Blocks Underneath Front Stabilizers on Fifth Wheeler

[Kojak]

I have a question regarding setting up your fifth wheel on a campsite that has a driveway that I have to back into at an upward angle. Now with my old travel trailer I was able to set blocks underneath the front jack. It did sit up pretty high but not to the point where I felt uncomfortable. Not sure at how much of an angle it is so please don't throw math questions at me.
Is it safe to throw a couple blocks underneath the two front stabilizers? Will I even be able to unhitch the fifth wheel if the truck and trailer are not positioned at the same angle? I am new to fifth wheelers so please be gentle.

[Pull Toy]

There is no reason not to use blocks under your landing gear.

But first and foremost, if your parking on an inclined site, chock your trailer wheels. You then will want to jack up the front enough to disconnect your truck, and move it, prior to leveling the camper.

[SteveC7010]

I have a question regarding setting up your fifth wheel on a campsite that has a driveway that I have to back into at an upward angle. Now with my old travel trailer I was able to set blocks underneath the front jack. It did sit up pretty high but not to the point where I felt uncomfortable. Not sure at how much of an angle it is so please don't throw math questions at me.
Is it safe to throw a couple blocks underneath the two front stabilizers? Will I even be able to unhitch the fifth wheel if the truck and trailer are not positioned at the same angle? I am new to fifth wheelers so please be gentle.
Those front stabilizers are called landing gear, and their function is different from stabilizers. Unlike stabilizers, they also perform the task of a nose jack as you understand it. It will prove helpful to distinguish between stabilizers and landing gear in these discussions.

My landing gear are always on at least one level of 4x4 cribbing. I've discussed this in several previous threads in just the last week or so. If I were to site the trailer in a campsite that had that much slope to it, I would not hesitate to build up several more layers.

As Pull Toy said, it is critically important to chock the wheels. I normally just use a pair of wheel locks, but on a sloped site, I would also place chocks in front of all four tires on the ground.

Make sure the tow vehicle and trailer are in a straight line before you drop the trailer. If they're angled, it becomes very difficult to hook up on a sloped site. I would recommend that you become very comfortable with the drop and hook up process on flat ground before attempting it on a sharply sloped campsite.

[MarkS]

Most people put at least one block under the landing gear. Helps to keep the gear from sinking in soft ground. Helps to keep the gear from rusting. Some people think the trailer rocks less if you don't extend the landing gear as much.

Use substantial blocks. Don't use a stack of 2x4's. You don't want the trailer to rock off the blocks. Don't use cinder blocks, there have been reports of them cracking.

Look at your hitch's manual. There is usually instruction on how to hitch unhitch. Some hitches allow you to use the landing gear to lift the pin straight up out of the hitch. Mine does not. You have to slide the trailer on and off the hitch. The pin box needs to be a little lower than the hitch when you hitch unhitch.

Chock your wheels!

[JRTJH]

Another important item to remember when using "cribbing" or "blocks" under the fifth wheel landing gear is that should you, by some chance, push the trailer backwards when hitching, you could push the landing gear off the blocks and cause the trailer to drop onto your truck bed. Should that happen, you will be looking at some damage to both the trailer and the fifth wheel. That damage could be a significantly expensive "lesson learned".....

When you hook up, don't think that "close to centerline" on the pin/hitch slot is OK. Bumping the trailer to align the pin with the hitch will often move the trailer back a couple of inches. Doing that 2 or 3 times when trying to hitch could easily push your landing gear off the blocks. Pay attention to what you're doing and you'll be OK, but assuming that the trailer won't move backwards and drop off your blocks is an expensive way to learn not to "bump your pin to align the hitch"....... That would become even more critical if your trailer is sitting on an angle and might roll off the chocks as it drops onto your truck bed without being hitched......

[Desert185]

Another important item to remember when using "cribbing" or "blocks" under the fifth wheel landing gear is that should you, by some chance, push the trailer backwards when hitching, you could push the landing gear off the blocks and cause the trailer to drop onto your truck bed. Should that happen, you will be looking at some damage to both the trailer and the fifth wheel. That damage could be a significantly expensive "lesson learned".....

When you hook up, don't think that "close to centerline" on the pin/hitch slot is OK. Bumping the trailer to align the pin with the hitch will often move the trailer back a couple of inches. Doing that 2 or 3 times when trying to hitch could easily push your landing gear off the blocks. Pay attention to what you're doing and you'll be OK, but assuming that the trailer won't move backwards and drop off your blocks is an expensive way to learn not to "bump your pin to align the hitch"....... That would become even more critical if your trailer is sitting on an angle and might roll off the chocks as it drops onto your truck bed without being hitched......

Yet another reason to go with an Andersen Ultimate Hitch. :thumbsup: