More Basic Equipment Feedback

[Burrington]

Originally Posted by geo-gypsy

Burrington -

I probably hook up the same way with my blocks as you do with your blocks. There's no "dropping" involved. I use the 8" blocks to limit the extension of the hydraulics. Though the Bigfoot is magnitudes better than the Lippert (originally developed by DRV) leveling hydraulics, the less throw on the hydraulics, the more stability. I will say, we sustained 60 mph winds in our Elite Suites in Amarillo with 6" blocks on the 6 point Lippert hydraulics on our ES. The maximum winds we have had in our NH is 55 mph winds on our 8" blocks at our daughter's house in Oklahoma. No shaking and no movement. The slides did tip in due to wind resistance. The blocks are used to actually limit the extension of the hydraulics.

Just my two cents,
Ron

Ah, I understand. Yes, that would reduce the wiggle. Personally, I would be afraid of pushing back a bit too hard while hooking up and knocking the trailer off the blocks. It would only have to move 6 or 8 inches to drop off the blocks and drop onto the back of the truck. I guess as long as you use good wheel chocks its very unlikely to happen.

I resolved the wiggle issue by installing a cross-brace between the two rear jacks. It is made of 2" angle iron that I had on hand (1-1/2" would be plenty strong enough). I bolted one end to the top of the frame next to the jack, and the other end to a hole I drilled in the very bottom of the jack casing. Then I bolted the two braces together in the middle. I bolted everything instead of welding so the jacks could still be removed for replacement. That took the flex out of the frame where the jacks are mounted. Even at full extension the trailer does NOT move now. The front moves very little, so I didn't bother with anything on the front.

[geo-gypsy]

Originally Posted by Burrington

Ah, I understand. Yes, that would reduce the wiggle. Personally, I would be afraid of pushing back a bit too hard while hooking up and knocking the trailer off the blocks. It would only have to move 6 or 8 inches to drop off the blocks and drop onto the back of the truck. I guess as long as you use good wheel chocks its very unlikely to happen.

I resolved the wiggle issue by installing a cross-brace between the two rear jacks. It is made of 2" angle iron that I had on hand (1-1/2" would be plenty strong enough). I bolted one end to the top of the frame next to the jack, and the other end to a hole I drilled in the very bottom of the jack casing. Then I bolted the two braces together in the middle. I bolted everything instead of welding so the jacks could still be removed for replacement. That took the flex out of the frame where the jacks are mounted. Even at full extension the trailer does NOT move now. The front moves very little, so I didn't bother with anything on the front.

Burrington -

Wow! You don't have Bigfoot levelers? I would estimate one would have to back up to the pin at a speed of at least 60 to 80 kph to hit the pin with enough force to knock the RV off the blocks! I will say that when I hitch up, I am usually moving less than 5 mph and when the hitch locks, the truck is stopped dead in its tracks. I didn't think the StrongArm braces you describe would be required on a 9,400 kg RV. Did you attach the braces by welding to the baseplate of the Bigfoot? I'm not sure how this would work with a hydraulic system. I usually have seen the StrongArm braces on the less expensive RV that have mechanical or manual levelers/supports. Also, I can say, the New Horizons frame flexes only a minimal amount. One immediately notices this because NH only uses 4 Bigfoot hydraulics to stabilize, or even lift, the RV. Even when, long ago, I had a Keystone Alpine, I found that when the hitch closed around the pin, then it would require a far depression of the accelerator to even start to push the mechanical landing gear.

Just my two cents,
Ron