Sorry for the stupid question, but what are the advantages of having a sliding fifth wheel as oppose to a sliding one?
I understand that a sliding fifth wheel will allow you to move the trailer closer to the unit, but is that it? I understand the aerodynamic effects, but are you indanger of exceeding length limits if you use different trailers with a fixed one? (I will be using different trailers)
The reason for asking? - I’m looking at buying a unit which seems to have everything I need but has a fixed fifth wheel.
You could be in danger of exceeding the length limit with a fixed wheel. Another point is that trailers can have their pin in different positions and with a fixed wheel it may be impossible for you to pick a particular trailer up either because the rear of your unit has made contact with the landing legs, I’ve seen that happen and it makes a right mess of the legs, your lights etc., or you could dig the front of the trailer into the rear of the cab when turning because it has coupled too close. If you are going to be pulling lots of different trailers I would say the slider is a much better option.
If the truck you have seen has everything you want apart from this why not see about getting the fifth wheel changed?.
Thanks for confirming what I thought. I’ll see about getting it changed. the units a LHD, which is great for the work I’m pitching for, EU, but I am concerned about is its re-sell value in a couple of years. But apart from that its ideal - I think - with another fifth wheel of course,
Another reason for having a sliding fifth wheel is so that you can adjust the weight on the front axle. If the front axle becomes overloaded, slide the coupling backwards to transfer the weight.
Another thing that I remember reading somewhere. The ‘sliders’ should be lubricated with Oil, NOT Grease.
Sliding 5th wheels are very useful for the reasons mentioned above, but i can’t remember when i last saw anybody move one!
Was once driving for a very large supermarket & on pointing out the fact that the trailer was almost 1/2 a car length behind the cab wall, was met with “oh we don’t bother about that” by one of their own drivers.
If the trailer is a long way back, its bad for fuel consumption too.
Was once driving for a very large supermarket & on pointing out the fact that the trailer was almost 1/2 a car length behind the cab wall, was met with “oh we don’t bother about that” by one of their own drivers
. .
not only is it bad for mpg but the handling is affected.
i was seen a guy trying to slide his fifth wheel by sitting on the back of his tractor and pushing it with his feet if you dont know then just ask.
Sliding fifth wheels, one of those things that rarely seem to get any service attention, i.e lubrication. Soemtimes difficult to get them to do what they are supossed to do…slide, and then lock.
I had a 2-month long temp job a couple of years ago, and was driving a Ford 9000 daycab that had a sliding 5th wheel. This isn’t unsusual over here-probably 2/3 of all tractors use them-but this job required me to slide this thing a lot.
The company had 3 trailers, 1 was an old 45’, one was a 48’, and one was a 28’. In order to pull the 28’ trailer, I needed to slide the 5th wheel nearly all the way back. OTOH, in order to get any stability at 75mph while pulling either of the other trailers, I needed to have the 5th wheel no further than 3 slots from the front. Upon returning to the awful urban ghetto docking location, however, I needed to slide it all the way back to be able to do all the manouvering needed to dock it.
I found an industrial lubricant-some nasty black stuff that came in an aerosol can, that was made for sliding machinery. A good coating of that on the slider rails kept it moving nicely. Too bad nothing else on that company’s equipment worked worth a flying fig…
As already mentioned, a slider will allow you to adjust axle weights, it will increase fuel economy especially in conjunction with an airkit. It allows you to have more room to couple up between the cab and you are universal in the fact that you can pull deep pin fridge boxes or short pin skellys and tankers.
A bit of grease is easy to apply to the runners and you can grease them yourselves lads
Shouldn’t have to if paying someone else to service the vehicle
I used to send cars out for valeting, but frequently had to empty ash trays, clean spare wheels, etc. when they came back. So i gave up sending them out & did the job myself as I hated paying somebody to do something & then having to do it mysel aswell!
Shouldn’t have to if paying someone else to service the vehicle
No probably not but I was reading the old ■■■■■ section last night and discovered I am not as old an old ■■■■ as I thought
How many of you go into the yard on saturday morning to wash the truck and then lay under it with a grease gun and a 9/16 spanner knocking the brakes up? Not many I bet.
That was the normal thing before being handed any drinking vouchers at several firms I worked.
OK I dont have to now, I took my truck in for a service last weekend then took it back this week to have all the faults rectified that they had broken
Shouldn’t have to if paying someone else to service the vehicle
Thats the problem with drivers these days, they are not willing to do anything other than sit behind the steering wheel!
One of the large companies we work for even calls us out to change a bloody light bulb, as the drivers will not do it. (I do roadside repair and recovery)
Same here Malc, always greased the motor on a sat morning, and washed off. I still think theres a few that do it, though not the last few ive worked for, though I did do me own bits on the Sedd Ack. In fact, i used to like that crack, somebody always took a unit to the cafe and bought the sandwiches back, then we hit the boozer about 12 oclock!
Wheel Nut:
How many of you go into the yard on saturday morning to wash the truck and then lay under it with a grease gun and a 9/16 spanner knocking the brakes up? Not many I bet.
Sad state of drivers today, isn’t it? I used to always carry at least a minimum tool kit of a 1/2" wrench, a 7/16" and a 9/16", crescent wrench, vise grips, screwdrivers, assorted hose clamps and a full roll of duct tape. Break an air line? 2 clamps and some duct tape would get you to a shop. I actually used to adjust brakes on crummy trailers when I picked them up.
Today, I get to answer the phones for drivers who don’t even go out with a swiss army knife in their pocket!!
When running my own unit I used to carry my cantilever tool box from my workshop which, aswell as tools, always had things like tape, jubilee clips, nuts n’ bolts, fuses, etc. etc in.
Also a spare air line, mirror glass & fan belt. Relatively low cost items that can save a fortune in call out charges & down time. Just common sense I thought.
Once had a sticking range change relay & on more than one occasion, before we swopped it temporarily with the diff lock one, had to get out & get under whilst stopped at traffic lights or a Round-a bout & give it tap with the hammer, so’s i could move off again if heavily freighted.
I carry spare air lines, light lenses, tools etc just in case. Better than sitting at the side of the road for ages because of a burst airline or getting nicked for a broken light. Cable ties and gaffer tap will fix most things as well…
i’m with coffee on this one. i carry all kinds of lights and hoses and even a spare electric (light?) cord. i’d rather change the things myself then sit on the side of the road for hours watching a guy rub it in that he is getting paid by the hour.
Coffeeholic:
I carry spare air lines, light lenses, tools etc just in case. Better than sitting at the side of the road for ages because of a burst airline or getting nicked for a broken light. Cable ties and gaffer tap will fix most things as well…
I hear you. Or, how about having to keep asking drivers on canal deuce on the CB “Avez-tu une ligne pneumatique?” I made sure that when I was driving in an area where I wasn’t very proficient in the local language that
I would have enough tools and materiel to keep running. I can only imagine what you’d need to do on the continent.
"Haben Sie eine pneumatische Linie? "
"Lei ha una linea pneumatica? "
"Hebt u een pneumatische lijn? "
“Вы имеете пневматическая линия?”
“你有一条风力的线吗？”
Well, maybe not the last 2…
if you dont know then just ask.
