The Amazing World Of Fifth-Wheels!

Fifth-wheels are serious business.

They are easily overlooked too because they are hidden and dirty and nasty.

But when a fifth-wheel fails, bad and embarrassing things can happen that will make you look silly.

Nobody likes to look silly.

That's what I think.

Image courtesy Fontaine Fifth Wheel Company

I recently inherited an older tractor and have been sorting out some if its various issues.

One problem I noticed was a lot of clunking and thunking in my rear end while braking and turning with a trailer attached.  Sometimes it felt like the trailer was going to blast through the rear of the cab under braking.  It was scary and I almost cried.

Ain't nobody got time for a clunky rear end...or trucker tears!

It felt like I had a tractor brake or suspension problem, but closer inspection of the tractor revealed nothing out of the ordinary, so I started looking elsewhere.

That's when I found out from a super-trucker brother about jaw and wedge adjustment on the fifth-wheel.

From the pictures you can see the big spring-loaded bolt sticking out of the right side of the fifth-wheel.

Get you a big honking wrench and some gloves and crank on that bad boy to the right (clockwise) to tighten up the jaws of the fifth wheel.  Lefty-loosie (counter-clockwise) to do the opposite...

Mine was loose.  Once tightened, the difference was amazing.  No more funky noises, and the entire rig handled much better at all speeds.

Apparently, there should be about 1/4 inch of travel on that spring-loaded bolt when it is properly adjusted.

Image courtesy Fontaine Fifth Wheel Company

You can get much more fifth-wheel information at the Fontaine Fifth Wheel website.

Fun And Games On The Road

A couple of idiots here besides drunk Camaro-guy. 

Dash-cam dude is following way too close, especially after seeing Camaro guy's initial stupidity. 

Dash-cam dude should have backed off more right after seeing the games begin.   He's lucky he wasn't collected.

Pickup truck guy is a tool because he decided to play games with Camaro guy and not pass the big rig in order to "teach" Camaro guy a lesson. 

The big rig was the innocent victim, although maybe he could have backed out of it and let the two morons fight it out away from him.

The road is no place for games, people. 

If you wanna play games, stick to your X-Box and Grand Theft Auto.

Near Miss: Tire Blowout Debris And 4-Wheeler Avoidance

What I think you'll see here is how paying attention to your surroundings...what's going on around you, who and what and where people are, and leaving plenty of space equals giving you time and room to make safe decisions and reactions.

Notice several car lengths in front of me is another tractor-trailer.

Traffic is heavy with four-wheelers on a Sunday.  I'm in the right lane, and I know the left lane is full of a line of four-wheelers passing me.

I also know that I have another tractor-trailer behind me, and that he is keeping a prudent and sensible distance behind me.  (I've been watching him for many miles, and I have come to the conclusion that he is a decent driver and won't do anything stupid.)

Now back to the video...

From the rig in front of me, you'll see a puff of smoke and/or dust, and you'll also see several four-wheelers swerve and/or stomp on the brakes.

These are indications that something silly is going on ahead and that I should slow down and prepare for anything.

I slow a bit and turn on my hazards to indicate to the folks behind me that there is a problem ahead.

As I get closer to the problem, I see chunks of rubber and parts of the stricken rig flying all over the road, and four-wheelers swerving in every direction.

I don't want to run over the junk in the road because I have brand new tires on my tractor and I'm pulling a brand new trailer.

I don't want to damage any of it if possible because damaging stuff is below average and unprofessional and embarrassing.

I know I can't go into the left lane to avoid the junk because it is full of four-wheelers.  I know the right shoulder is clear because I have checked my mirrors.

I see the stricken rig is on the right shoulder now and it is still moving, but I have slowed down enough that I know I have plenty of time and room to take my rig to the right shoulder to avoid the junk in the right lane.

This is what I do.

I miss the junk and get back into the right lane and carefully pass the damaged rig.

No harm done to me or the folks near me.

(Please note that it takes a lot more time to describe what happened than the time that elapsed during the actual event.)

It all seems so simple.

Give yourself time and room.

And always pay attention.

It can make all the difference.

Thing-a-ma-bobs And Doojy-floppers?: Trailer Tire Air Pressure System

See the silver and red lines on this trailer wheel?  

If your trailer is equipped with these lines, it probably has one of these on the nose of the trailer also.

Everybody knows I ain’t too smart.

I thought those lines on the wheel hub might be some kinda fancy oil lines to keep the bearings lubricated.  I had no idea what they were, and I never investigated them because I’m a lazy stoopid truck driver.

Then…a while back…a road service tire repair guru showed me that those lines are actually air lines which are used to maintain trailer tire air pressure during normal operation. He showed me how he could mount a flat tire on the wheel (without removing the wheel from the hub), and then inflate the tire using the truck’s air system.

Pretty cool.

A few weeks ago, one of my work pals hipped me to what was going on here with the item in the second photo.  I knew that item was a warning light, but I thought it was a warning light used to indicate reefer malfunction.

Then, I got told by my buddy.

I am such a moron.

That light is part of the trailer tire air pressure maintenance system.  If trailer tire air pressure gets too low, that light will come on, and the attentive and prudent driver will see it in his rear view mirror and react accordingly.

Now you and I BOTH know.

Never stop learning.

Ain’t life grand?

Stupid Buckeye Uses Up A Lifetime Of Luck

I'd say the four-wheeler was drunk or distracted by phone/texting...

He was moving from lane to lane after he went by, got into the sweeping right-hander in the hammer lane, drifted into the slush/snow on the left shoulder, and that was all she wrote.
 
Side-swiped the end cap of the guard rail by the overhead sign post.

Then he headed towards oncoming traffic. (You can see oncoming traffic slow down)

From the rooster tail of snow, I'd say the driver hammered it as opposed to stomping on the binders. 

Good move because slamming on the brakes would have caused an uncontrollable spin on the snowy grass median...sending him right into oncoming traffic.
 

It was a nice save...but it never should have happened.
 

That driver needs to buy many lottery tickets. 

And soon.

Tandem Axle Differential Power Divider Lock

Image courtesy Eaton Fuller Company/roadranger.com

Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be a lot of confusion out there about what a power divider lock is, how it works, and how it should be used.

I must admit...after perusing the internet for days trying to find a definitive answer, I'm more confused now than I was before.

Many moons ago, I was taught that one doesn't cruise down the interstate at speed for hours with the PDL engaged, and that PDL engagement should only be used for short periods, at slow speeds, in slick conditions, or to get yourself unstuck from mud, snow, muck, and goo.

This seems to be mostly accurate, but I wanted to know for sure.

Like all truck drivers, everybody has their own opinion.

Many of these opinions, it seems, are incorrect.

Knowledgeable mechanics are a good source of information, but sometimes I've found their explanations are too technical for the average dummy like me. 

So...like my dad always said, "When all else fails, read the instructions!" 

That is exactly what I did.

The following two scans are from pages 127 and 128 of the International/Navistar operator's manual which I found in my 2012 International Maxxforce tandem axle tractor equipped with a PDL switch.

Hopefully, this clears a few things up.

Please note:  Tandem axle power divider lock (PDL) is not the same as driver-controlled differential lock, and I'm too stupid to explain the difference between the two.

Different tractors may be equipped with different axle/differential controls.  It is important to know how your tractor is equipped, how it works, and how the controls function.

Otherwise, you may cause expensive noises and scatter your drive-train all over the interstate.

Doing so would be below average in just about anybody's book!

__________ 

How A Differential Works

Thought For The Day: Stoicism

Stoicism is the calm acceptance of responsibility.  

It is the acceptance that I am responsible for what I am capable of controlling. 

I cannot control what anyone else does or does not do. 

I cannot control the outcome of events, after I’ve done the work.

Stop trying to control anything except yourself.

We focus our efforts on what we are responsible for.

You are not in control over anything that you are not in control of.  Accept it.  Embrace it.

Accept responsibility for what you are responsible for.

You are responsible for you.  You are responsible for your actions.  You are in control of everything that you are in control of. 

Accept that responsibility.

The Stoic way...is to take responsibility for yourself.

Accept that you have absolute control over what you have control over, and don’t worry about the rest of it. 

If you take the responsibility you need to take, then you will perform. 

If you don’t, you will fail.

__________

The preceding were excerpts from an article written by John Mosby and were taken from his Mountain Guerrilla blog-site.