Fifth wheel slide

1) Put the landing gear down on the trailer.
2) Put the handle for the landing gear in low range and crank the trailer up, until your 5th wheel is level, even have the kingpin of the trailer sticking out a 1/4".
3) With the 5th wheel locking pins unlocked, slide the 5th wheel.
4) I carry several cans of Liquid Wrench. The races on the mounting plate need to be kept clean and lubed with something like LW, or WD40.
5) Spray the locking pins and the linkages of the 5th wheel real good as well. They should lock in a hole / slot when the switch on the dash is in "locked", and you rock the truck a little.

Let the penatrating fluid do its thing. Flick the switch to lock / unlock, move the truck a little, they will loosen up.

 

Don't use any wd40 or anything else like it. Reason it will attract dirt and stuff. Making it hard to slide.
Use windex, works great, rinses off when it gets wet. Rain sleet snow.

 

Sliding the fifth wheel is something you don't want to do unless absolutely necessary. Once you get it center over the tandems you should be good 95 percent of time. Now to the problem at hand, I experience the same thing when I ever have to slide mine. Pins release but will never go back in on their on. I even had it took apart and cleaned , still same problem. So when I lock the pins and they don't go in I have to take a hammer and peck the cylinder arm back in. This works but you have to make sure pins are lined up with slots. My next move will most likely be new. Also GUILTY, I used Blaster on pins to help them slide. Next time I think I will try to remember the window cleaner instead. Makes a lot of sense. Thanks

 

Also when slinging fifth wheel ALWAYS dolly the landing gear down to take weight off fifth wheel. A whole lot easier to slide and easier on the truck.

 

What I never understood was with one trailer with X amount of weight on the drives I'm fine, but other trailer with the same weight on the same drives and I've got the move the 5th wheel. I never understood that.

 

Are the king pins on the trailers the same distance.

 

Probably fuel difference [or you or your co-driver need to go on weight watchers] if you’re sure about everything else. Once you find that 5th wheel sweet spot (full of fuel and chains and whatever else you prefer to carry in the truck), you should NEVER need to move it afterwards. No matter the trailer or the weight

 

roll legs down to touch ground. release fifth wheel lock, lower air bags. for all mega carrier drivers. follow same steps but dont lower air bags. just roll legs down and crank 15-20 times more until trailer is at least 6" plus off truck

 

The pins in the 5th wheel only release with application of air pressure. They won't release by them self. Your bank account might ACCIDENTALLY go empty, it's not ACCIDENTALLY going to fill up.

 

Coincidentally, I had trouble unlocking mine today, not the first time on my current truck. The last time was when I got pulled off by the scale in IL. I was able to get them free by fighting with it for over an hour, screw that noise. As soon as I have a second with a loaded trailer, I am going to try your technique.