5th wheel spacer

[jeffhuey1n]

Hi,
I'm searching for a pair of 5th wheel spacers for the M52A2 5 ton tractor. As near as I can tell, these were only used on the M52. Here's the particulars:
part number 11608882
NSN 5365-00-422-2017
description: 2 steel plates made of one inch material, 5 1/2 inches wide, 31 1/2 inches long. These plates each have five 5/8 inch -18 holes and have six 11/16 holes. The 5/8 inch holes are for the thru and thru bolts and the 11/16 inch holes are for the large frame rivets.

I need a set of these for my M52A2. I have a set of M818 plates but they would have to be machined and drilled to fit correctly. I might be able to get the work done but it'll be a pain in the patooty.

Thanks

 

[jeffhuey1n]

My search is finally over. No, I didn’t find a set of M52 spacers. Hendersonj found a set of M818 spacers. They weren’t a direct fit. The rails on the M52 have rivets sticking up. The M818 does not. So it took many, many, many, many..... trips back and forth from the truck to the drill press. And because I couldn’t drill a straight hole, I wore out several dremel grinding stones making the holes line up. So, now the 5th wheel is mounted and bolted down. The ramps are installed, I’ll tighten them down next. The deck plate is off a M818 so I’ll need to drill some holes for 4 rivet heads.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Took some pics of the 5th wheel installation and the spare tire carrier. The 5th wheel plates came from a M818 and the spare tire carrier came from a M931. The adapter plates for the spare tire carrier came off a Big Foot M931A1. Not all a perfect fit but with sharp drill bits and a bunch of grinder bits, it all fits. Tomorrow, I’ll finish up the spare tire carrier and install the deck plate.

 

[tobyS]

"Took some pics of the 5th wheel installation and the spare tire carrier."

Where are they?

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Oops...

 

[jeffhuey1n]

I got rained out yesterday, didn’t get anything done. So today I drilled the holes for the rivets to pass through the deck plate. One I find a soldier B, I torqu the bolts down. The fuel tank protective plate mount brackets were damaged when I bought the spare tire carrier. No big deal, cleaned all the paint off the bracket damage. Heated each ding one at a time and while hot, I beat the urine out of it. Nice and straight now! Check out the pics:

 

[tobyS]

It's a lot of work to straighten. They appear sound, didn't get cracking and look straight.

I have a flat machine base (about a ton) with big overhangs and T slots that I beat against.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

That sounds like a perfect setup! It takes big iron to straighten big iron! With the older 2 1/2 tons and 5 tons disappearing from the surplus market, we have to get physical to make replacement parts.

 

[tobyS]

I have to build a spare tire carrier for my deuce. If you have a couple of pics of your spare tire carrier install, please post them up.

I guess I'm technically bobbing my M35A3 now that I've decided to take a foot off of the rear frame. I'm using an M105 trailer bed and want to leave enough room for the spare behind the cab. I measured on the M929 and have 16" for the tire. But Im also considering having a mid mounted winch or a small crane, so that distance could be up to a foot longer....(then I don't remove any frame and have full use of the pintle hitch).

I bought a few of these plates that attach to your 5th wheel. Too bad we are so far away, I sold the 931 tractor.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

I’ll get some pics and post them tomorrow. Too bad the distance is so far. I’ve got quite a few pieces of a M931A1 spare tire carrier.

 

[hndrsonj]

Once I find a soldier B, I torque the bolts down. :

Jeff, if you need help let me know....

 

[fasttruck]

The photos of the fifth wheel shown in post 5 illustrate the trunion wedges mounted backwards. The tapered end faces the rear and fits under the trunion on the fifth wheel to prevent it from tilting sideways when the truck is operated on the highway. Like all fifth wheels the plate will oscillate front to back at all times. I recall it takes an 1&1/8 wrench or socket to adjust this.
Proper orientation of the wedges is important to the successful operation of the truck. A firefighter was killed in a rollover several years ago which involved a surplus military tractor and a 5000 gallon water trailer He turned sharply to the side so the trunion for the fifth wheel was parallel to the frame, wedges not set, fifth wheel tilts sideways, load shifts in trailer, truck turns over and kills operator Read the pertinent section in the -10 on how to use the wedges..

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Thank you for the info. I won’t be able to tow anything with this truck for quite a while, no trailer. Also, there’s a few missing parts on the fifth wheel, which renders it unusable at this time. I do appreciate the info though, one of these days I hoped to find all the pieces and parts to make the truck FMC.

 

[fasttruck]

Additional research on the topic of M818 fifth wheel wedges reveals the following from TM 9-2320-260-10 p 2- 145 (10) AND (11). Two styles of fifth wheels were used on these vehicles and the one illustrated in your post is the older or original style where the release lever moves horizontally and there is a gravity lock. This wheel had wedges as illustrated at the top left of page 2-145 and is also used on the M819 wrecker. The newer replacement fifth wheel for the M818 illustrated at the bottom of page 2-145 has different wedges and the release handle pulls out to unlock the jaw.

 

[fasttruck]

Also the fifth wheel used on the M818 is 60" high with stock tires. Commercial trucks and M915s have a 48" high fifth wheel. If you are trying to couple to a trailer that was last moved with a 48" tractor it will be too low. This where the wedges behind the fifth wheel plate come into play. If you can get the end of the chassis under the front of the trailer you can carefully scoop it up and the trailer will ride up the ramps and onto the fifth wheel. That is unless you are working in a yard full of ice or mud. When dropping such a trailer and you know it will be next moved with a 48" tractor you learn how high off the ground to stop cranking the landing leg and then carefully move the tractor forward as to gently set the trailer on the ground for the next guy. These techniques were important in a relay yard where line haul tractors delivered trailers to be moved into the field with tactical tractors.

 

[fasttruck]

It was also the operator's responsibility to see that the wedges were correctly set for the mission at hand.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Thank you for all the info, I’ll look into those references.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

More pics. Patched the fuel line on the LH tank, found out that when hanging the fuel tank shields, the brackets get bolted to the shield, then install the assembly onto the spare tire carrier.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Got some more done today. Fixed broken ground for the RH fuel tank and installed the the RH fuel tank deck plate. Surprisingly, it fit with minimal swearing. And I took some pics of the installed parts plus the repair on the LH fuel line.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Got more done today. Cleaned up and painted the Drivers step, L/H fuel tank cover and tool box. Next is replacing the dash board.
pics below: