Help sliding fifth wheel

So that's what the shop guys were welding....

... but seriously, I work for Swift and we haven't had any discussions regarding not moving the 5th wheel. In fact when shifting weights we were asked to move the 5th wheel to balance a load.

It may be that missjhawk had a particular DM, trainer, and/or terminal manager that was overreacting to some other driver tearing up the sliders trying to move a 5th wheel, "Gosh! Maybe if I just rev the engine and pop the clutch that sucker will move!"

 

Every company I have drove for,not one said we can't move the fifthwheel.I don't like moving it but sometimes to even the weight you have to because sometimes tandems alone don't work.Alot of times reason fifthwheel is so hard to move because its never been moved before.Just make sure everything in trk is secured,lol.

 

Most likely, at those weights,

leave the 5th wheel alone.

Correct the trailer tandems,

and I'd bet the other 2 numbers would be fine......

 

It did have that key element of truth. In this case the "truth-related humor" almost made me wonder if you believed the fifth wheel was to be "hands off" also.
Not that your post went completely over my head, but I had to question it. Wait,, so I guess it DID go over my head! lol
And yep, not hard to visualize the variety of end results... of potential "dummy damage".

Yep, some fifth wheel slider frames look like 100 yr old rust-encrusted relics of submergered ships.
That's why every now & then, when I'm hooking to a trailer, I'll hook & dump the bags to take the load off the fifth wheel, and slide it forward/backward a few times, and engage/disengage the locks in several slots, to keep it free'd-up. WD40 or dish soap solution helps also.

Are you speaking of the weights the OP listed?
If so, I'd have to disagree because both his drives and trailer tandems were overweight.
Moving just the trailer tandems will only make one set less weight, but make the other opposing set even heavier.
You'd have to involve the fifth wheel slider to transfer the excess weight (760 lbs) to the already underweight steer axle.

 

putting more weight on the drives,

would transfer some weight to the steer.



actually at the numbers he posted,

depending here he was going to,

some folks would have ran with it.....

 

I just now seen the numbers,I would have went with it.Doubt an officer would have said anything.You're fine if what 500 lbs over that dot will let it go?Whats an extra 100 lbs.

 

I always dump the tractor airbag to, 5th will slide much easier

 

If your 34,300 why would you bother?

 

Problem is most of the companies that was listed above is training company's.. And instead of teaching them how to slide a fifth wheel they tell them to just leave it alone and go back and get it reworked.But how many times have you went back to get a load reworked and it was worst than when started. But why does the company care there not having to pay for that driver to sit there .. It amazes me how these students can come of a trainers truck and had never been shown how to adjust weight where ever needed ( no offense to the op) just saying. I would have slid the tandems back a couple holes and went with

 

Your trainer sucked nuts