Need some recommendations - Montana Owners Club

Wordsmith · 03-20-2005, 10:52 AM

I would appreciate your help on what all of you think would be the best way to go on the following two items:

1. heavier chocks than the yellow pastic ones we used on the TT
2. a king pin stabilizer—I saw one on the Camping World website, but the customer reviews for it were not that great as people said it was not adjustable

Thanks in advance for any insight all of you can provide!

rlwhit · 03-20-2005, 11:08 AM

We have one that we got at CW. It is quite adjustable. It was not the cheapest one. If I remember correctly you can get them in seveal height choices. It does not remove all motion, but was a big improvement.

Glenn and Lorraine · 03-20-2005, 11:16 AM

Above are the 3 items I use to stabilize my rig. In my opinion, leave any one out of the picture and the other 2 are questionable.

The tripod of course goes under the pin box and it is adjustable.
The chocks are mechanically tightened between the tires affectively removing all back and forth movement.
2 of the jacks go under the frame just behind the rear spring shackles. They are snugly cranked up against the frame but not enough to lift the trailer. I didn't fell I needed them but a second pair of jacks can also be used in front of the shackles.
This system along with the rigs front jacks and rear stabilizers take nearly 90% of any movement out of the rig.
For me the tripod by itself was useless without the chocks and the jacks.

stiles watson · 03-20-2005, 11:18 AM

Mine has a chain about half way down the legs of the tripod. It is infinitely adjustable and works well with the leveling protocols. As to the chocks, I use the yellow ones supplimented with the between-the-wheels chocks. The BTW chocks are the ones tha bring the desired stability to the unit. For us, the yellow ones are just to setup and stop any roll. They are the last items removed at hookup.

Ishler · 03-20-2005, 11:19 AM

I can't speak to the effectivness of the yellow chocks. I don't know what pin stabelizer you saw but I have one like this http://www.campingworld.com/customer...07&reviews=all
That we use anytime we're set up more than a day. It makes a big difference and is very adjustable.

faeb and genb · 03-20-2005, 02:30 PM

I have one with 2 legs. first had the tripod. returned it & got this one. Just a personal choice. Only problem that I have setting it up if the front of the 5ver is low to ground the achain wasn't long enough I got a extra piece of chain to use if that happens again.
Gene

DHenry · 03-20-2005, 04:44 PM

I have the same pin stabelizer and the mechanical wheel chocks that Glenn has but I added another stabelizer like the one in the back in front of the wheels, all seem to help a lot.

padredw · 03-21-2005, 01:58 AM

OK, I know I should stay out of this, but for any who just might possibly be on the verge of agreeing with me I'll share this experience. When we bought our first 5/w (Our Montana is our third) a tripod was part of the deal. We used it 'religiously' for some time. We tried it again with the Montana. Frankly, I can't tell that it makes any difference at all. SO, we have made the decision to leave it at home and save that weight. One time I did value having the tripod when I had to make adjustment in the height of the front on a very unlevel site in Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta, but most of my wise comrades on this forum would say that was dangerously foolish. But it did work! Not the recommended use of a tripod. The tripod (which worked without a problem) will be left at home when we pull out for our next trip in the Montana.

Wordsmith · 03-21-2005, 06:53 AM

These are all good suggestions and perspectives. It was interesting that Marsha noticed the movement in the Montana more than I, perhaps because of my weight and size.

The chocks seem to be a must to me and I am leaning toward the kingpin stabilizer, but based on what you have, would any particular brand—beyond the stabilizer at Camping World—be of better quality and ease of use?

BillyRay · 03-21-2005, 07:37 AM

I think all the brands would work about the same.

Montana_2779 · 03-21-2005, 12:29 PM

Agree with BillyRay, most brands or types should work reasonably well. We started with the cheap yellow chocks, and they worked just fine. We now use the same mechanical chock as Glenn and Lorraine. Love it! Super easy to set up and remove, and does a good job of reducing movement.

DiananColin · 03-21-2005, 12:55 PM

Same as Glenn with the tripod and chocks. Have not used the jacks yet - how much difference do they really make? IMHO chocks are 100% necessary, tripod is nice to have when more than one night at a stop - need opinions on the jacks from the more experienced!

Wordsmith · 03-22-2005, 11:58 AM

Went ahead and ordered the king pin stabilizer and BAL chocks from Camping World today. Hopefully, this will keep the family happy when I come clomping in from the campfire at night.

campbud · 03-22-2005, 12:45 PM

I think you made a good choice...we have the tripod and I would not let hubby leave home without it! LOL

sreigle · 04-08-2005, 04:33 PM

Our setup is similar to Glenn's. Same tripod, same BAL chocks. We also supplement but where Glenn uses the triangular portable jacks we have permanently mounted scissor jacks. Dianancolin, whether scissor jacks or the triangular jacks (have used both) made the single biggest improvement for us. They do not much stop horizontal movement but they eliminate totally the vertical bouncing.

I've used both bi-pod and tri-pod kingpin stabilizers and can't see a difference between them. I do see a considerable difference between using a stabilizer and not using one, however. This may be rig-dependent since Padre can't see a difference. Look at the various styles, though. Some will not work when the ground slopes down and the pin is high. Others won't work when the reverse is low. I've had three or so different styles and settled on the one with the threaded can on top, like Glenn's. There are still times I can't use it but it works in more situations than any other I've owned. So far.

I also use one set of two of the yellow chocks, as seen in the picture. The reason - I use two of the BAL chocks between the wheel. When the rig is on a hill and I start raising the landing gear when hitching, the rig wants to roll just a smidgen. And that causes the between wheel chocks to put more pressure on the tires. The yellow chocks keep that from happening.

Despite all that, we still have some movement horizontally.

Wordsmith · 04-09-2005, 06:16 AM

Well, I have to say that the chocks and tripod made a difference; they certainly made Marsha happy!

I will wait a while before I make the jump to the portable or scissor jacks. I have spent toooooooo much money on this unit in the last month!

sreigle · 04-09-2005, 03:29 PM

Wordsmith, I had to move a few things out of the front locker today so I could check the battery. I realized I still have a set of four of those triangular jacks like Glenn uses. According to Streets and Trips, you're 175 miles due south of where we are at the moment. If you're out for a Sunday drive and end up this way I'd let you have the set for ten bucks. That's about a 70% discount, if I recall.

Countryfolks · 04-10-2005, 06:15 AM

Steve; are those scissor jacks mounted forward of the axles or behind them?

Skip

sreigle · 04-11-2005, 03:03 PM

Skip, ours are aft of the axles. I tried the triangular jacks both before and behind and couldn't tell a difference. I put the scissor jacks behind the axle because on our model putting them in front put them in an awkward position to use because of the step location. I think both locations would work equally well. Someone here on MOC has them mounted forward of the axles, if I recall, and reported they work well.

One thing to watch for, at least on the 3295RK, is the position of the dump pipe from the galley tank. I didn't check that and found when the jacks were moving between up and down position that long screw would catch on the dump pipe. It would go on past but was slowly putting a notch in that pipe and eventually would wear through. I did some measuring (this was after the jacks were mounted), then cut 3/4 inch off the end of the screw. That's the most I could cut and still have the screw fully in the shaft. And it was just enough to clear the dump pipe. Had I checked this when I installed them jacks I probably could have placed them to avoid the situation altogether.

harleyrider · 04-11-2005, 08:45 PM

I`ll chime in as well.I use the tripod all the time as well.Its adjustable.I had bought also the lock & chok for between the wheels.First time out with it the handle bent-not worth the money as far as i`am concerned.What I got instead is the Rotochok.This is a god send for between the wheels.Locks those wheels nice and tight-no movement what so ever.Peole that have these swear by them.They can be had at www.rotochok.com

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