5th wheel treatment?

[cranetruck]

How do you guys handle the surface rust on the 5th wheel, special grease or nothing?
(I don't have any plans for a trailer)

 

[Westech]

We use GAA and a brush. Give it a good coat. If your not going to use it just paint it.

 

[m.walker]

If you don't plan to tow a trailer treat it like any other metal surface , clean , prep and paint like the rest of the truck . If you grease it , trust me you'll bump into it when you are working on or around the truck . Mark

 

[tcody]

Try something like Amsoil fifth wheel grease - it sprays on. Works fine.

 

[Sephirothq]

If you will never tow a trailer with it I wouldn't grease it. YOu just end up getting yourself or something else full of grease.

A good coat of paint works great.

 

[70deuce]

Also not pulling a trailer and greasing it will create a dirt and debris magnet that will get caked with junk and look like crap. Clean and paint and if you ever do pull a railer all you will have to do is grease it.

 

[papercu]

OTR drivers use most anything slick and cheap and a lots of it. Wayne

 

[drgreg]

A rust converter spray might work well, it would still look like it's still in use.

 

[m16ty]

They make a teflon cover that will work in place of grease if you ever plan on pulling a trailer. Our trucks at work just have grease but it does make a mess, grease finally gets on just about everything on the back of the truck. If not just paint it but I'd hate to know I had a 5th wheel and couldn't pull a trailer if the need arises .

 

[Sephirothq]

Just put a can of grease in the truck. If you need to tow a trailer, just grease prior to use.

A grease gun is listed in the BII

 

[kc5mzd]

Normally I would use lots of cheep axle grease. Never liked 5th wheel grease much. It’s extra sticky and gets all over everything. The 5th wheel grease is also made to not wash off - not even when you want to...
I like the idea of prepping and painting it. You could keep some axle or 5th wheel grease in the truck so you will have it if you ever need to tow with the truck. Just don’t get tubes they will leak and make a mess. The paint wont hurt anything as long as you use grease before you tow. I have seen the Teflon pads and they seemed to work well. The people that used them were very happy with them. I never tried them because I was pulling different trailers and I was told you couldn’t use grease with the Teflon pads.

 

[cranetruck]

Thanks for the input fellows!

 

[garp]

Clean her up good and use some spray on graphite lube. It will be dry, wont attract crud and its flat black. We use this at work for pins and bores that wont be assmbled immediatley , last quite a while.

 

[jwaller]

a good way to clean the rust off is to use it about 10 miles. then clean and paint it so she is pretty and green.

 

[73m819]

the 819s fifth wheel never had grease on it, its just the same color as the rest of the truck, i would clean and paint, use a semi gloss black, it would be protected from the weather and at the same time look like it is used

 

[Firefighter294]

You might consider putting a cover on it. The idea is to keep it greased up ready for use, keep road dirt off of it when bob tail, keep you clean when around it, and make it purrrdy for showin. I've seen lots of Show Trucks with stainless steel and chrome covers probably not what you want here, but there are also ones made out of vinyl and fiberglass ... . I think you could make up something with sheet metal and maybe paint it up with a with a flag or something patriotic .. Here a couple of pictures i found on the web that might help you understand what I am describing



These pictures were a PIA to find, guess I wasn't looking in the right places, the one with the mirrors is kinda over the top (pun intended) but from what I have seen on this forum you're a pretty handy guy so it might give ya some eyedeers.

Regards,
Rick

 

[cranetruck]

Thanks again for the eyedeers...I have pretty much ignored it and it's amazing to see how much attention one little thing can get when brought up for discussion.

 

[Armada]

Here's an option. One of our members here used an inexpensive backpack cover to put on his 5th wheel. The edges have elastic in it so it stretches out over the 5th wheel and stays on securely. Keeps the grease covered and the dirt and debris from sticking to it plus looks good.