Hi Thomas Reed - Thank you for your comment. And nope, just regular ole' grease. There is a really good connection between the trailer plate and the 5th wheel for electrical grounding. I've never experienced a problem with that part of the trailer. On smaller trailers yes, by not semi trailers. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Finally some who has it right. I'm 42 years behind the wheel, and I stopped wasting grease 2 years into my trucking career, after a mechanic told me the best way to grease a 5th. And that is what you did. Now could you do me a favour, and clean up that excess grease over the sides and front. I hate seeing messy 5th's .
Hi Stephen D James - Apologies for the late response. Thank you for your comment. And yes, I too dislike a messy 5th wheel. Every time--it seemed--that I went out of the truck I got 5th wheel grease on my clothing; and then it went in the truck. I haven't seen that truck in a few years so I won't be able to clean up the grease. All the best my friend, Cheers Rick
Until scrapping the grease off. Drop the suspension back under and raise it back up when the pin is a foot from the jaws. I hate extra grease on the power divider when I have to replace them. There's a art to dropping a trailer and this everyone needs to know..bags up crank em down raise em 2 turns on the high side bags down pull out. Never crank up the dollys and raise the tractor or you'll piss some one off .
Hi Sgt. Shill - Thank you for your comment. That video is one of my oldest videos, and you are the first person to comment that it was a different truck making the turn. ;-) If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
@@smartdrivetest I wish for a video on how to grease six wheel truck and the kind of grease to be use. What I will like to add is when applying grease on the 5th is also good to check if it's not having a fault that needs change if not then u can continue applying the grease.
A note for anyone with newer trucks. Before greasing the 5th wheel, make sure it does not have the built in low friction pads, they do not need greased and actually should not be greased. You can tell if you have them if there are plastic-looking pads sticking up slightly from the 5th wheel plate. If you have them. It is better to keep them clean than to apple grease.
Hi Johnny Jones - Thank you for your comment. And you are most welcome. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi Mr. Omaha - Thank you for your comment and compliment. This video is one of my oldest, and you are one of the very few smart drivers that commented on the different trucks - good spot. To be frank, I didn't have the footage, so I used some old video just to give viewers the idea. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Thanks Daniel - yes - drivers must keep the 5th wheel properly lubricated. And it's an easy task as can be seen from the video. The other maintenance task is "slop" in the fifth wheel. The jaws will become loose and you'll feel the trailer move around. Just bring in to the mechanic's attention and they'll make an adjustment. Cheers Rick
Hi Mark Scott - Thank you for your comment. And yes, I've got that God awful stuff on my boots, and on my clothes - often when teaching air brakes or pre-trip inspection. Believe me, it just doesn't come out in the wash. 80P If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi Darlene Wollman - Apologies for the late response. Thank you for your comment and query. Yes, you drop the airbag, get the 5th wheel under the trailer, raise the air bags, check the height, and then back into the pin. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
What is the best way to use pneumatic grease gun is it from glad hand or from air tanks with some kind of quick connect ? Please share your thoughts on the the subject. And best way to do it. is it pneumatic or electric cordless I really would like to know about pneumatic grease gun setup if possible. Is it enough psi or cfm whatever in semi truck for this application and what other things or tools we can use our air tanks for beside filling the tires .thank you.
Hi Mortal Ocean - Thank you for your comment and query. I'm not the best person to ask for pneumatic and electric grease guns, but I've always found the pump handle ones to work just fine. And they're less prone to breaking. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
My problem is trying to keep grease, I do a lot of drop hook throughout the day with heavy wagons and all are over 20 years old. Soon as it rains and everything gets wet I shear most of it off in one drop n hook, know of any good stuff that will stay on
Hi Shaed Buech - Thank you for your comment. I don't know of anything offhand my friend. However, you really don't need much more than a sheen of grease on the 5th wheel to have it lubricated. In my experience, if you put grease on once a week, you're going to be good my friend. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi Shaed Buech - Apologies for the late response. Thank you for your comment. Ya, that sounds about right if you're hooking to a lot of trailers and they are heavy. I don't have any other suggestions my friend. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi Prases #147 xpress - Apologies for the late response. Thank you for your comment and query. When you're pulling trailers, you'll hear the trailer grinding on the 5th wheel plate as you're going around corners. If the 5th wheel gets too dry, you could risk a jack-knife - but that's only in extreme situations. Usually duriing routing maintenance, most technicians will put grease on the 5th wheel. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi bigchue45 - Thank you for your comment and query. That grease should work fine for your purposes. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
What about the jaws that secure the kingpin? That's the problem I'm having - spending an hour to release my kingpin and the shop tech doesn't know what I'm talking about.
Hi FrAA888 grindR - We had that problem once. Do you need to lift the handle first to get it to release my friend? Some times there's a safety on the king pin release handle. All the best, Cheers Rick
@@smartdrivetest the release is a rocker switch in the cab. There's also a manual release ring attached to a cable in the plate, should the switch fail, but after a solid hour+ couldn't get either to release the kingpin. So I aborted the mission (needed steer alignment) and figured I'd try following the next drop. Raised landing gear, attatched hoses, performed tug test and physically inspected 5th wheel jaws on last time, with no apparent change and down the road I went... 4 miles later while merging from 270W to 6E outside Denver my trailer filled my c-side mirror as my kingpin released and the trailer had slid back 18" and another 30"+ to the left. Emergency flashers and a full stop in the right lane - I was afraid to attempt to shoulder the trailer to the right since it was almost off the left side. After disconnecting and reconnecting I was moving again in about 5+ mins with a racing heart and knotted stomach but no damage to equipment or people, so a small price to pay. A very close call with remaining 25K load of beef. My faith in my 5th wheel system is very low and I admit having some serious paranoia, healthy or not.
Is this your own truck, or is this a company truck. I'd have a really hard time trusting a 5th wheel that has a release in the cab. In all the years I drove, I never had a 5th wheel let go, but I know drivers that have dropped these off the back of the tractor. If it's your truck, I'd consider replacing it with something different. If it's the company, refuse to drive it. All the best, Cheers Rick
'Red' is usually High-temp grease so how are you getting any lube if the grease isn't releasing oils at low temps... Moly-grease uses graphite for low-temp friction.
Hi jj moto - Thank you for your question. The grease works it's way down into the mechanism so you don't have to worry about greasing anything but the plate. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
I stepped on some 5th wheel grease and some got stuck on my boot. then I noticed it after making tracks on my carpet. does anyone know how to remove it? thanks in advance
Hi Daryl Perpignan - thank you for your comment. Dab at it with varsol - a carpet cleaner guy showed me that. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Why does everyone say semi-trailer. It's a trailer. The tractor is a tractor. The combination of which is tractor trailer. How can a trailer be a partial entity?
Hi Michael Page - Thank you for your comment and query. The trailer is a partial unit. It is specifically designed to be hauled by a road tractor. Without the road tractor, the trailer simply can't be hauled or move, thus, it is a semi-trailer. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi Korova Milk Bar - Thank you for your comment and query. 2 minutes saved is time you could be drinking coffee my friend!! ;0) Also, too much grease get flippn' everywhere - usually on you and in the cab! If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi angel galvan - Thank you for your comment. And that is one of the earliest videos on the channel. You are one of two other smart drivers that noticed that the trucks are different colours. And no I wasn't driving both at the same time! ;-) If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi Irish Joe - Thank you for your comment. And why would you want to do all that work. Do you like grease?? If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Hi wbball15 - Thank you for your comment. And you are one of the few smart drivers--this is one of my oldest videos--that noticed the different colour of the trucks. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Thought you needed graphite grease to be sure of good electrical continuity.
Hi Thomas Reed - Thank you for your comment. And nope, just regular ole' grease. There is a really good connection between the trailer plate and the 5th wheel for electrical grounding. I've never experienced a problem with that part of the trailer. On smaller trailers yes, by not semi trailers. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
A properly wired truck and trailer should ha e a ground in the wiring connector from trailer to truck.
@@Obamaistoast2012 Dude, love the handle!
Finally some who has it right. I'm 42 years behind the wheel, and I stopped wasting grease 2 years into my trucking career, after a mechanic told me the best way to grease a 5th. And that is what you did. Now could you do me a favour, and clean up that excess grease over the sides and front. I hate seeing messy 5th's .
Hi Stephen D James - Apologies for the late response. Thank you for your comment. And yes, I too dislike a messy 5th wheel. Every time--it seemed--that I went out of the truck I got 5th wheel grease on my clothing; and then it went in the truck. I haven't seen that truck in a few years so I won't be able to clean up the grease. All the best my friend, Cheers Rick
I don't even drive trucks, and until this video had no idea what a 5th wheel was; and that excess grease was bugging me too lol
Until scrapping the grease off. Drop the suspension back under and raise it back up when the pin is a foot from the jaws. I hate extra grease on the power divider when I have to replace them. There's a art to dropping a trailer and this everyone needs to know..bags up crank em down raise em 2 turns on the high side bags down pull out. Never crank up the dollys and raise the tractor or you'll piss some one off .
Like magic... Truck goes from red to white for the drive then back to red!! Lol
Hi Sgt. Shill - Thank you for your comment. That video is one of my oldest videos, and you are the first person to comment that it was a different truck making the turn. ;-) If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Smart Drive Test no worries lol keep up the great work!
Thank you my friend. All the best, Cheers Rick
I'm not exactly sure why UA-cam decided I needed to see this bit hey ..
Also pretty sweet color changing truck you got there.
This is the best, most pragmatic method I’ve seen.
Bar none.
Commonsense rules!
Very nice work and informative video. Especially for rookie drivers. I know a lot folks that were not properly trained.
Hi Sebastian Rosiak - you are most welcome my friend. Drop us a note if we can help further my friend. All the best, Cheers Rick
Thanks for this video bro . This my job and ur explanation was on point.
Hi collins pizzaro - you are most welcome my friend. Drop us a note if we can help further my friend. All the best, Cheers Rick
@@smartdrivetest I wish for a video on how to grease six wheel truck and the kind of grease to be use. What I will like to add is when applying grease on the 5th is also good to check if it's not having a fault that needs change if not then u can continue applying the grease.
A note for anyone with newer trucks. Before greasing the 5th wheel, make sure it does not have the built in low friction pads, they do not need greased and actually should not be greased. You can tell if you have them if there are plastic-looking pads sticking up slightly from the 5th wheel plate. If you have them. It is better to keep them clean than to apple grease.
Thanks for the information my friend. All the best, Cheers Rick
Thanks for another great video Rick . Your the best.
Hi Johnny Jones - Thank you for your comment. And you are most welcome. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Thanks for the quick learning tip great knowledge I'm about to be a new driver.
Is that lucas red and tacky that you're using?
great explanation and tips SDT.
You need to clean old grease inside channels on 5th wheel when it gets old and dry and put there fresh one
What kind of grease can i use?
use shaeffers fifth wheel grease in a spray can. i buy 12 cans and it last me 1 year for my truck .
Can I use supertech multi-duty complex grease on a fifth wheel???
What happens if fifth wheel is over lubricated?
How come there were 2 different trucks used? One Red & One White? Other then that, I got a lot of useful info
Hi Mr. Omaha - Thank you for your comment and compliment. This video is one of my oldest, and you are one of the very few smart drivers that commented on the different trucks - good spot. To be frank, I didn't have the footage, so I used some old video just to give viewers the idea. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Thanks sir
Hi Ahmed Bashir - you are most welcome my friend. Drop us a note if we can help further my friend. All the best, Cheers Rick
Thank you for posting, it is very informative
Thanks Daniel - yes - drivers must keep the 5th wheel properly lubricated. And it's an easy task as can be seen from the video. The other maintenance task is "slop" in the fifth wheel. The jaws will become loose and you'll feel the trailer move around. Just bring in to the mechanic's attention and they'll make an adjustment. Cheers Rick
You always the best..... know & how.
I don't know never got it on my boots good luck with getting rid of this problem.
Try dawn dish detergent
Hi Mark Scott - Thank you for your comment. And yes, I've got that God awful stuff on my boots, and on my clothes - often when teaching air brakes or pre-trip inspection. Believe me, it just doesn't come out in the wash. 80P If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Do you drop air bags and then inflate again when almost under trailer
Hi Darlene Wollman - Apologies for the late response. Thank you for your comment and query. Yes, you drop the airbag, get the 5th wheel under the trailer, raise the air bags, check the height, and then back into the pin. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
@@smartdrivetest what If I dont have suspension dump on my truck
What is the best way to use pneumatic grease gun is it from glad hand or from air tanks with some kind of quick connect ?
Please share your thoughts on the the subject. And best way to do it. is it pneumatic or electric cordless
I really would like to know about pneumatic grease gun setup if possible. Is it enough psi or cfm whatever in semi truck for this application and what other things or tools we can use our air tanks for beside filling the tires .thank you.
Hi Mortal Ocean - Thank you for your comment and query. I'm not the best person to ask for pneumatic and electric grease guns, but I've always found the pump handle ones to work just fine. And they're less prone to breaking. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
My problem is trying to keep grease, I do a lot of drop hook throughout the day with heavy wagons and all are over 20 years old. Soon as it rains and everything gets wet I shear most of it off in one drop n hook, know of any good stuff that will stay on
Hi Shaed Buech - Thank you for your comment. I don't know of anything offhand my friend. However, you really don't need much more than a sheen of grease on the 5th wheel to have it lubricated. In my experience, if you put grease on once a week, you're going to be good my friend. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
@@smartdrivetest I'm usually putting more on about every 3 days, everyday if it's been raining, I'll have bare metal in one or loads
Hi Shaed Buech - Apologies for the late response. Thank you for your comment. Ya, that sounds about right if you're hooking to a lot of trailers and they are heavy. I don't have any other suggestions my friend. All the best, Cheers Rick
What are the effects of driving with dry fifth wheel?
Hi Prases #147 xpress - Apologies for the late response. Thank you for your comment and query. When you're pulling trailers, you'll hear the trailer grinding on the 5th wheel plate as you're going around corners. If the 5th wheel gets too dry, you could risk a jack-knife - but that's only in extreme situations. Usually duriing routing maintenance, most technicians will put grease on the 5th wheel. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Vaginal dryness is not fun
You cam also mess up your steer tires . Wear tires in a bad way.
What is the NLGI of this red grease?
I got this grease that's says 3% moly grease is that ok to use?
Hi bigchue45 - Thank you for your comment and query. That grease should work fine for your purposes. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
What about the jaws that secure the kingpin? That's the problem I'm having - spending an hour to release my kingpin and the shop tech doesn't know what I'm talking about.
Hi FrAA888 grindR - We had that problem once. Do you need to lift the handle first to get it to release my friend? Some times there's a safety on the king pin release handle. All the best, Cheers Rick
@@smartdrivetest the release is a rocker switch in the cab. There's also a manual release ring attached to a cable in the plate, should the switch fail, but after a solid hour+ couldn't get either to release the kingpin. So I aborted the mission (needed steer alignment) and figured I'd try following the next drop. Raised landing gear, attatched hoses, performed tug test and physically inspected 5th wheel jaws on last time, with no apparent change and down the road I went...
4 miles later while merging from 270W to 6E outside Denver my trailer filled my c-side mirror as my kingpin released and the trailer had slid back 18" and another 30"+ to the left. Emergency flashers and a full stop in the right lane - I was afraid to attempt to shoulder the trailer to the right since it was almost off the left side. After disconnecting and reconnecting I was moving again in about 5+ mins with a racing heart and knotted stomach but no damage to equipment or people, so a small price to pay. A very close call with remaining 25K load of beef.
My faith in my 5th wheel system is very low and I admit having some serious paranoia, healthy or not.
Is this your own truck, or is this a company truck. I'd have a really hard time trusting a 5th wheel that has a release in the cab. In all the years I drove, I never had a 5th wheel let go, but I know drivers that have dropped these off the back of the tractor. If it's your truck, I'd consider replacing it with something different. If it's the company, refuse to drive it. All the best, Cheers Rick
'Red' is usually High-temp grease so how are you getting any lube if the grease isn't releasing oils at low temps... Moly-grease uses graphite for low-temp friction.
Tanks
Hi Reece Proulx - you are most welcome my friend. Drop us a note if we can help further my friend. All the best, Cheers Rick
@Smart_Drive_Test What do you recommend using to lubricate the underside locking mechanism in the fifth wheel?
Hi jj moto - Thank you for your question. The grease works it's way down into the mechanism so you don't have to worry about greasing anything but the plate. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
I stepped on some 5th wheel grease and some got stuck on my boot. then I noticed it after making tracks on my carpet. does anyone know how to remove it? thanks in advance
Hi Daryl Perpignan - thank you for your comment. Dab at it with varsol - a carpet cleaner guy showed me that. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Smart Drive Test thank you very much!
You are most welcome. Cheers Rick
go to dollar general or something and buy a bottle of shout and scrub it out. works good for clothes too
Thanks
Smart
Why does everyone say semi-trailer. It's a trailer. The tractor is a tractor. The combination of which is tractor trailer. How can a trailer be a partial entity?
Hi Michael Page - Thank you for your comment and query. The trailer is a partial unit. It is specifically designed to be hauled by a road tractor. Without the road tractor, the trailer simply can't be hauled or move, thus, it is a semi-trailer. All the best, Cheers Rick
Smart Drive Test incorrect. A trailer is a trailer. A semi is used to describe the tractor only.
Trailers also have wheels upfront. Much like those toys that kids pull around.
A semi trailer is a trailer with no front wheels. A whole trailer is a trailer with front and rear wheels Except, it’s not called a whole tailer.
My problem is mine is zero grease left and a company too incompetent to bring out some grease.
do you have to spend a long time doing the entire plate? .. ;^))
Hi Korova Milk Bar - Thank you for your comment and query. 2 minutes saved is time you could be drinking coffee my friend!! ;0) Also, too much grease get flippn' everywhere - usually on you and in the cab! If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Is not that seam tuck one is red and one is white
Hi angel galvan - Thank you for your comment. And that is one of the earliest videos on the channel. You are one of two other smart drivers that noticed that the trucks are different colours. And no I wasn't driving both at the same time! ;-) If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
What's a seam tuck?
That's a lot of build up on the sides of that 5th wheel, you should consider scraping off old greese so it doesn't contaminate the new stuff.
The truck you put grease on it was red the truck you were driving around was white so it was not the same truck
Grease ALL of it!
Hi Irish Joe - Thank you for your comment. And why would you want to do all that work. Do you like grease?? If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
Greasing the bottom greases ALL OF IT when you hook up and start driving. Go back to drinking.
Yay for bad editing continuity.
Hi wbball15 - Thank you for your comment. And you are one of the few smart drivers--this is one of my oldest videos--that noticed the different colour of the trucks. If there is anything further we can do, drop us a note. Always happy to help. All the best, Cheers Rick
No worries. I thought it was funny. It's a good video. Far too many don't do it (or don't keep it simple). Cheers.
Hi wbball15 - Thank you for your compliment. And we're happy to hear it was entertaining and helpful. All the best my friend, Cheers Rick
REPENT AND FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST BEFORE ITS TOO LATE