Help sliding fifth wheel

Be careful moving your 5th wheel most companies put 5th wheel where they want them 2 stay and if the company find out u moved the 5th wheel it's automatic termination. If u can't get yo load right on weight you need 2 take it back so they can move done things around so my advice is to leave it alone take load back and let them rework it

 

"Most" companies will terminate you if you move a fifth wheel?? You've got to be kidding...
You mean to tell me if you have a load that is 300 lbs heavy (34,300 lbs) on your drives while your steers are at 10,800 lbs, that you cannot move your slider 1 notch forward?
And instead, will drive all the way back to the shipper to have dock guys move the trailer load this way or that way to scale out? C'mon...

Sounds like we now have robots... not truck drivers.

 

Dude really 34300lbs if u got something Like that move yo tandems there is no reason to move 5th wheel and yes there are companies that will fire u for moving 5th wheel I worked for 3 companies that told us that in orientation if you are a company driver u can not move your 5th wheel if the company tell you they have It set where they want it we talking about loads at 45000 it the shipper don't put the weight right in trailer u as well as I know the load have to be reworked so the driver can get the load right

 

About three weeks ago I had to slide the 5th wheel and like the OP the darned thing wouldn't budge and the pins didn't pull back at all. The company shop had me drop the trailer in the yard and bobtail over. They used LIBERAL amounts of WD-40 on the pins and the slide bars, then it took a crowbar and elbow grease to get it moved. After that experience I was scaling another load about a week ago. Again I had to move the 5th wheel and it was sticky. I ended up using WD-40, tapping the pins with a hammer, the pins went in just fine and although it was very sticky at first to move with the tractor after breaking the "stickiness" it would slide just fine.

I talked with my brother about this issue, having to use WD-40 every time. He said there is another product, similar to WD-40, that doesn't evaporate and will keep it sliding much longer... a teflon based product. I'm going to get a can of that for future reference.

My initial experience having to get the shop involved was likely due to the fact the tractor had pulled a lot of miles without ever having to slide the 5th wheel and it was simply rusted into place. The second time the WD-40 from the first application had evaporated, but it was still good enough I could get it going (after spilling coffee from the first "Wham!" getting the thing unstuck).

 

Always used dawn soap myself. Slicks it up and don't attract dirt like oil.

 

fired for sliding the 5th wheel ?? Omg no way..Turn around and go back to the shipper to rework the trailer..Oh no I will drive to the nearest scale and make my company pay to bring out another trailer and forklift and rework it there..then fire me lol

 

Dudette, really? Granted, there are times where a load requires reworking to be legal on all axles, but to blanketly say you can't move your fifth wheel not even one notch is unreal.
Guess what,, if your tandems are already near capacity (34,000) and at the rearmost legal setting, but you have a good enuf margin to spare (light) on the steers, you'd have to be an idiot to not just move your fifth wheel slider 1 notch forward. And reworking that load would require possibly emptying out 3/4 of the trailer to "rework".
Sorry, I wouldn't want to work for any company that dictates idiotic time-consuming policy... over common sense.

 

True that. Sounds like Tea Party Express.

 

I concur Dr.Drifter.


If his steers are that light with that load his 5th wheel was messed up to begin with. After you move it leave it there for the next load

 

First off, amount of weight transfer will vary depending on how close the holes or notches are in your 5th wheel and trailer slider, as well as what type of trailer it is and what/how it's loaded. If it's a 53' trailer with cargo all the way to the back, you may just be screwed on trailer tandem weight without reloading or taking cargo off. Number of pin guesses won't be all that accurate for that reason as well. If you have a van and didn't see what/how it was loaded, every time you do this will be guesswork anyway.

Also note that, depending on where your kingpin is, relative to the center of the drives, will add or take weight off the steers when you slide the trailer tandems. On the opposite end, moving the 5th wheel will only change the steer and drive weight.

Assuming your trailer is loaded in a way that can be balanced, change one thing at a time, starting with the trailer. Move the trailer tandems back two holes and re-weigh. That ought to move your trailer in the neighborhood of legal, transfer more onto the drives, and I'll guess maybe even take weight off the steers. The low weight on steers suggests your 5th wheel is all the way back, which will seesaw weight off the steer axle if the kingpin is behind the center of your drives. That re-weigh will also give you a number to work with for more adjustment if needed (wight transfer per hole on your trailer).

Then repeat on the 5th wheel end to shift drive weight to the steers. Move one or two notches/holes forward and re-weigh. Scale ticket will tell you if you got it, or how much moves per notch if you need to move some more.

Great advice on moving the 5th wheel, as-in take weight off it. On the trailer end, if you pull all your brakes before getting out to release the pins, your pins will probably be in a bind against the tractor if the trailer suspension sags when the airbags deflate. Most trailer bodies will shift forward when the suspension sags. That pushes the trailer chassis into the tractor with it's brakes also locked. In other words, you could be creating your own problem there.

On mine, I pull the tractor brakes only, then get out to release the trailer pins. On my other trailer with air release pins, you have to pull the trailer air to get the release to operate. On that one, I pull the trailer valve but leave the tractor brakes aired up. Point is: pull one or the other but not both. That way you won't bind up the pins before you even start. Sometimes they might still stick on an older trailer or one that's bent a little. All I've ever needed to drive them out on a crappy old trailer I've since gotten rid of, is a 16 oz roofing hammer. Most others I've seen carry a little 2 lb sledge that works even better, yet still small enough to get in there.

If things aren't moving freely, WD40 will help get it loose. Then after things are moving, grease will keep it working.