Adjustable weight distribution system for highway vehicles

A system for distributing weight between a truck having rear drive wheels and a trailer, comprising:

• a dolly having a front end and a rear end;
• a king pin slidingly joined to the front end of the dolly for interlocking to a first fifth wheel on the truck;
• a second fifth wheel joined to the rear end of the dolly for receiving the trailer;
• a pivot member joined to a center section of the dolly and pivotally joined to a rear end of the truck for pivoting weight between the front and rear end of the dolly;
• a steerable wheel assembly joined to the rear end of the dolly;
• and
• airbags joined between the steerable wheel assembly and a rear end of the dolly, the air bags redistributing weight between the drive wheels and the wheel assembly.

A system for distributing weight between a truck having rear drive wheels and a trailer, comprising:

• a dolly having a front end and a rear end;
• a king pin slidingly joined to the front end of the dolly for interlocking to a first fifth wheel on the truck;
• a second fifth wheel joined to the rear end of the dolly for receiving the trailer;
• and
• a pivot member joined to a center section of the dolly and pivotally joined to a rear end of the truck for pivoting weight between the front and rear end of the dolly;
• and
• a steerable wheel assembly joined to a rear end of the dolly, the wheel assembly including two rear wheels each rotatable about opposite ends of the rear axle, a steer rod joined between the two rear wheels and a locking mechanism rigidly joined to the rear axle and selectively lockable to the steer rod.

A dolly for attaching between a truck and a trailer, the truck having rear drive wheels and a frame and the dolly further comprising:

• a front end for attaching onto the truck frame;
• dolly rear wheels attached to a rear end of the dolly;
• a first weight distribution means attached at the front end of the dolly for interlocking the dolly to the truck frame and redistributing weight of the trailer between the truck rear drive wheels and the dolly rear wheels;
• a second weight distribution means attached to the dolly wheels for further redistributing weight of the trailer between the truck rear drive wheels and the dolly rear wheels;
• and
• a hinge rigidly joined to a center section of the dolly, between the first and second weight distribution means, the hinge for pivotally joining the dolly to the truck frame and serving as a pivot for redistributing weight of the trailer between the truck rear drive wheels and the dolly rear wheels while at the same time holding the dolly in a rigid lateral and longitudinal alignment with the truck while the truck moves in both a forward and rearward direction.

A method for redistributing weight of a trailer between wheels on a rear end of a truck and wheels on a rear end of a dolly, comprising:

• moving a front contact point between the truck and the dolly horizontally along the rear end of the truck for distributing different proportions of the weight of the trailer onto the rear end of the truck;
• pivoting the weight of the trailer about a hinge located on a top side of the rear end of the truck, the hinge pivoting the weight of the trailer from the rear end of the dolly when weight is increased on the rear end of the truck and pivoting the weight of the trailer to the rear end of the dolly when weight is reduced on the rear end of the truck;
• and
• constantly pushing a set of wheels on the rear end of the dolly in a vertical downward direction thereby teetering weight of the trailer about the hinge from the rear end of the truck to the rear end of the dolly.