Check your coupling BEFORE you raise your landing gear.

Going to take a bit more than a bump to break the kingpind-jaws lock.

 

yep. there are much more realistic things to worry about on the road than the king pin.

 

Might as well check your coupling before ever leaving the tractor to connect the lines.

 

There's got to be an easier way to check your oil.

 

Not talking about little bumps here. I'm talking about those roads where every slab of concrete is #### eyed, and your afraid your Qualcomm is about to break off and land in the floor. you've got a full load, and you can only slow down so much before ya get rear ended by a Swift driver or something.

I know that kingpin and jaw are both taking a beating. Entire kingpins have broken off before, so I know they aren't invincible.

 

I always tug test, visual inspect (w/ light) and then spike test. It only takes a few moments to do all 3 and then I have piece of mind that I have done everything I can do to check it. Beyond that would be some kind of failure inside the 5th wheel mechanism that as a driver would wouldn't see

Also we have dual locking 5th wheels. We have the main JAW's that come around the PIN. Then a piece of square steel pops out from the other side and rest on a lip of the jaw's. It prevents the wheel wheel JAW from being away to back off and open. Just another way to have piece of mind.

I am amazed at the strength of the PIN's are between the heavy loads that truck can carry to the fact I have seen pictures, and some in person of trucks hanging over bridges like the one post above. Just pure amazement that, that one piece of forged steel and those locks are strong enough to suspend a truck and trailer like that is crazy.


This is how our dual lock works.. Cant' find a bigger picture of it.

 

Just be happy he's willing to do a tug test and check the oil at the same time. Efficiency I tell you!

 

Well, on those Cascadia's, when you flashlight the jaws after coupling, it's plain to see that there is only a bar of steel hooking into that groove on the kingpin. Most certainly not a dual lock. Wouldn't get concerned on those bad roads with a dual lock.

Anyone ever hauled a load of cream and delivered butter?

 

A dual lock 5th wheel has 2 pull handles...one where trucks normally have them and the other behind the the pivot that connects the 5th wheel to the slide.