Swerving trailor, heavy load????

Also there mr op..When you grease your 5th wheel be sure to empty the trks air bags before you back under...If you dont and the trl is a lil lower than tractor it will scrape it all off to the front side of 5th wheel onto your frame..
Then back under and then fill the air bags and go to hookin up that 5th wheel...Also dont forget to crawl under to see that the pin is locked into the 5th wheel jaws...Chk the handle that unlocks the jaws to see if its in the locked position....EVERY TIME!!!!!!Never assume that cause you hear the click even with a cpl tugs that the trl is locked into the 5th wheel...Get your flash light out and physically go see......
I was in a rush once and didnt do it..Trl came away from the trk a mile after i hooked up.....Thank god it was a sunday in an industrial park and it wasnt busy..Oh and it was a half load of matresses so it was easy to crank the dolly legs enuf to get back under it.....
Come winter time also be sure to clean out any snow n such b4 you pin up as well....

 

I used to grease the trailer plate before the pin, that way, backing under it shmeered the grease back, didn't scrape it all off the 5th wheel.

 

New driver? Heavier on the trailer than the drives?

It’s the Tail wagging the Dog, and the Driver is sawing at the wheel. Mr @Lepton1, can you explain to the driver what he’s doing?

 

Well if thats the case he could pull his wheels back a bit on the trl if he can...5th wheel to far up can give that feeling to..And to far back....Usually the 5th wheel is between the drives it should be ok..

 

Ya know what..Never thought of that except when i got to much on my 5th wheel..See even 20+ yrs on the road and im still learning..lol

 

I use the Lucas. Hard to smear it on trailer.

I dump truck and slide under.

I like Lucas much better then shop grease and it lasts longer.

 

Wind, allignment problem, bad shocks/springs, leveling valve, air bags, tires, freight not distributed right. If even one link in that chain is messed up you will have problems.

 

I would be curious about the balance of the load. If you have maximum weight on the trailer tandems (34K on a dry van or reefer), but are light on the drives (like less than 25K), THAT'S a bad scenario in wind, slick conditions, or rutted roads. The trailer WILL wag the tractor.

If anything you want equal weight on the drive axles versus the trailer tandems. Better yet have a little bit more weight on your drives than your steers. Move the trailer tandems and/or slide the 5th wheel until you have a tad bit more weight on the drives than the steers.

OP...next time you have this issue get a CAT scale and post a picture of your scale ticket. If you see that your trailer axles are much heavier than your drives, then try to move weight to drives. Then report back if the handling characteristics improved.

The other simple thing is to make SURE that 5th wheel is greased properly (as others have noted). If I am hooked to a trailer for weeks at a time, at least once a week I unhook, use a paint scraper to clean off excess dirty grease, then regrease and rehook.

 

stuped singles RIMS come in zero. 1", and 2" off set

If you use a tape measure and check outside edge to outside edge of duels then do it on a set of singles you will see there aren't as wide.

The ruts in the road are made by duels.
Singles don't sit IN the rut. Only the center part of the single rides on the high part of the rut. IF you don't have 2" offset rims the single can float around in the rut.. up to 2" side to side as you drive.. especially in states like ID, WA, OR and CA. if your trailer has them it can move also..

Felt strange the 1st time I went to CA with a truck and trailer with STUPID SINGLES.... 93° sunny and why does it feel like I'm driving on ice..! Looked in the mirrors and could SEE the back of the truck and trailer moving around in the lane..

Michelin will even tell you the tires will do that out west of you don't use 2" offset BUT only if you ask