Leveling a 5th wheel by hand

[Glide585]

I have a 2005 314 Efs and was wondering if I can level it better without a truck ? If was very difficult to get in spot and it need to come up another 2 inches on the awning side. Can I use a floor jack? Thanks in advance

[Bluewater]

We just use a short piece of 2X8 and place it under the tires. Easy to do.

[Glide585]

Sorry I should have explained better. It is already up 5 inches on the awning side and I need to go another 2. But getting in and out with truck is a ton of work.. Can I just use a floor jack?

[MarkS]

How to jack up a trailer is a controversial subject. The manual says to jack up the frame rather than the axel. People don't like to do it that way because the suspension travel means you have to jack the frame way up. At the same time jacking the axel can damage the axel.

If you have a 5er, you will also need to adjust the landing gear. I don't know how to do that without the truck.

Don't forget to crank up the stabilizers.

7 inches? Scary.

[Festus2]

7 inches? Scary.

I agree. Scary. If there were other sites available that were more level, I'd be moving. If not, I'd just put up with it and wear runners with good grips! :D Sounds too dangerous to be fiddling around with bottle jacks and walking around inside your RV.

[Glide585]

Well I have a railroad tie underage wheels it now.. Just need to jack it up enough to add a 2x10.. I'm on a lake front and it slopes towards the water.. All the other campers have similar set ups.. Wasn't planning on using a bottle jack but a 3 ton floor jack.. Was wondering if anyone has done this or not?

[diugo]

Using a jack is inherently dangerous, and doubly so on uneven ground. So perform the following at your own risk.

In this case I would definitely jack a single axle at a time---not by the frame. Why? Because you are on a serious side slope, and frame jacking effectively lifts both wheels and one of the front jacks all at once---replacing three points of contact with the ground with just one, increasing the chance of a sideways slide. Also, a three-ton jack may be pushed near its limit raising half the weight of a 31-foot trailer---another good reason to do one axle at a time.

Make sure the jack is contacting only the U-bolt, not the axle tube or a spring. You will also need to find a second 2x10, or cut yours in half. Finally, keep in mind a 2x10 is actually only 1.5 inches thick.

[Glide585]

Thank you that's the response I was looking for

[diugo]

As MarkS pointed out, once the wheels are raised N inches, you should also consider raising the landing gear leg on the awning side by N inches---otherwise your frame will be torqued.

You can do this without a truck (dangerously) by firmly sticking a strong beam or log under the kingpin, retracting the landing gear til the kingpin rests on the beam, retracting the gear another N inches, extending the leg N inches, then re-extending the gear til the trailer is level.

[Glide585]

Thank you for the good clear answers.

[gkainz]

I would trench down under the uphill wheels before jacking up what sounds like an already precarious blocking arrangement, but that's just me.

[Stublejumper]

I would trench down under the uphill wheels before jacking up what sounds like an already precarious blocking arrangement, but that's just me.

I have done that many times as well ,that way the steps do not become a diving board.

[Glide585]

Good idea. I will try first. But will still have to jack it to dig out. So possibly just as dangerous.

Thanks again

[JRTJH]

It sounds like you are in a "semi-permanent" site and that the trailer will be there for a while. If this is the situation, then if you're going to dig the "off side" wheel space to help level the trailer, you may as well just measure how much needs to be removed, hitch up and pull the trailer forward to clear the area, remove the dirt and back it into position.

If you jack that side to remove the dirt, remember, you'll also have to jack the raised side to remove the current leveling blocks.

You might as well just move the trailer forward and do it the right way. In the end, by the time you jack every wheel to "adjust" under them, it would be simpler to just get the RV out of the way.

If you're going to be in the spot for just a couple of days, I'd leave it alone. You've lived with it so far, what's one or two more days? Just use the current situation as a "lesson learned" and dig the high side out before leveling next time.

[Glide585]

It is in a semi permanent spot. The problem is that there are trailer on either side of me that have to pull their slides in for me to maneuver it in.. But thanks for your reply

[instymp]

We have a place on the lake also & leave it there, and the guy we hired to set it uses a bottle jack on the frame & had to jack the lake side up about 18 inches, with block & wood till it was level. This isn't a normal leveling job as when one is towing & camping.
Freaks me out but he does it all the time. Jacker beware!!