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series60

series60

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Defective 5th wheels on yellow dollies.

Lately I've been hearing of a bunch of dropped trailers around the company because of these Holland brand 5th wheels coming uncoupled after the driver has driven sometimes 100's of miles.
Recently I heard down in Cincinnati that a driver has been fired for dropping one after the garage had determined that there was a problem (defect) with this unit.
Can anyone else share their information on here about anyone else going through this & how to protect his or her job. What to look for, problem signs.
I've asked many different mechanics & received many conflicting instructions on what to look for. Especially concerning the adjustment bolt sticking out the front.
 
series60 said:
Defective 5th wheels on yellow dollies.

Lately I've been hearing of a bunch of dropped trailers around the company because of these Holland brand 5th wheels coming uncoupled after the driver has driven sometimes 100's of miles.
Recently I heard down in Cincinnati that a driver has been fired for dropping one after the garage had determined that there was a problem (defect) with this unit.
Can anyone else share their information on here about anyone else going through this & how to protect his or her job. What to look for, problem signs.
I've asked many different mechanics & received many conflicting instructions on what to look for. Especially concerning the adjustment bolt sticking out the front.
Click to expand...

The problem may be with the trailer as indicated in this service-bulletin.

Holland 5th Wheel Service-Bulletin
 
Biggest issue is with trailers dropped high, if the jaws are still closed when the trailer comes off it was high hooked.
But if the jaws are open either they never locked(not fully hooked) or the U shaped lock did not slide down, the Simplex 5th wheels rotate the the latch arm around and if visually inspected you could not see any part of the pin when fully latched, the Holland wheel have 2 jaws that meet in the center and should be touching each other if latched, the most important part is to tug on the rear pup before hooking up the air lines because if the dolly is pushed back against the pin the jaws will look closed, the u shaped lock slides down the outside of the jaws to hold them closed when it fully locked the nut/washer should be touching the 5th wheel head, if it's not the u shaped lock is not fully engaged.

I'll look for some decent images to make it clearer but here's the instructions from the Holland user manual.
Holland.jpg
 
Here's a image of the yoke/ulock mechanism, if there is snow/ice stuck on the bottom of the 5th wheel it will not slide fully into place.

The 5th wheel plates on both the rex and yellow pups have rugged 5th wheel plates(note the ramp plate in front of the 5th wheel pin is not part of the 5th wheel plate)
HollandYoke.jpg
 
Check the kingpin under the trailer. If it's bent or worn down, it can easily pop out of the locking jaw on the 5th wheel, just by running over a bump on the road. I would see a lot of those bent kingpins under those Ro, uh, um, uh, :duh:, YRC trailers that have the blue lettering. Especially, when drivers refuse to apply grease on the 5th wheel. Because, it does is wear and tear the kingpin head, shaft, and the kingpin apron underneath the trailer.
 
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If you saw a "Bent" Kingpin you have no idea what your looking at.
Worn king pins do not "Pop Out" the lower boss on the king pin never wears.
 
Wrench97 said:
If you saw a "Bent" Kingpin you have no idea what your looking at.
Worn king pins do not "Pop Out" the lower boss on the king pin never wears.
Click to expand...

Then can I toss this tool in the garbage?

TRAILER KINGPIN GAUGE J700
How to Measure Trailer King Pin Wear

•Slide the round opening in the gauge over the King Pin to the "Neck" area. If the gauge fits around the "Neck" at the minimum neck area, the king pin is worn beyond serviceable limits according to the SAE J700 standard.
•Slide the round opening in the gauge over the King Pin to the "Shoulder" area. If the gauge fits around the "Shoulder" at the minimum neck area, the king pin is worn beyond serviceable limits according to the SAE J700 standard.
 
Wrench97 said:
If you saw a "Bent" Kingpin you have no idea what your looking at.
Worn king pins do not "Pop Out" the lower boss on the king pin never wears.
Click to expand...
It quite simple, use a flashlight and look up. A kingpin can snap off of the apron if it's rusted, worn down, or if the bolts were missing to hold the kingpin apron in place. Those first three digit numbered trailers (300) had a lot rusted and worn down kingpin aprons. They were the gray YRC trailers, with the blue lettering on them. The trailers where a driver would have to a use hammer or the dolly chain hook to smack the sliding lock pin to the left, to make sure the latch would pop open while driving down the road.
 
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The gauge measure the diameter of the pin the wear surface of the pin is between the lower shoulder and upper shoulder where the 5th wheel latch contacts it.
More then a 1/4" wear is not allowed, not because it will pop put but rather in danger of breaking off.
 
Wrench97 , Wolf and Driver X Thanks for taking the time and updating everyone on this ! This is what this forum should be like ! Once again thanks .:1036316054:
 
900 series were the used purchase and city/convention trailers retired from the L/H fleet I never saw a Rex 300 series trailer, if you mean the old 5 digit 30 series they'd be 30-40 years old.

Either way worn pins don't pop out, bad bolts, loose pins nor pins welded in on an angle will cause a 5th wheel to open and drop a trailer, not that any of the those things are good nor should they be present they have nothing to do with a 5th wheel that seems locked to suddenly unlock.
 
Wrench97 said:
The gauge measure the diameter of the pin the wear surface of the pin is between the lower shoulder and upper shoulder where the 5th wheel latch contacts it.
More then a 1/4" wear is not allowed, not because it will pop put but rather in danger of breaking off.
Click to expand...
Ok, got it now! "The lower boss" never wears. :duh:
 
I'll never say never but I've not seen one wear in diameter, under enough upward stress it can wear in thickness but that would be very unusual and if worn to the point of coming off the tractor would be readily apparent, IE no long there, it just stops the pin from coming up out of the 5th wheel.
 
R-14Driver said:
Wrench97 , Wolf and Driver X Thanks for taking the time and updating everyone on this ! This is what this forum should be like ! Once again thanks .:1036316054:
Click to expand...

Always a pleasure R14, now can you help me get my 5th wheel unlocked?

2j4tutl.jpg
 
I had one of those a few years back when a customer decide to load 45,000 lbs of lead in the direct middle of a 53' trailer ( sealed load ) . I hit the RR tracks in Santa Fe Springs and the trailer look almost the same .

Driver X said:
Always a pleasure R14, now can you help me get my 5th wheel unlocked?

2j4tutl.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Wrench97 said:
Now there's one that'll wear out that bottom flange:LMAO:

What happened there?
Click to expand...

I don't know, it's like everyone on my route ordered a gun-safe on the same day.



Actually, I found the photo on the internet without any details.
 
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