Saturday, May 2, 2015

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.