the trailer.

 

Even if you could move the tandems of the trailer.... (THE TRAILER... not the drive tandems. Stay with me) you will only move a few thousand pounds onto and offen the drives itself. And alot less than that will move to and from the steer.

Im beginning to think it's time to clarify the Axle Law to allow the steers whatever natural weight they will assume provided you have tires capable of say 10,000 pounds each up front. I don't know if they even make steer tires that strong. If So I would want it. Because there are states that check stuff like that by stooping over and eyeballing the sidewall numbers.

Remember if you are over on the drives you can literally crawl into the trailer if it is not sealed and physically move boxes or freight until there is no more weight over on those drives.

If you are empty after delivery this week, FILL those fuel tanks and CAT the truck for gross weight empty pay the 10 dollars or whatever. You will subtract 80000 pounds from the CAT TARE weight total. It should come out to a nice number THAT is the cargo weight you can put onto your truck subject to California kingpin law

By not allowing freight over that amount to go onto the trailer you reduce almost automatically the problem of overweight.

 

Now say your bobtail steer axle weight is say hypothetically 13k lbs. Would it really be an issue if 5th wheel placement caused the steer axle to lighten up to 12k lbs with 34k on the drives?

 

So have you moved your fifthwheel often?I think I did twice total and still couldn't get legal.But for the most part rarely have I moved the 5 th wheel.If the op is 1000 or more over on every load my question is how's she get away with it with the DOT. Every time I was heavy a move of the tandems got me legal and if not chances are the cust would have to rework load.I drove for a small reefer outfit that had stationary fifth wheels and never had to come across being over on the steers that I couldn't get legal and if it was like 500 maybe 600 over I left it.

 

For the 5th wheel in covered wagon work, I moved it maybe three times max, and only when we could not get it legal otherwise. It's a interesting problem to have to move or slide a slidable 5th wheel. The tandems spread on the back of the ravens would take 40K. Getting weight onto or off the drive tandem set with just the 5th wheel proved to be a bit more trouble than it's worth.

I remember having to beat on the wheel with a wooden block to protect everything (Duct taped into place, get a sledge and beat on that block) Until you hear that C LA CK!!! of the pins coming off and visually check them to be sure you indeed can slide it. But first... grease the rails. Then gently crowbar the first half a foot or so until your rusted slide plates are now gathering grease and will take a slide.

If you do fail to do this little nudge and just tried to straight up slide it, the first 6 inches is dry slide pad to dry rusted frame or slide track you add power until THUMP! You find that your 5th wheel is now all the way back in it's slider area behind the aft axle in a ludicrious spot. And then you realize just how difficult it will be to get that slide pads back onto the slide rails at the bottom of the whole assembly. The upside is the entire 5th wheel sliding area is now well greased.

I feel fortunate I have maybe touched a sliding 5th wheel 5 times if not a little more than that many times in all my life out there on the road. Those #### things have so much trouble associated with them.

You think that you would have the entire 14 foot of the really super thick frame rails above the drives from catwalk all the way back to the tail lights feature a set of track, extremely thick stout roller bearing and a cog track so that relatively small motors running off the 4 batteries or APU engine off you will do very well. If electric etc too complicated, then just shove a RAM against that 5th wheel with enough of reduction to either push it out just so or suck it in just so.

I better stop before I overthink things. There is a reason the industry does not have nice things invented by yours truly aka Heavy Overengineering Inc, //teasing.

 

Interesting problem is so right, its a great way to rearrange the inside of your trk lol which is why after 2 times was enough for me.Now if you have a new trk it might move slicker then snot.