NHTSA Complaint #11472396 — 2018 FREIGHTLINER CASCADIA

After experiencing numerous issues with Jost 5th wheels, specifically JSK36N model. The Wear ring bolts (NT0000005) are constantly getting loose making the Wear ring (SK 2105-19) move in the 5th wheel plate, what we consider unsafe. While working on hundreds of trucks we have noticed that this is this issue is very popular. The drivers have been complaining about the trailer king pin being loose in the 5th wheel, causing a hit/push on start/stop when driven in combination (truck + trailer). Because of not having the solid connection, the ‘’hits’’ are affecting the drivetrain (differentials and transmission) on the long run. Some on the drivers are panicking and not concentrated on the road, all because feeling unsafe due to the excessive 5th wheel free play. After the detailed inspection and understanding the problem, our technicians replaced hundreds of the Ring bolts, applied thread locker and torqued properly. Unfortunately the issue comes back again. The only way to get this issue resolved is to replace the whole 5th wheel assembly. This can get very pricy considering that the replacement of the 5th wheel costs thousands of dollars. It hardly hurts the bigger fleets. The situation described above was noticed mostly on 2017-2019 Freightliner Cascadia’s