10-4 Magazine October 2023

10-4 Magazine / October 2023 55 in Detroit, Michigan, when without warning he felt a tug and realized the trailer had slid off the fifth wheel plate and was resting on the frame. It’s a scary few seconds until you get off the road and get parked. I know because I was that driver. At that time, I was leased to a company called Triple Crown Services out of Melvindale, Michigan, working for the railroad. The trailers we hooked to had an extended tongue that allowed them to be platooned together on the rails. The extra extension of the frame put extreme pressure over the center of the jaws on our fifth wheels, and after time, it damaged the internal workings. Visually, there were marks from the trailer, but I didn’t know to check for damage underneath. I did get the load repowered and deliveredwith no damage, but it could have cut my driving career short due to not knowing any better. It’s been a few years since that incident happened, but it’s a lesson I will never forget. Nowadays, I make an appointment to clean and inspect the head at least once a year. I can hear the doomsdayers out there complaining that they don’t have the equipment to do that. I call BS, because it can be done without removing it from the frame of the truck. First, before we remove it, how about we look for symptoms of a problem. Do you feel a jerking motion, like the trailer is moving, when you speed up or slow down? Is there a rough banging when you hit bumps in the parking lot? Can you feel a solid bump and hear a loud metal on metal sound? Has the lever to unlock become difficult to pull? Do you sometimes have trouble getting the jaws to stay closed when hooking to a trailer? These are all symptoms of a dirty or out of adjustment fifth wheel. The new thing for many of the high rollers is to have an aluminum or a nylon inserted fifth wheel head. Don’t get me wrong, they are nice to see at the truck show, and if you are chasing saving weight, then don’t let me discourage you. The average person who shells out over four grand for a custom aluminum head is most likely not going to benefit from this article. The rest of you might want to listen. Maintenance is never ending, and every part of the unit needs to be looked at and checked for wear, even if it looks all right at first sight. How many of you slap a little grease on the top of your plate and think it’s all done? Sure, that helps the trailer to pivot easier, but it doesn’t help the mechanism work to lock the pin or to keep it tight. All those parts are hidden under the actual head or top plate. So, how do you inspect it? If you’re not sure as to what you are looking at, don’t be afraid to search for a video online. Even if you don’t intend to do the work, you should at least know what is under the head and how it works. Remember, if it fails you are the one responsible for any and all damage caused by it. A dropped trailer that is loaded can do substantial damage to a parking lot or to the trailer itself – not to mention the cost of having a heavy wrecker come out and lift it up. Between the repair costs, lost time, and a certain loss of trust and confidence of your shipper, money will be flying out your window. The personal embarrassment when it happens is the least of your worries, and in most cases, your insurance will not cover the damage due to driver neglect. There are a few different types of fifth wheels and multiple manufacturers. If you are not sure which one you have, there should be an identification tag attached to the side of it. In most cases, clean the grease off the top and there may be a logo embossed in the casting. I have all Holland fifth wheels, so mine are all marked as such in the casting. If you are still unsure, check your VIN number with the dealer and they should be able to tell you what was installed at the time of manufacture. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been changed at some point, but it should make it easier to identify. Once you know what you have, then you are on your way to ordering and receiving the correct replacement parts. I mention this because there are companies that are willing to sell you “will fit” parts. They may fit, but are they rated to do the job? That’s a risk I’m not willing to take. This is probably the most critical component on your truck, so don’t take chances. After that incident in Detroit, I swapped out my fifth wheel head because mine malfunctioned. That was a case where the head was physically damaged and needed to go. In a lot of cases where your fifth wheel gets dirty and clogged up, it can be cleaned and readjusted. Not a big deal, but one that can save you the cost of a replacement. For the record, I priced a replacement head a couple weeks ago when mine started acting up. Brace yourself (sticker shock) when I tell you my best price was $1,650. Most places were closer to $2,400 plus installation. I didn’t order one, but I did price a rebuild kit for my unit. Normally, they are around $650 to $800 dollars. The price has really jumped since covid shut down manufacturing, and not all parts are still being made available. I couldn’t find a rebuild kit, so I went back and pulled my head off the