Sliding 5th wheel: Why do some drivers ride with the 5th Wheel so far back?

I keep my 5th wheel slid up so the trailer deck plate is just over the quarter flaps .
Never had anyone say anything about steer ax weight and it keeps the drive tires from throwing so much trash on the back of the cab .

 

C'mon driver, show the rest of the truck.

 

Was just going to comment about how some trailers have a much shallower kingpin. Having the 5th wheel all the wy rear prevents any chance of you ripping off the mudflap hangers.

 

Anyone remember what happened at the scales up in Rapine VA several years back concerning the fifth wheel placement???
A female Prime driver pulled onto the scale and the scale master told her she was 600 lbs. over on her steers. She asked thru the PA what she could do about it??
He replied "slide your seat back 3 notches and you will be good to go',
She beat the hell out of him.

 

Well according to some @NCT_PA it's enough gay already so I'll be nice and spare you the full view six.

 

yeah as he's said its about weight distribution bud why worry about what he's doing anyway? Just concentrate on your own truck and trailer weights.

 

A flat top Pete? Black on black and chrome stack?
L A R G E C A R

Hypermasculine? Perhaps. Gay? Nope, gay is never cool.

 

if you pull a reefer with a Volvo 770 it's almost necessary to keep from being overweight on your steers

 

Advantages

Keeps weight off steers (grocery warehouses and paper mills pretty notorious for this)

Easier to back up (I'm sure some will disagree but it gives a lot of extra play in turning radius especially with day cab)...

Easier cornering (you don't need to compensate as much for the trailer, noticable for those of us who hang out in Chicago or the East Coast)

Helps avoid the worst high hook scenarios... this matters when your swapping 20 trailers per day on a tight schedule.

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Disadvantages

Lowers speed on elevations (due to poor leverage)

Terrible for rough terrain (no worries for most circumstances)

Lower wind resistance (due to the weight being pushed further off the steers)

Get stuck in mud/snow/etc easier due to less weight on drive axle... harder to find traction.

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Overall, I liked mine more toward the middle (balanced) for OTR and toward the rear for local deliveries where weight isn't an issue. Really depends on the job you do and where you do it imho. I never saw any advantage to having it all the way forward... it's just sacrificing too much convenience for a tiny bit extra stability and a good shot at being slightly overweight on steers. There's advantages, disadvantages, asinine regulations and individual preferences to everything... fifth wheel placement really has little impact in about 99% of situations but having it forward gives a little more stability and back gives more flexibility... both are important.