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View Full Version : Stabilzers. Am I stupid??


gearhead
07-31-2013, 10:46 AM
Just got back from first trip in first 5th wheel. I have a stupid question. I must be doing something wrong. I backed in my spot at a nearby state park. Put my front legs down and got off the hitch. I checked for level on the kitchen counter and adjusted the legs a little. Then put my manual rear stabilizers down, with a 1"x12" under them, with a bit of pressure on them. Later that night I noticed when we walked around inside there was a fair amount of rocking. The next morning I checked the rear stabilizers and they were barely touching with no pressure at all. There was no damage to the boards and they were on asphalt so they didn't sink.
Bottom line....how much "bind" do y'all put on your stabilizers? And is it common for them to get loose?
Thanks for any help.....

hankpage
07-31-2013, 11:00 AM
If temps were high the landing gear may have sunk into the asphalt a little raising the rear some ... it does not take much to change height 25' away. Also tires cooling down from the trip may have softened a little and added to the change. Check level again and readjust. Simple answer: Yes, it is common. You are normal. :rolleyes:

DJ85
07-31-2013, 12:30 PM
I don't judge if you are normal or not, but it is common to readjust everything once or twice to get everything secured.

f6bits
07-31-2013, 01:12 PM
Mine does this as well and I'm not entirely sure why. I would think that as the tires cool, it would further lower the trailer onto the stabilizers. I often find two of my stabilizers barely touching, like yours, the next day. So I just hand crank them a bit and be done with it.

Robby9
07-31-2013, 04:18 PM
It's another one of life's mysteries I haven't figured out, but I always have to re-tighten the jacks the next day.

gearhead
07-31-2013, 04:57 PM
Hmmmm....if the tires are cooling and losing pressure, the trailer goes lower, the front legs can't move, the stabilizers should have more weight on them??
Maybe it IS one of life's mysteries!!
As long as others have them same problem along with me, I'm self-diagnosing myself as normal. Lets just keep it to ourselves, those that know me would disagree. lol

hankpage
07-31-2013, 06:20 PM
Hmmmm....if the tires are cooling and losing pressure, the trailer goes lower, the front legs can't move, the stabilizers should have more weight on them??
Maybe it IS one of life's mysteries!!
As long as others have them same problem along with me, I'm self-diagnosing myself as normal. Lets just keep it to ourselves, those that know me would disagree. lol

We will do our best not to ruin your reputation. :D I am sure you can trust every one of our almost 10,000 members and all the guests that visit every day to keep your secret. :rolleyes:

WaltBennett
08-01-2013, 03:06 AM
I'd think tire cooling would make them get smaller and lower everything, not raise it, but I've experienced soft ground sinking and whatever else so often that I always lift the trailer a bit off the axles. I lower the landing gear until our Monty is a bit nose down (after unhooking), lower the stabilizers all the way (and a bit more), then lower the landing gear until the whole thing is level. That way I'm not trying to lift the whole thing by the stabilizers (too much anyway!). I've also found that you can make tire changing much easier by doing this, but that's another story.

LZScout
08-01-2013, 05:18 AM
Those of you with the Lippert Level Up system, does this "tire cooling" affect your set up as well!


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Bigsky3625
08-01-2013, 05:32 AM
Those of you with the Lippert Level Up system, does this "tire cooling" affect your set up as well!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We have not seen that. The only time we had to relevel was after the level-up system lost level. Just leveled manually and then reset zero.

labs4life
08-01-2013, 05:40 AM
I usually have to tighten the curb side of my unit. I think it is due to having 2 slides on the street side. Overnight the added weight from the cantilever compresses the tires a bit more on the street side thus raising the curb side. I just readjust and go on.

Drew Waller
08-01-2013, 05:50 AM
I've got the 6 point Lippert system and really like it. I let it do it's thing (Auto Leveling) and have not noticed any changes. Even the popping sound that some have had. I don't notice it on the inside but I have heard it in the drive way( on concrete ) when I'm outside.

Pmedic4
08-01-2013, 07:05 AM
While not quite the same issue, one I've noticed with leveling starts with the un-hitching process. When I pull into a spot, and it's level side to side, I will let the Landing Gear extensions down to as close to the ground as possible - easy, right( I use blocks, but doesn't change the issue)? What happens when the site is not quite level front to rear, after I raise the Landing Gear to un-hitch, pull the truck out, now go to level it up, I can't get the RV level since I put the landing gear to far down so the Landing Gear bottoms out.:confused: As we all know, the simple solution is to not put the extensions all the way down, but the site looked level, or close enough! Arrrrgh!
Item on checklist - Don't put Landing Gear extensions as far down as possible.

I guess, the opposite could be true too, if the site slopes rear to front.

scjetb
08-01-2013, 07:06 AM
[QUOTE=LZScout;89844]Those of you with the Lippert Level Up system, does this "tire cooling" affect your set up as well!


I have not notice anything changing after the auto level finalizes. I love that feature.

SAABDOCTOR
08-01-2013, 08:48 AM
YES IT IS NORMAL TO HAVE TO tighten up the jacks. are you stupid heck NO but you own a camper so normal went out the window once that happened! just ask my DW;);)

Cindy_N_Gary
08-06-2013, 08:24 AM
I see the same thing on my camper--perfectly normal.

I think getting in, walking around, adding water to the gray water and black water tanks causes the landing gear to settle--just my theory.

Retightening once usually does it for me. They stay tight for the rest of the stay usually.

crash
08-06-2013, 09:45 AM
We have the Lippert system and once ours is level we dont have to touch it ,We love it:D