Jacks down hooked up to towed? Unhook?

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by pasdad1

Overnight stops I never put down jacks….no need to actually.

I've been in rest areas in seven states , never been in a spot that required leveling .
JMHO : When shopping for RV's the first thing we look at is a floor plan that works with the slide (s) in.

[pameridan04]

Hi Guys:
Thanks for all the reply's. I disagree also with the reply that I should be in a campground to extend my jacks and open a slide.

I only deploy the jacks to balance my slide. I need the bedroom slide out to sleep. I will be doing about 1800 miles in 5 days. I am always withing in my space within the parking lines. If the rest stop, overnight spot allows you to spend the night, I feel a slide sticking out is no big deal. JMHO....

Pam..

[1JetDoc]

Originally Posted by pameridan04

Hi Guys:
Thanks for all the reply's. I disagree also with the reply that I should be in a campground to extend my jacks and open a slide.

I only deploy the jacks to balance my slide. I need the bedroom slide out to sleep. I will be doing about 1800 miles in 5 days. I am always withing in my space within the parking lines. If the rest stop, overnight spot allows you to spend the night, I feel a slide sticking out is no big deal. JMHO....

Pam..

Unfortunately, when you are in a truck stop parking lot, or a highway rest area, it's NOT "your space". You have no protection and are parked within a few feet of big semi-trucks that use a lot of room to maneuver in and out of tight parking spaces, and maybe not the world's most skilled drivers.

As I said in my previous post, it's not uncommon for big trucks to sideswipe other trucks when pulling in and out of tight parking spaces. I'd hate to see what one of these big rigs could do to your extended slide, and the truck driver may not even notice that he has done any damage to your rig.

If you MUST extend your slide to sleep, try to park in a space at the far end of the parking lot where there wouldn't be any other vehicles moving in and out next to you.

We once owned a travel trailer that couldn't access the bedroom or the bathroom with the slides closed. We sold it after one season and replaced it with a unit that allows full use of the coach with the slide closed.

[pasdad1]

Originally Posted by pameridan04

I only deploy the jacks to balance my slide.

I don’t believe you need to do this. We have a full wall slide (very heavy) and while on paved surfaces, rest stops, truck stops, parking lots, etc, have never felt uncomfortable just putting out the slide while the air suspension is aired up, and NOT putting down jacks. (In fact Newmar recommends always extending/retracting slides while on full air suspension and NO jacks down)

The bedroom slide is the smallest of the three slides, and barely has any effect on balance of the rig when out.

If you have an absorption fridge, and the RV is very unlevel, I would try to find another parking spot before resorting to jacks.

We have a compressor residential fridge, so being unlevel is of no consequence for us.

[Dutch Star Don]

Think about when you look at RV's at a show or on the dealer's lot. They have the slides out without having the jacks down. There is no need to put your jacks down unless you're saying that you have to be perfectly level for you to fall asleep.

If you're only putting out your bedroom slide out, try and find a spot where that slide extends over a parkway or island, lessening the chance of it being struck.

Lastly, I don't have an opinion either way on where you overnight, but I will say that I never got any good sleep in a Rest Area either because of the noise or someone breaking into your toad or bays of your coach. Too many creepy crawlers around those places.

[Wacdmc]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Rest stops and parking lots are not designed for such use, especially a a rest area, which is designed for autos and long haul truckers, not dry camping(although some states have special RV sections). Some folks buy a MH that cannot be used unless the slides are opened, then they must pay the consequences.



As to Pam's question, there is no need to unhook the towed unless you need it to run around or back up the MH for some reason.

Thank you for your service.

I disagree that rest areas are not designed for RV use. We have stayed overnight at a few of them when all of the campgrounds were full. However, I will add that we never put out any slides or deploy our jacks. Those jacks put unnecessary wear and tear on the asphalt parking lots and signs not a paying customer, we don’t use them.

[Rob_M]

I don’t deploy jacks when dry camping while traveling. Park on fairly level ground, dump air and it’s setting on the suspension bump stops. Putting slides out has no or very little effect on levelness.
But we can access everything in our rig with them in, so we rarely put slides out when just stopping for some shut-eye. And as long as the head of the bed is not noticeably lower than the foot, we’re good.

[bneumann]

Whatever one decides re jacks down or slides out, etc. .... use common & safety sense.

One thing I observed is that truckers are usually good safe drivers & they know their trucks.

Be very careful if you have a long RV trailer end up beside you; when they leave they may have a natural tendency to pull out too early to the right.
They may not realize that their extra long cantilevered overhang behind the rear trailer tires may then swing & hit your side or mirror.

Try to stay away from large trailers ..... use common & safety sense.