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Old 04-19-2017, 05:56 PM   #1
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How do you stabilize your trailer?

I am having an issue stabilizing our trailer and would like to know how the folks here do it. We set up our new TT last weekend and it seems to shake a lot when someone walks through it. I put the jacks down nice and tight but that did not seem to make the trailer stable enough. I realize that I will not be able to get all the shake out of it but I would think there is something that will help this. I appreciate your input
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Old 04-19-2017, 06:06 PM   #2
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Some folks use X chocks between the tires and the rest of us just sort of get our "sea legs" and don't even notice it after a while.
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Old 04-19-2017, 06:24 PM   #3
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About the easiest way to reduce movement in a TT is add a pair of stabilizer jack just in front of the wheels. Since stabilizer jacks are on the front and back the movement is from the suspension in the middle. By adding a pair of jacks near the suspension you will reduce the movement at the center. Other than that the only way to get rid of the movement is to completely raise the TT off of the wheels but that is not practical.
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Old 04-19-2017, 07:15 PM   #4
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X chocks remove almost all of the shake. I'm alone, so I don't care about what little movement there might be when I walk through the trailer, but the X Chocks make it feel really solid.
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Old 04-19-2017, 08:19 PM   #5
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I am about to do this to my Class A but its designed for a 5th wheel or travel trailer. All told in parts it has cost me about $65.00, now I just have to spend an afternoon doing it. Seems very DIY, straight forward and not very complicated.

RV Stabilizer Rods - All

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Old 04-19-2017, 08:43 PM   #6
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I had a TT with the torsion axles and it was a real bear to keep steady. I found that the x style wheel chocks worked the best for that TT - BTW it also had the jacks that drop down on one arm. I also found that after getting level side to side I would drop the tongue by 5 cranks, drop the rear jacks to tight, then raise the tongue back up 5 cranks and then drop the front jacks until tight.


All of this became a mote point when I got a larger heavier TT with leaf springs, shock absorbers, and scissor style jacks. Of all of these I feel that shocks were the #1 anti movement devices.
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Old 04-20-2017, 06:26 PM   #7
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X chocks
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Old 04-20-2017, 09:12 PM   #8
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I have heard of people using something like hydraulic bottle jacks (2) one each at one corner and the other at the other end on the other side to get a more firmer stabilizing setup.
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Old 04-20-2017, 09:21 PM   #9
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I have a Keystone that is about 33' long. I moved the front and rear jacks inboard about 16". (Now the trailer thinks it's shorter!) I put another set of jacks in front of the tires. I use 4" thick blocks under the jacks. I have the X chocks. I also have the Steady Fast struts. It is the rock of Gibraltar. The water in the toilet moves very little when someone is walking around inside.
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Old 04-20-2017, 09:26 PM   #10
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Back when I had TT's (before 1988) I had jacks welded to the frame and a hand crank to lower them onto some wood blocks. Last TT was a 26' unit towed with a ¾ton PU.
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Old 04-20-2017, 09:30 PM   #11
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The longer your jack the more sway in them. If you anchor a front corner of the trailer to terra firma then keep the rear from moving back and forth you fixed the majority of the problem. That is what the Steady Fast does. Best bucks I've spent on my rig. It's fun to demonstrate the function of the struts at trailer parks. Loosen them up and you can shake the trailer. tighten them up and zero movement.
Being I moved my jacks off the bumper frame and front A frame they need to come down a lot more now as they are mounted 7" higher than what they were from the factory. But having the Jacks inboard a bit does two things. First off they no longer drag the ground doing driveways ETC. Second it changes the span you are supporting. Think of a bridge. The longer the bridge the more flip and flop in the middle. The shorter the bridge the less a-flopping it does.
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Old 04-20-2017, 09:32 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_D View Post
Back when I had TT's (before 1988) I had jacks welded to the frame and a hand crank to lower them onto some wood blocks. Last TT was a 26' unit towed with a ¾ton PU.
Pre-Cordless drill history days.
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Old 04-20-2017, 09:40 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by afrohman View Post
I am about to do this to my Class A but its designed for a 5th wheel or travel trailer. All told in parts it has cost me about $65.00, now I just have to spend an afternoon doing it. Seems very DIY, straight forward and not very complicated.

RV Stabilizer Rods - All

Thanks
Adam
You can get by fine with 3 struts. 2 cross ways, one front to back. In the pic above (which you won't use) the struts are mounted to something, probably flimsy, at the center of the trailer. Frame to frame is the only way to go. And frame to frame gives you a longer strut which effectively lowers the angle of attack. My Steady Fast struts, 2 in front, 1 in back, are at least 6' 61/2" long.
I was going to build my own as well. My engineering mind told me only 3 struts are needed. They I found Steady Fast and being the factory is 1/2 mile from my house I just bought them.
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