Can a 5th wheel be backed into a loading dock?

With the 5er low point height and distance to the wheels, clearance is a easy calculation with online trig calculators.

Otherwise I'd block the TV rear wheels if necessary.

I take it your ramp is dropping off at a 6 degree angle. So it drops off about 4 feet over its 40 foot length.... in other words at the rate of about 1:10. So assuming your kingpin is 40 inches in front of your tailgate you shouldn't have clearance issues so long as you have over 4" of clearance above the tailgate on level ground.

If the ramp is going up at 6 degrees rather than down and the centre of the axles is 16 feet ahead of the rear of the trailer the ramp will rise 1.6 inches over that 16 feet.... so you won't have to worry about your leveling jacks dragging.

RoyBell wrote:
The ones I am looking at are between 36-39' long, double axle.

Not sure the clear of the door but I think it's 14'.

Your height may be an issue. Thinking of the overhang behind the rear axle. Until the axle transition off the ramp and onto the dock the rear of the trailer will be going up.
But the rear generally is not the highest point on a 5th wheel.

Where you're likely going to have an issue is at the =break= from the level ground to the dock. Landing gear may hit, as well as hitting the rear of the bed. I'd give it a try, with =lots= of eyeballs watching, and see if it'll work. Hitching/unhitching will be an adventure, I'll bet.

Lyle

The ones I am looking at are between 36-39' long, double axle.

Not sure the clear of the door but I think it's 14'.

Depends a lot on the length of your 5th wheel. Moving the pin box to the lowest setting (giving you the most bed rail clearance) would help. You should also have a good collection of boards on hand in case you need to reduce an angle at the top and/or bottom.