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Kingpin locking jaws9/10/2023 ![]() ![]() Many owner-operators and fleets prefer simply to scrape off the accumulated globs of dirt and grease with a putty knife, brush and cleaning solvent. Manufacturers recommend regular steam cleaning of the top plate, jaws and legs. Following are the recommended practices for ensuring maximum fifth wheel life. ![]() The best way to avoid, or at least delay, the cost and effort of such tasks is with regular, thorough inspections and proper lubrication. Jost models, though, can be rebuilt while attached to the truck. The biggest challenge for most people will be the removal of their fifth wheels, unwieldy slabs of iron weighing upward of 300 pounds. None of these jobs is technically difficult, usually entailing fewer than a dozen parts. Complete instructions are packaged with the kits and are normally available online at the manufacturers’ websites. The steps for rebuilding vary by brand, model and type of kit. When that fails to correct the problem, they can be rebuilt with kits. Off-highway duty will dramatically trim life expectancy, as will construction work – particularly tip-trailer operations – and city work involving constant dropping and hooking.īefore fifth wheels wear out, though, they can be adjusted to tighten the slack that comes with use. Longevity also is affected by application. Actions such as these accelerate wear and can damage tractor and trailer parts. Careless truckers have been known to squeeze their rigs under fully loaded trailers, then slam into the kingpin. Some truck owners use synthetic lubes, but Fontaine’s Brown says that can pose problems for truckers who regularly switch trailers.īeyond lubrication, fifth wheels last longer if they’re not abused. In colder conditions, heavy gear oil works better. Plenty of fifth wheel-specific lubricants are available, but high-quality chassis grease remains the most popular and economical product for top-plate lubrication, at least in regions where the ambient temperature remains above 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Still, most operators use standard models, requiring top plate grease once a week or every 3,000 miles – more with intense drop-and-hook uses – and jaw lubrication every 30,000 to 60,000 miles, depending on manufacturers’ recommendations. Those are the only parts “that will need to be coated to maximize their longevity,” Carroll says. At set intervals, the device automatically delivers a tiny amount of grease to the fifth wheel’s jaws and locking mechanism. Jost is developing Lubetronic, based on a small lubricant cartridge fitted with an electric motor that is used in Europe. Jost also is working to minimize grease waste, but is taking a slightly different approach, says Rich Carroll, vice president of sales and marketing. If some significant portion of them is dripping even a small amount of surplus grease onto roads and parking lots, that’s a lot of pollution over the course of a year.” “There are between 1.5 million and 2 million tractor-trailers on the highways today. “It’s a huge problem,” says Mike Ginocchio, fifth wheel product manager at Holland. ![]() The latter practice allows excess grease to fall onto the ground or the truck’s frame as soon as the rig backs under a trailer. “This is important, not only for lowering maintenance costs, but also for avoiding the mess and environmental problems associated with excessive greasing.”įifth wheels have a long history of messy upkeep: While some people try to use as little grease as possible, others slather a thick layer across the top plate. “Everybody is trying to minimize the number of lube points in their equipment,” says Marty Marsh, Midwest accounts manager for Jost. Fontaine, Holland and Jost International, the three major suppliers of the North American Class 8 market, all sell premium models featuring maintenance-free bracket pins and top plates, mostly embedded with urethane pads that provide a slippery contact surface without grease or oil. Still, manufacturers constantly try to reduce or eliminate the need for fifth-wheel lube. ![]()
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