Community Forums

thetanu539 · 07-08-2015, 10:43 AM

My TT has cheap scissor stabilizing jacks (factory installed) and I am looking to replace them with more sturdy leveling jacks primarily for stability but also to get an inch or so of leveling possibility. Yes I know I cannot use these for serious leveling, this would be for the time when a block or board is too much but I need about an inch to get level.

For those who have these type of jacks, either that you have installed or came with your unit, what band have you used that work well for you?

I have looked at a set of 24" BALs and 24" Huskys thus far. Any experience with these two brands and their quality?

dagmandt · 07-08-2015, 11:40 AM

Leveling is accomplished with blocks under your tires and the tongue jack. Stabilizers are not meant to level. Your stabilizers are likely pretty good quality if used for their intended purpose.

gazingm42 · 07-08-2015, 11:42 AM

For stabilizing only you can often find good sturdy ones at a auto wrecking yard.

Last trailer I paid $2.00 each. I passed them on to the new owners

Bigbird65 · 07-08-2015, 12:01 PM

I bought this one at Harbor Freight to replace one that got bent. It is a very sturdy solid jack.

bluie5 · 07-10-2015, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagmandt

Leveling is accomplished with blocks under your tires and the tongue jack. Stabilizers are not meant to level. Your stabilizers are likely pretty good quality if used for their intended purpose.

x2 they're not intended to lift the trailer.

Timay · 07-10-2015, 05:28 PM

x3...not for lifting of trailer.

Tim

Bigbird65 · 07-10-2015, 05:52 PM

Sorry, double post.

Bigbird65 · 07-10-2015, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timay

x3...not for lifting of trailer.

Tim

The leveling (stabilizer) jacks lift my trailer just fine. Depending on how un-level my trailer was to start with the wheels might be off the ground. No problem. The trailer loaded weighs 4800# and each jack is rated at 5000#. The trailer has a 6" tall frame. No bending or twisting. Winnebago builds em strong.

If my trailer was built flimsy then I wouldn't use the jacks for leveling.

TDI-Minnie · 07-11-2015, 06:17 AM

I tend to agree. It's not what you are supposed to do on an RV, but my last few cars had scissor jacks to change tires and they had no issue lifting 2000lbs (I can lift front and back on one side).

TDI-Minnie · 07-11-2015, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timay

x3...not for lifting of trailer.

Tim

I think they all say this because they don't want you to use the jacks to change the tires in case of a flat. But there is really no issue with doing it.
#1. The jacks have the capacity to lift the trailer. But probably not the reach to get the tires off the ground.
#2. The manual on mine says to use a jack on the frame I-beam to lift the trailer for changing tires... which is where the scissor jacks are attached.

That said, I do carry a bottle jack in the truck for flats and I do put wood under the low-side tires to level. But I also crank as much into those jacks as I need, to lift and level the rig.

Bigbird65 · 07-11-2015, 07:33 AM

I also have a bottle jack in the trailer that I use in case I need to change a tire. It is easier to use than having to use the scissor jacks to lift the trailer high enough to change the tire.

Until I find some some good reason to not level my trailer using these jacks I will continue to do so. "You are not supposed to do it" is just not good enough for me.

Earlier in this thread I mentioned that I replaced a bent jack. I was actually pulled over by a Texas sheriffs car to tell me that I had a jack scraping the pavement. Very nice of them to do this. At the time I didn't realize that when you retract the jacks you really need to put some back force on them to insure that they stay up. Due to road vibration the two rear jacks had worked their way down. One only lightly touched the pavement but the other one was bent. I managed to get them both back up so that I could continue the trip. "Jacks up and back seated" is now on my drive off check list.

dagmandt · 07-11-2015, 09:00 AM

Just to reiterate, those calling them stabilizer/leveling jacks are wrong. They are stabilizer jacks. No leveling about them. They don't have the geometry/leverage for lifting a load efficiently. They are designed, built and meant for stabilizing. They have load capacity but are not designed for lifting that load, just stabilizing it. Sure, you can make them lift a load. You can make lots of things do what they aren't designed to do. It comes down to the gauge of the material and the thread pitch and type of thread that would allow for lifting.

If you purchase true scissor lifting jacks and mount them under the frame that might be a fun experiment although most don't lift terribly high.

If you don't care, go for it, it is your trailer.

I tell you what I do know, the electric stab jacks on my trailer are pretty much worthless. They are extremely loud, take forever to come down, and are flimsy. I bought extra Bal stab jacks to put near the axles and they help quite a bit. Much more effective. I've considered replacing the electric ones with the tried and true manual 4 corner stab jacks. Has anyone done that?

Bigbird65 · 07-13-2015, 03:04 PM

After reading a lot and reconsidering I changed my mind. I ordered a pair of the Andersen 3604 levelers to level my trailer. See the video

here

.

schrederman · 07-14-2015, 10:29 AM

Travel Trailer frames are not rigid enough to level from the corners. You may think you're doing OK, but you are stressing the structure of the trailer in ways it was not designed to withstand. Sure the jacks will support the weight... but go up a bit too much and you are twisting/warping your entire trailer, not just the frame. The points where the walls attach to the floor, roof to walls, etc. will be stressed in both tension and compression, not to mention shear. They're designed to take some of that bouncing down the road, but if you have half the weight of the loaded trailer supported on one corner... well, that wasn't in the design engineers plans. Be careful out there...