What am i doing wrong....5th wheel wont budge

I think the most helpful advice was to make sure the trailer brakes are set LMAO

 

The leak could have just been air escaping from the release piston. As for if it's safe, sure it is. As long as the pins are properly in the rail. It fails safe. It takes force to move the pins out, so if there is no force holding the pins out (like the air cylinder), the springs will keep them engaged.

 

One thing I want to be sure you thought of. Did you verify that you can turn the tractor to 90 degrees with the trailer without hitting the back of the sleeper with the front of the box? I understand that in some trucks, it is possible to over-adjust forward and damage your sleeper. I don't know how common it is for trucks to be poorly designed that way, but it's probably a good idea to check it if you didn't already.

 

That's not a poor design, per se. Some trailers have a different king pin setback than others do. Some have the landing gear in different places.

 

Fair enough. Though, I would think that good tractor design would have some sort of vertical marker extending from the tractor frame in front of the fifth wheel to show the maximum safe forward distance for the front bulkhead of a trailer. Like one of those reflective poles on the side of the road that let us see where the road is when visibility conditions are poor.

 

That also depends on the setback of the kingpin. If you take a trailer with a 36 inch setback, and compare it to one with an 18 inch setback, moved 18 inches forward, the swing of the corners as the trailer turns will be different.

Add to that the differences caused by different mounting styles with the hoses/electrical cable, the possible issues that a refer can cause if a turn is made while driving through a dip, etc, the issue of safe distance between tractor and trailer can be a little less than simple.

 

Again, good points. You're right. It's not a trivial solution. Complex geometry and a multiple-component arrangement of bits and pieces would be required to create some sort of accurate trailer bulkhead cab impact warning device for all trailer types. And something like that would probably get mangled the first time you step on it while standing on the catwalk behind the cab trying to figure out what's wrong with your reefer unit.