T-10 Parabolic wrote:
how do you align the king pin with the hitch???? T-10
I have an MDT, a Freightliner M2 Business Class hauler. I use the rear camera, as there's really no other way. I cannot see the hitch from either the 4 seater cab or using mirrors.
I put a length of white tape on the kingpin box to know where the kp was in relation to the hitch. Then I had to get used to which way to turn the wheel when looking at a reverse camera image. Then I had to learn to deal with the seemingly random up and down movement of the air hitch and truck air when both hitching up and unhitching. Coming from a simple, solid, visible hitch of my old F450, that was a lot to learn. And, if I happen to back up a little too much when hitching, the truck will push the 5er back, even with the rotochoks on. So I have to be really careful.
I tried an HDT with a similar transmission to the OP's, and the clutch was extremely hard to push. Knowing that I would have to be doing that a lot when backing, I passed on any clutched vehicle. My truck cost considerably more than the OP's, but only slightly more than a new Ram 3500 with the works.
