fifth wheel
(road transport) A type of trailer hitch, which consists of a horseshoe-shaped plate on a multidirectional pivot, with a locking pin to couple with the kingpin of a truck trailer.
Seen in the wild
Lippert Venture Fifth Wheel Landing Gear Motor, Standard Replacement Motor, No Assembly Required, Motor Only - 142178 #RVRepair #FifthWheel #LandingGear #ReplacementMotor #RVAccessories #RVParts
I’ve driven end to end pulling a fifth wheel several times. It takes 3 days going 65 mph.
Definitions
(road transport) A type of trailer hitch, which consists of a horseshoe-shaped plate on a multidirectional pivot, with a locking pin to couple with the kingpin of a truck trailer.
“I’ve driven end to end pulling a fifth wheel several times. It takes 3 days going 65 mph.”
In most forms of semi-trailers a great deal of time is wasted in connecting the trailer to the tractor or pulling vehicle. Most of the connecting gears are some form of fifth wheel, consisting of two horizontal circular bands of iron, on…
“Lippert Venture Fifth Wheel Landing Gear Motor, Standard Replacement Motor, No Assembly Required, Motor Only - 142178 #RVRepair #FifthWheel #LandingGear #ReplacementMotor #RVAccessories #RVParts”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I’ve driven end to end pulling a fifth wheel several times. It takes 3 days going 65 mph.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(idiomatic, informal) Anything superfluous or unnecessary.
From the blow-back tank, the fluid is piped into a larger tank commonly known as a fracturing (frac) tank or wheely tank. This is a large, 21,000-gallon tank mounted on wheels and provided with a fifth wheel for towing from jobsite to jo…
Comments
(road transport, historical) A horizontal wheel or segment of a wheel above the front axle and beneath the body of a carriage, forming an extended support to prevent it from overturning.
The semi-trailers are equipped with hydraulic brakes which operate through the king pin of the fifth wheel. The booster-controlled fifth wheel gives full and complete cab control of all braking and coupling operations.
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- hitch63%
A fastener or connection point, as for a trailer.
- horse trailer58%
(US, Canada) a wheeled transport for horses.
- horse trailer53%
A horse trailer is the North American term for a wheeled vehicle towed behind a truck to transport horses — what the British call a horsebox. It's a practical piece of equipment for ranchers, competitive riders, and anyone moving horses between properties or events. Horse trailers range from bare-bones single-stall models to multi-horse rigs with sleeping quarters for the driver. In the American South and West it's everyday vocabulary; elsewhere it's a regional term that might need a quick translation.