Adjusting The 5th Wheel Position

Simple things can trip a driver up sometimes. I needed to slide my fifth wheel forward to take some weight off the drives. In almost 30 months of driving, this was only the second time I’ve needed to do this adjustment. So I lowered the landing gear to take some weight off the fifth wheel itself, released the locking pins, but the fifth wheel wouldn’t budge. scratching my head, I had to figure something out. Yes, I forgot to dump the airbags. Once I did this, it slid easily. Next time I think I will remember to dump the airbags. I hope this reminder helps someone trying to do the same thing.

Fortunately, 5th wheel is something that rarely needs to get moved. When I was slip seating i had to slide it a couple times a month to get legal. For some reason many of our drivers like their 5th wheel all the way forward. Anytime I would pick up a heavy backhaul I'd need to move it 3 holes back or so. Every other time it felt like it was sticking and took some finesse to get it moved. It was irritating when it wouldn't budge so I'd accelerate just a tad more next thing I know it's all the way back and cabs rocking from coming to a sudden stop.

The first day I had my assigned truck I slid my 5th wheel to about the half way mark. It's been over a year and I haven't needed to adjust it again.

For those that haven't slid their 5th wheel before I recommend you mess with it on a nice day when you have extra time. It's a pretty simple thing to do once you know how. Similiar to chaining up, you want to be able to do what you gotta do when the time comes. You dont want to be watching YouTube videos trying to learn how to slide your 5th wheel when you're on a tight load. I received a call from a driver I know that's been driving about 10 years and has yet to slide their 5th wheel. He told me his 5th wheel is all the way up and if his load is over 35k he's likely over 12k on his steers. Rather than taking the time to learn how to do it (despite me offering to walk him through it over the phone) he'll run over his steer axle weight rating. He's also too embarrassed to ask someone at his company for help.