Hi, is their an adjustable height fifth wheel about, so you can run both a standard and a lowrider on a 1250mm tractor ?
And are they expensive.
DPD use adjustable 5th wheels, you just flick a lever whilst solo and the 5th wheel lifts or lowers on air system. Don’t know anything about costs.
Trucking Turner:
Hi, is their an adjustable height fifth wheel about, so you can run both a standard and a lowrider on a 1250mm tractor ?
And are they expensive.
How are you going to get a fifth wheel that lowers to run a low-ride trailer on a standard chassis?
That was my question.
Surely if you don’t know something it’s better to ask.
I guess from your post that there is nothing available to allow a standard tractor to pull a lowride mega trailer and not exceed the european 4 metre height limit.
Thanks for your help.
I wouldn’t have though so. Obviously you can gain height from a short chassis but cannot lose height from a normal chassis.
I’ve seen 1.25’s pull low ride trailers but you won’t make the height unless it’s a low roof trailer to start with. They always look like they’re going to rub the mudguards away on the rear trailer axle there’s that much angle on the trailer.
Sorry my post wasn’t very helpful and I didn’t mean to come across rude or anything, just couldn’t see how it could be done.
But I’ve had a similar problem, trying to get a trailer with an 1100mm fifth wheel height onto a standard chassis. not solved it, but the only way I could see of doing it was to remove the slider and put the fifth wheel on the chassis that took about 50mm off it.
Other things I looked at was changing the tyre sizes, and I think Jost do a very thin fifth wheel, but it’s not adjustable and it wouldn’t help if you had a proper low ride trailer.
The only answer really would be have a low ride unit and put an adjustable fifth wheel on that.
muckles:
Sorry my post wasn’t very helpful and I didn’t mean to come across rude or anything, just couldn’t see how it could be done.But I’ve had a similar problem, trying to get a trailer with an 1100mm fifth wheel height onto a standard chassis. not solved it, but the only way I could see of doing it was to remove the slider and put the fifth wheel on the chassis that took about 50mm off it.
Other things I looked at was changing the tyre sizes, and I think Jost do a very thin fifth wheel, but it’s not adjustable and it wouldn’t help if you had a proper low ride trailer.
The only answer really would be have a low ride unit and put an adjustable fifth wheel on that.
I’ve tried similar working for various manufacturers and rental companies and never managed a successful conversion yet, always too costly and never quite the result your looking for, sorry 
Thanks all, no easy solution then, the Boss will have to dip in her pocket and source a low ride tractor methinks.
Would that not be the easiest? Run a low ride tractor with an adjustable height coupling?
Her what must be obeyed took our current std tractor on a 2 year lease last october, replacing it with a low ride could be too costly. Ho hum.
70 or 65 tyres rather than 80’s with the low fixed 5th wheel will get you down a good distance, maybe not down to lowride height (only a lowride unit is lowride height!) but not that far off.
a low low height 5th wheel!
if you lower a normal height unit by lower profile tyres (60-profile, or even lower), you will start running into problems with ground clearance on the tanks etc, also it will change the gearing, so you’ll need to recalibrate the tacho and you might lose on the fuel economy due to the engine running on higher revs.
Volvo do 3 different height chassis Standard/Med/Low so if you only need 1100mm height find a medium height chassis or
on a Standard unit fir 315X70X22,5 tyres on the front (They wear better and are safer) and 295X70X22.5 tyres on the rear and a jost 140mm fixed fifth wheel then have the rear ride height lowered/adjusted by the main dealer, which they do via a laptop !
Or buy a lowride and forever be buying tyres
Rgs
JJSL