Stabilizing Front End

[Ozzie]

Even though we have a trailer and not the 5'er, I would think this is a simple matter of leverage. The farther you extend those front legs (or stabilizers for the back), the more chance of movement you will encounter. I use pieces of landscape timber all around to reduce the extension and I can sure tell the difference when I don't use them.

Dieselguys observation would sure get me thinking...and I can see why those JT units work so well too.

[Snownyet]

Does anyone know if its harmful to pull the pin from the breakaway switch for the brakes to prevent fore and aft movement for a length of time? I do it now and then when hooking up and unhooking, but often wondered about leaving it pulled while at the campsite. I figured leaving the brakes energized may be harmful, and might even risk them sticking but a buddy thinks if Im plugged in and not at risk of running my battery dead I should be fine.

[kerry]

Not a good idea. Continued voltage to the magnets may cause them to overheat and open the windings in the magnets, ending up with no brakes.

[skypilot]

Add to that, if you are not on shore power you will drain your battery!. Without battery you can't open or close slides, water pump, etc....

[mgdg]

I use 2-12"x12"x11" high solid oak blocks the railroad uses to jack up the locomotives in their yards. They usually come in 4'lengths and I cut them. The pin in the leg stays in the first hole from the bottom and stays there. I only have to extend the hydraulic leg a little down to hit the blocks. Same with the back legs. I have 1" boards if the ground is uneven. There is still little movement but not as much as if I had to extend the legs down further. I use the scissor jacks from CW between the tires. I was thinking putting scissor leg jacks halfway between the back jacks and tires and also halfway between tires and front legs. Anyone try this, did it work?? Also people I know swear by the tripods or bipods on the king pin and others say they don`t work. Is it something we have to live with??

[bncinwv]

mgdg,

After absorbing sundry ideas from this forum, I use a set-up that is close to what you describe. I use large cribbing blocks under the front legs and the rear stabilizers. I chock between the tires and in addition use stacker jacks under the frame at washer/dryer location on our 3400(about 5' in front of the axles) and another set of jacks behind the axles. The true test is when the washer goes into it's 1200 rpm spin cycle. Obviously, the movement cannot be eliminated but we believe we have drastically minimized it. We do not use a tripod but have not discounted it from a future purpose. I believe that Richfaa is right in that you are never going to eliminate movememnt, but this is the best set-up that I have come up with.
Bingo

[dscott]

I have tried many combos,I use wood blocks all away around,Tripod in the front, HD scissor jacks behind the wheels, if the rear jacks are extended out farther than the front,and in front of the wheels if the fronts are out farther than the rear.It looks like frame flex on these long ten inch rails.My friends Sunny-Brook seems to have alot less movement with his HD frame,But mine tows better.[

[PowellsMonty]

MGDG, We have the tripod and still had quite a bit of bounce. Yesterday I put the scissor jacks from CW behind the rear tires and the result was amazing. Would rank them up there with my air bags with the most beneficial items we have bought for our 5th. and we bought a lot of "Stuff". Also have the scissor jacks, (chocks) between both tires, but if I were in your position I would do the scissors after the rear tires and not get the tripod right away. We leave our camper on a lake year round and when we are as rich as these full timers in here, we are going to full time and probably leave the tripod home.

[old turbo]

I lost 11 lbs off my bod. Wife sez 5vr has less motion when we are parked now. She sez if I drop a few more pounds 5vr will move even less and I will not have to carry all the junk I have to stop the motion. She told me to post this as a thought.

[kwbosch]

quote:Originally posted by Snownyet

Does anyone know if its harmful to pull the pin from the breakaway switch for the brakes to prevent fore and aft movement for a length of time? I do it now and then when hooking up and unhooking, but often wondered about leaving it pulled while at the campsite. I figured leaving the brakes energized may be harmful, and might even risk them sticking but a buddy thinks if Im plugged in and not at risk of running my battery dead I should be fine.

Snownyet,

Trailer brakes dont apply brake pressure without conciderable forward or backward wheel movement. A trailer sitting still doesn't have any pressure at all. Pulling the pin won't help you at all.

Ken

[ronnilu]

We mounted the SteadyFast stabilizers and have no sway side to side or front to back. You can push against the side at the front by the drop down front jacks and get no movement at all. Same in the back. You guys can carry all those extra wood blocks, tripods, scissor somethings, etc. but won't get any more stable than what I have. Plus, mine is permanently in place and only requires tightening three knobs after I get set up. It's great not to have to store all that extra "stuff" and spend the time putting it in place. Take a look - Steadyfast.com.

[dsprik]

Bingo, I sent you a PM...

[Lije Baley]

Ronnilu is absolutely right. We put the SteadyFast stabilizers on a few weeks ago at South Lake Tahoe (a week before the fire). It took several hours with a good drill and some patience, but it is a DIY project. Mariana ran off to Bodega Bay by herself, and reports the trailer is now rock solid. I'd rather use these stablizers than bring beams, railroad ties, or lose 15 pounds (well that probably is a good idea after all).
Bill

[happy campers]

Even though it's a pain, we haul around the tripod, and use it whenever possible. It helps somewhat, but I like the idea of some extra support for the front legs.

[azranger]

I e-mailed SteadyFast back in April to ask how their system affected the manual lowering/raising of the jack stand extensions, especially raising them with the added weight of the stabilizer bars. President Paul Hanscom replied that there would be some extra effort involved. What has the experience been with those who have them?

[simonsrf]

We believe the motion in the coach is a personal preference.

We use chocks between the wheels, and 12 x 12 CDX plywood pieces screwed together cross-grained with handles used under the landing gear legs and the rear stabilizers.

This seems to work fine for us, there are times when there is sway or bounce in the coach, but to each his own, we have learned to live with it, and at this point, we're just not bothered by it.

As fulltimers, space and ease of use are essential. Tripod just isn't worth the money or the space IOHA.

[The Oldguard]

We just invested in the JT stabilizers, and installed then before this trip. We will not be with out them again.

The Montana has never been this solid, and the ease of setting up the unit has been a blessing not to mention how heavy that tripod was to put up.

I just want to thank Mel & Joy Thompson (meljoy) and Dick & Toni Whitfield (rlwhit) for showing us how good they are.

[ronnilu]

AZRANGER - raising & lowering the jack stands with the SteadyFast stabilizers attached is a whole lot easier than getting out & setting up the tripod. The stabilizers mount to only two of the legs - one on a scissor jack in the rear, which is raised & lowered by means of a crank. I can't tell any difference on that one from before and now. The other two stabilizer crossmembers mount to one of the front jack stands. Initially I had difficulty raising this jack stand up manually to the travel position, but then after cleaning off the accumulated grease & gunk & putting on a coating of silicone, the jack stand comes up quite easily to the travel position. Just make sure you release the knobs that hold the crossmembers tight otherwise you will have a fight on your hands (: I just grasp the crossmember right next to where it attaches to the foot, and pull straight up, and up it goes.

[sreigle]

quote:Originally posted by PowellsMonty

I just installed the BAL leveling scissor Jacks and it made a whole world of difference. Behind the rear wheels as per Steve Reigles advise. Didn't bolt them on, just tightened between frame & blocks on ground. Galley drain pipe would have to be moved a bit, too close to the frame. Bought them from CW for about $70.00 and they did 4X as much as the tripod.
Wife is happy.

I bolted the scissor jacks on the same year and model as you, a 2003 3295RK. As you noted, one of the screws hits the galley dump tank. I ran the screw all the way in and out and found I could cut off 3/4 inch off the end of the screw and not risk running out of screw when extending or retracting the scissor jacks. It then cleared the galley pipe. Measure carefully though.

[sreigle]

quote:Originally posted by mgdg

I was thinking putting scissor leg jacks halfway between the back jacks and tires and also halfway between tires and front legs. Anyone try this, did it work?? Also people I know swear by the tripods or bipods on the king pin and others say they don`t work. Is it something we have to live with??

I use one set (2) of scissor jacks behind the wheels. That totally stops the up and down movement in our rig but does little for side to side.

On the kingpin stabilizers, I used to have a tendency to tighten the stabilizer beyond snug, thinking the tighter the better. And I swore the stabilizer didn't do much good, if any. Then someone told me to just snug it and don't tighten. It works much better although it still does not eliminate all the movement. But the difference is noticeable. I guess tightening too tight was just lifting weight off the landing gear, reducing its effectiveness.