5th Wheel Plate M920/M916

[oldMan99]

Not sure this should be in this forum or the trailer forum but since it is on the truck, not on the trailer.....

I have been told that some of the 5th wheel plates used by the military have a side to side tilting feature. Apparently there are some wedges you insert to limit the movement while on he road and then you remove the wedges for rough (Off road) travel.

Does either the M920 or the M916, M916A1 come with this type of hitch? I have checked the TM and was not able to locate anything about it. If it is in there I missed it.

If the above vehicles do not come with it, I assume one could be obtained and swapped out with the stock one? (What trucks would you look for to find one?)

Do the tilting plates have the same capacity as the non tilting ones?

I am guessing removing and replacing the wedges is done manually at the plate?

Is there any down side to having/using the tilting plate?

Anything else different/weird/strange/worth knowing about the tilting plate?

Thanks in advance!

 

[R Racing]

both the M916 and M920 have a 4 way oscillating hitch according to TM 9-2320-273-10 butt i find no mention of wedges ?

 

[reb87]

the m916 and m920 have oscillating fifth wheels and they are in a "sled" that moves left and right in a kind of oval. It is not a simple hinge like the m818 so no wedges are needed. It works great especially in the country where the roads are crowned, without it when I turn a corner with the truck on one side of the road and trailer on the other, the trailer wheels will be off the ground on the ditch side(when empty) all that stress is taken away with the oscillation.
The m916a1 is the same with the extra feature of a sliding fifth wheel...
My adapters seem to be working well. Ive hauled 10000 bu of corn using one and have had no problems.

 

[cundupa]

oldman99, what trailers are you going to be pulling with the 920?
Are you near Polk City?

 

[R Racing]

Hey REb87 were did you buy the adapter ?

 

[oldMan99]

oldman99, what trailers are you going to be pulling with the 920?
Are you near Polk City?

Most likely something like a M146 or M129 (If I can find a M129) Or a civilian trailer about 20-30' long. Whichever it ends up being, it will be built up as an RV.

Will also get a 35-45' lowboy to use for... whatever...

Northeast Polk Co, not to far from Polk City.

 

[oldMan99]

Hey REb87 were did you buy the adapter ?

Good question...

Also, exactly what is the need for the adapter?

And... REb87, thanks for the previous reply/info!

 

[Ruppster]

Good question...

Also, exactly what is the need for the adapter?

And... REb87, thanks for the previous reply/info!

For the first question judging by his comment of "My adapters seem to be working well" I would guess he made them himself. But I think they can also be bought from trucking places online.

As for why the fifth wheels on the larger trucks are made for a larger pin on the trailer (3 inch I think). A standard duty pin is a little smaller and the adapter allows the smaller pin to work on the fifth wheel hitch meant for the larger pin.


Ruppster

 

[R Racing]

The M916 and M920 have a 3 1/2 " 5th wheel. From what I am told 2"is standard.

 

[oldMan99]

For the first question judging by his comment of "My adapters seem to be working well" I would guess he made them himself. But I think they can also be bought from trucking places online.

As for why the fifth wheels on the larger trucks are made for a larger pin on the trailer (3 inch I think). A standard duty pin is a little smaller and the adapter allows the smaller pin to work on the fifth wheel hitch meant for the larger pin.


Ruppster

OK, that makes sense. Define "Larger trucks". Do you mean commercial trucks as opposed to RV size or military trucks as opposed to civilian?

I guess the pins are different sizes just like hitch balls are different sizes. Now I have to learn why/what of 5th wheel king pins... And stupid me I just thought there was 1 universal size. I should have realized that would be far to easy....

Learning cap is on. Waiting for the knowledge to flow into my feeble brain...

 

[Ruppster]

OK, that makes sense. Define "Larger trucks". Do you mean commercial trucks as opposed to RV size or military trucks as opposed to civilian?

I guess the pins are different sizes just like hitch balls are different sizes. Now I have to learn why/what of 5th wheel king pins... And stupid me I just thought there was 1 universal size. I should have realized that would be far to easy....

Learning cap is on. Waiting for the knowledge to flow into my feeble brain...

As R Racing mentioned:

The M916 and M920 have a 3 1/2 " 5th wheel. From what I am told 2"is standard.

The standard military 5 ton fifth wheel would be the 2 inch (normal commercial size). When I say larger trucks I mean the trucks bigger then a 5 ton. The trucks the military uses for pulling the really heavy stuff, like the M920. Not sure if the M915 has a 2 inch or 3.5. Might have to look in the manual to see if it lists the spec for the pin size. For what you want to do you can use either the RV type hitch (not sure of the pin size) or the 5 ton/commercial 2 inch pin. If you want a tractor for pulling an RV or drop deck trailer off road in rough terrain I would use a fifth wheel hitch from either an M52 or M818 and use a commercial 2 inch pin on the trailer. They would have the wedges to lock out the side to side movement for highway use.



Ruppster

 

[Andy1234]

As R Racing mentioned:

The standard military 5 ton fifth wheel would be the 2 inch (normal commercial size). When I say larger trucks I mean the trucks bigger then a 5 ton. The trucks the military uses for pulling the really heavy stuff, like the M920. Not sure if the M915 has a 2 inch or 3.5. Might have to look in the manual to see if it lists the spec for the pin size. For what you want to do you can use either the RV type hitch (not sure of the pin size) or the 5 ton/commercial 2 inch pin. If you want a tractor for pulling an RV or drop deck trailer off road in rough terrain I would use a fifth wheel hitch from either an M52 or M818 and use a commercial 2 inch pin on the trailer. They would have the wedges to lock out the side to side movement for highway use.



Ruppster

M916's & M920's both use the 3-1/2" dia kingpin, and have 4-way oscillating fifth wheels.

M915's & M915A1's use the 2" (std commercial size found on nearly any OTR trailer) kingpins, and DO NOT have 4-way fifith wheels. They have the standard 2-way oscillating fifth wheel (as found on nearly every commercial OTR tractor).

All M915, M916 & M920's have BOTH 12V and 24V trailer light hook-ups.

The M818 uses a 2" kingpin and ONLY has 24V trailer light hook-ups, and has a 4-way oscillating fifth wheel.

The only other trucks that .MIL has used that have the 3-1/2" kingpin fifth wheel are the M123 series, M911, and the M916 and M920 (I don't know about the newer stuff like the M1070, etc..)

Andy

 

[oldMan99]

Is there an adapter like the one abive that is commercialy available?

I Googled but found nothing.

Can the plate on the 920 (Just the plate part) be changed to a 2" and leave the tilting part working?

 

[Ruppster]

Capus UK Ltd - CAP 220 - ADAPTOR 2" (50mm) to 3.5" (89mm) KINGPINS


And while I was searching for adapters I came across a post by M920 (Soni) about how to change out the plate. It's the seventh post down.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/5-ton-up/61262-m920-wet-kit.html



Ruppster

 

[reb87]

Sorry Ive been changing injectors on the m920 getting ready for a big trip... I got the adapters from Capus in England. I bought five of them to keep in the m916 and m920 so I could keep the big fifth wheel and use on trailers with 2 inch kingpins...

 

[TacticalTruck]

I'll be making some of the adapters shorty.
Jeff
CommercialToolandDie

 

[R Racing]

How short is shortly ??

 

[TacticalTruck]

This week. Finishing a line-bore on a loader then they are next.

 

[oldMan99]

Capus UK Ltd - CAP 220 - ADAPTOR 2" (50mm) to 3.5" (89mm) KINGPINS

Ruppster

Cool. Thanks! I went to their site and saw the part but no price, (No price on anything on their site - seems an odd way to do business). I sent them an email asking the price. However... It looks like we may have a USA source soon!

I'll be making some of the adapters shorty.
Jeff
CommercialToolandDie

Great news Jeff! I assume they will be steel. Will they be heat treated? Do they need to be heat treated? Any idea how much yet?

 

[TacticalTruck]

I was going to make them out of 4140 and I did not think they'd need to be heat treated. No price yet.