rear jacks / stabilizer - Montana Owners Club

swanny · 02-02-2009, 11:40 AM

the jacks / stabilizers on the back of my monty are electric. they come down level and at the same rate, like i need to tell you all that. anyway my question is, if one leg makes contact with the ground at a higher point than the other do i have to then block up the other leg at the same height? or will the leg that hit first just stop and the other leg continue to the ground. just getting ready for first time out in spring

. my sob didn't have this type of setup.

nailbender · 02-02-2009, 01:45 PM

I put blocks under one of the legs if necessary so they both make contact with the ground at the same time. If the front and middle of the trailer are level, it seems that the rear stabilizers should set to hold the rear level also. My reason is that if the rear is not set level, it might be possible to tweak the frame. I don't know if that could happen, but I don't want to take a chance of damaging the frame.

TLightning · 02-02-2009, 02:24 PM

Maybe I'm missing something here, but you want the front jacks to hit the ground/blocks at the same time because they come down together. If one hits first, you could twist the frame as the landing gear on that side stops and the other side keeps moving down. As for the rear stabilizers, I don't think it makes any difference since they are stabilizing and not supporting any real weight. Also, you want the trailer to be level with the horizon, not level with the ground...so, if parked on an incline, one stabilizer might be higher than the other.

swanny · 02-02-2009, 03:18 PM

no only talking about the back jacks / stabilizers. and now that i think about it they will both keep driving down until i stop it. so i will keep the them blocked as needed to keep hitting at the same time. thanks for the info

noneck · 02-02-2009, 03:23 PM

Right...no idea how the electric version work. My manual are individually operated so just attempt to "match" the tension and no need to block one verses the other.
Does the electric have a current limit control so it mimic's my manual loading technique? In other words if you operate them and one hits first does it stop while the other continues until it hits a pre-determined resistance trigger?

exav8tr · 02-02-2009, 03:28 PM

Sounds like a question for Keystone Customer Service. It would be nice to know if they have seperate limiting switches on them or if they both operate together. I could see that that could be a problem on uneven ground. One would have more pressure than the other, create a fuse problem maybe???

NCFischers · 02-02-2009, 03:32 PM

You guys bring up a good point. I may have to carry more blocks!

tbhd · 02-02-2009, 04:26 PM

They are self leveling. They will shift on their rail they ride on. You have to make sure the trailer is level with the front jacks. The rears will only stabilize. You can't level the trailer with the back stabilizers. They will only shift back and forth a few inches.

Waynem · 02-03-2009, 03:10 AM

An easy test is to find level ground, put one "small" block under one of the rear stabilizers and watch them as you push the button, or DW pushes the button. You will see if the one on the block stops and waits for the second one.

Just a thought.

Delaine and Lindy · 02-03-2009, 03:38 AM

The 5th wheels I have owned that had electric jacks in the rear were self leveling like tbhd said. When I had electric jacks, I cut up a 2x6 in 12" lengths and bolted 4 of them together an put a small handle on the side for carring and put them under the rear jacks so I didn't have to lower the jack any more than I had to. It help to make the rear more secure also. But since we have hydraulic jacks now (6 ea) we no longer have than problem. The hydraulic jack make set up take about 5 minutes or less. I recomend the hydraulic jack system. Lippert installs the systems now. GBY...

swanny · 02-03-2009, 09:38 AM

thanks everybody. the questions brought up are all the things i was wondering about. i guess when all the snow melts the tests will start. maybe this weekend i'll crawl under and checkout the setup of the system.

Fordzilla · 02-03-2009, 01:53 PM

I believe they are self leveling and will slide as mentioned above. I had some installed at the Fall Rally a few years ago and really love them. Much stronger and does a better job of stabilizing the trailer than the originals on my '04 Monty.

Waynem · 02-03-2009, 04:16 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Delaine and Lindy

..... When I had electric jacks, I cut up a 2x6 in 12" lengths and bolted 4 of them together an put a small handle on the side for carring and put them under the rear jacks so I didn't have to lower the jack any more than I had to. It help to make the rear more secure also. ...

As Lindy wrote - and the reason is that the further the jacks have to go down to stabilize, the less stabilization you will have. The point or support on which a lever pivots gets narrower at as the top comes closer together. So keeping the top spread apart will give more stabilization. (Did I say that right?)

nailbender · 02-04-2009, 09:06 AM

I decided to see if my rear stabilizers were self leveling, and as other have indicated they are. I put a block under one side and lowered the stabilizers down and they did self adjust to the difference in height. The MOC forum is great, always something new to learn.

swanny · 02-04-2009, 09:31 AM

thanks nailbender, saves me a trip into the cold. i see you have the same monty as i do. thanks again for checking it out.

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