SAF-Holland introduced SmartSto, a system designed to improve safety and prevent damage to tractor-trailer air and electrical connections when drivers uncouple trailers.

The Holland system combines a fifth-wheel air release with dedicated stowage for gladhands and the electrical cable, preventing the fifth wheel from releasing until those lines are properly disconnected and secured.

“Uncoupling happens thousands of times every day,” said Mike Ginocchio, vice president of product line management/PMO Americas at SAF-Holland. “Each time there’s potential risk. SmartSto reduces that risk through engineered safeguards designed to protect people and equipment.”

Ginocchio said the system was developed to address a routine but often overlooked part of tractor-trailer operations.

“Innovation is measured by what truly works in day-to-day fleet operations,” he said during a press conference at the Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting in Nashville. “That’s why we focused on a common and costly challenge — fifth-wheel uncoupling and connection-line management.”

How SmartSto Works

Traditional uncoupling often requires drivers to reach under the trailer to pull the fifth-wheel release handle.

“It’s a common but often overlooked safety hazard,” Ginocchio said. “It increases injury exposure and slows down the process.”

SmartSto moves the air-release control outside the cab next to the fifth wheel and adds safeguards tied to the tractor-trailer connections.

Drivers must disconnect the air gladhands and electrical power cable from the trailer and stow them on the SmartSto module mounted on the tractor. The system verifies the connections are properly secured before illuminating a release button that allows the fifth wheel to be uncoupled.

The system also ensures the tractor parking brake is set before the release process can begin and helps prevent drivers from pulling away while air and electrical lines are still connected — a mistake that can damage the connections and lead to roadside repairs and downtime.

Installation requires connections to three air lines and no additional electrical hookup, the company said. The system is designed to integrate with existing air-release fifth-wheel systems.

SmartSto is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2026.

A Step Toward Autonomous?

Ginocchio also told reporters that he sees the SmartSto as a stepping stone in addressing the operational challenges of true autonomous trucking.

"It seems pretty simple, but getting a tractor backed up to a trailer without a driver, all sorts of technology can do that... but making an air and electrical connection autonomously in that horrible environment between the tractor and trailer is extremely challenging.

"To me, this is an interim step... the next step for an autonomous couple."