what effect if any does the placement of the 5th wheel have on your rear tandems?

by bodie
(michigan)

what effect if any does moving your 5th wheel have on the rear tandems?

Comments for what effect if any does the placement of the 5th wheel have on your rear tandems?

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Oct 20, 2012
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5th wheel placement effect on steering
by: Anonymous

I am new to trucking. I've been a truck mechanic for 30 years so I understand the workings of the rig. I pull a 53' reefer with a tandem day cab.

When turning on wet pavement, my steer tires want to plow straight ahead, actually sliding on the pavement. My tires are in good shape. I carry typically 42k to 45k. I load my own trailer so I can place the load anyway I want.

Any suggestions?

Apr 11, 2010
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Fifth wheels position and legal weights on a tractor trailer
by: Anonymous

Position of the fifth wheel will have no effect on the weight on the tandems. It will only change the weight of the drives and steers. Forward with fifth wheels adds weight to steers and reduces weight on drives. Rearward will reduce weight on steers and increase weight on steers.

The ideal position may be dependent on tractor type as well as load weight. It is possible to never have to move the fifth wheel position over a career. Some shippers do not care how they load a cargo and the driver may be faced with adjusting the steers and tandems to obtain legal weights, but if through all attempts to obtain that legal weight you are unable to do so, you should return to the shipper to reload for proper balance.

If in the case that the shipper refuses to reload your recourse may to be to refuse the load, but you should exhaust all avenues before this. make sure you have scale tickets to show shipper if there is no scale at shipper. Remember, your maximums are Steers-12,000; Drives-34,000; Tandems-34,000.

Some states may exceed these, but make sure you are legal for the state(check Rand Mcnally Atlas for weights by state).

Apr 08, 2010
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tickets for over weight can get expensive
by: Anonymous

sliding the 5th wheel toward the cab increases the weight on the steering axle roughly 500lbs for each notch on the slider

sliding the trailer tandems toward the truck takes weight off the trucks drive axles the same way

overweight tickets can get costly

over axle front axle-12,000,any other 19,000
over axle group 34,000
over gross 80,000

as accurate as i can remember

Apr 08, 2010
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sliding the Fifth Wheel
by: Jeff

Weight: that's the effect. Where your fifth wheel is placed will effect the weight of you tandems, just as the placement of your tandems will effect the weight on your drives and you steers.

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