Sliding 5th wheel weight transfer

The 5th wheel must have been very far back if the steering axle had been that light and your fuel tanks were full. Now if low on fuel you may have a lot more to spare but then if you stop for fuel you're too heavy again. Most of the time once you get the 5th wheel dialed in for that particular truck, it stays there regardless of the trailer load. Then sliding the trailers axles on trailers with that option, will help balance the load between truck and trailer. Its not unlike a gravel hauler lifting the box up a bit in the gravel pit to shift the load back if too front heavy, or adjusting the equipment position on a lowbed as needed.

 

I could see taking 500 off the trailer which would put the 500 on the drives.

Then take that 500 off the drives and move it to the steers.

Provided there's room and adjustment to allow.

Would that be correct or incorrect?

 

That may well be possible.
Driver can also use partial fueling on the trip if not already full. Fuel is heavy at about 7 lbs per gallon, so if you can leave off just 60 gallons between stops that alone is over 400 lbs payload capacity. Many trucks have such huge sleepers nowadays that add weight, then they need a longer frame to which adds more weight, carrying DEF is heavy, its not like the old days of more day cabs or the 36 inch sleepers. I'm old now, so for multiple day trips preferably I get a motel room, and thus the tare weights are lower, allowing me more payload than some others. And my trucks that do have sleepers are not these house sized sleepers I see on some trucks, but around 40 inches is all.