Adjustments to 5th wheel

Yes and no. It will vary by make and model. It is a good place to start. When you get your new tractor assignment, hit a Cat Scale with an empty trailer and full of fuel. Write down those weights for future reference. The first heavy load you get, scale and put 33000-34000 on your drives and slide your 5th wheel to get your steers a bit under 12000. At that point you should never need to move it again.

 

Having 5th wheel fully forward reduces fuel consumption..turbulent air between cab and trailer is reduced.
But you cannot jacknife your truck to a full 90 degrees without risking fairing damage.

 

Exactly!

 

OK.....

 

When I was issued a new truck it was all the way back, my dad told me to slide it about 1 notch behind the front axle. I hit a CAT scale with 46k and it came out perfect. When I switched jobs and got into this truck I did the same thing and it came out perfect again. I'll pass my dad's wisdom on to you lol

 

On most interstates your steer limit is determined by your steer tires rated capacity. Get load range H steer tires, which gives yourself 14k+ weight rating on steers, slide 5th wheel all the way forward, pocket the fuel savings. Then you only have to worry about the 12k steer axle limit on certain state roads and such, or you can just roll the dice. There's also a couple scalehouses which measure each drive axle independently, but I don't know of a way to scale each axle independently anywhere else except those scalehouses, so I don't worry about it.

 

The front axle has to be rated to carry the extra weight.
My tires are rated for 25,000 but the axle is rated for 20,000.
You will always be held to the lowest rated component.

 

Fair point. I'm still shaking off the cobwebs this morning.