Stop trailer from rocking

[skifreak76]

I have a sprinter 311BHS that is 35 ft long. i'm trying too get this thing from moving around so much. ive already installed bal stablizer jacks with bal Lock-Arm Stabilizing Bar. Now from what ive seen at the camping/rv shows is alot of company putting a jack after the wheels. this is something i could do. but is it something i should do?

[JRTJH]

Long trailers have a certain amount of "spring" in the frame rails. Add that to the suspension "spring" and you can have issues with movement near the center of the trailer. Depending on the floorplan, that may be an area where a lot of traffic occurs, causing the movement to be even more noticeable.

I have BAL locking bars on my trailer. It doesn't have much movement, but the living room is directly over the axles. Any movement, even from the rocker/recliners is just enough to be noticeable if you're sitting still, reading or ???

I tried a couple of jack stands in front of the forward axle and it eliminated almost all of the "spring". For us, it worked. If you've got jack stands, adjust them to the height of the frame rails, lower the tongue slightly, slip them into place, then raise the tongue to put weight on them. Then lock your BAL bars and see if it helps. If so, you might want to consider scissors jacks mounted to the frame in that same location.

So far, I haven't moved past the jack stand stage, but will probably do something this summer on a "lazy afternoon"......

[GaryWT]

If the trailer is rocking...

We starting adding extra supports in front of the wheels. It helps some.

[Mike484]

How stabile is stabile to you?

It is a camper, I guess it just depends on how much work you want to do every time you set it up and take it down. For us, there's only the two of us (no kids running around in the trailer) so the stabilizer bars along with a good set of chocks is acceptable to us. Easy set up, easy to take down, much more important than having a little movement.

Has anyone tried adding a set of stabilizing jacks near the wheels? Seems like they would be easy to use. Permanently installed, just have to lower six jacks rather than four, and you can add some stabilizer bars to make them even more stable.

[WaltBennett]

The thing is that it's a trailer. It's got axles, tires and springs, and a fairly lightweight frame (compared to a house). If you've slide outs, they also can bounce a bit. All this together means that it's almost impossible to eliminate any bounce or sway completely, unless you totally jack it up off the tires & springs and completely support the frame and slides just like it was a house.

This accepted, the BAL stabilizers are a good first step. If you've stabilizer (scissors type) jacks on the rear, they need to be stabilized. Your tires need to be chocked front and back on both sides. The entire trailer should be lifted to the point where a part if its weight is off the springs & tires. How much is up to you and the amount of work you want to put into it. Finally, some simple aluminum screw jacks can be put under the frame near the axles - not lifting it, but snugly to keep it from flexing. If you've done all this and still aren't happy, then you'll need to figure out how much more to do (both in effort and things you'll have to bring along).

I full-timed in a 34' TT with no slides for three years, many years ago just doing this to make everything stable. Didn't have anything like BAL stabilizers, and used three sets of screw jacks (no scissors jacks at the rear either), concrete blocks and a hydraulic jack to lift it up. Worked very well, but I wasn't going anywhere with it for that period either.

[hankaye]

skifreak76, Howdy;

I have a set of these;
http://www.adventurerv.net/aluminum-stabilizing-trailer-stacker-stabilizer-leveling-jacks-set-p-127.html
that I used when I had my TT, spaced a pair 1/2 way between the front axle
and the front jacks and the rear pair 1/2 way between the rear axle and
the rear stabilizers. Took all the shimmy and shake out of it and before I
bought the Stedi-fast system for my 5th wheel.

hankaye

[AlbertaRvMan]

skifreak76, Howdy;

I have a set of these;
http://www.adventurerv.net/aluminum-stabilizing-trailer-stacker-stabilizer-leveling-jacks-set-p-127.html
that I used when I had my TT, spaced a pair 1/2 way between the front axle
and the front jacks and the rear pair 1/2 way between the rear axle and
the rear stabilizers. Took all the shimmy and shake out of it and before I
bought the Stedi-fast system for my 5th wheel.

hankaye

Thanks for the details on where to place these. I also bought 2 pairs and was unsure where to place them for optimal performance. I will place where you recommended.

How tight do you get these? Similar to stabalizer jacks I know we don't want to lift the trailer, just hand tight?

Also is it best to put these on a block of wood / minimize the extension?

thanks.

[theeyres]

Or if you get tired of going to so much work to make a trailer feel like a s&b house, pretend you are on a small yacht. Just let it rock and roll a little bit. You get used to it then it won't bother you any more.

[hankaye]

AlbertarvMan, Howdy;

Thanks for the details on where to place these. I also bought 2 pairs and was unsure where to place them for optimal performance. I will place where you recommended.

How tight do you get these? Similar to stabalizer jacks I know we don't want to lift the trailer, just hand tight?

Also is it best to put these on a block of wood / minimize the extension?

thanks.

Yup, snug them up with no tools and be sure to place them under the
main frame members that run front to back. If you have the chloroplast
under cover you may want to place something like a piece of 1"X2"
between so you don't punch a hole in it.

hankaye

[hankaye]

AlbertarvMan, Howdy;

Thanks for the details on where to place these. I also bought 2 pairs and was unsure where to place them for optimal performance. I will place where you recommended.

How tight do you get these? Similar to stabalizer jacks I know we don't want to lift the trailer, just hand tight?

Also is it best to put these on a block of wood / minimize the extension?

thanks.

Yup, snug them up with no tools and be sure to place them under the
main frame members that run front to back. If you have the chloroplast
under cover you may want to place something like a piece of 1"X2"
between so you don't punch a hole in it. I also place a 12"X12" piece of
plywood under them so thy won't settle into the ground.

hankaye

[Vastdavidson]

We installed the Steadyfast system on our toy hauler... Wow what a difference!

http://www.steadyfast.com/index.html

[ImTravis]

I'll be attempting to install our steady fast this weekend. If the weather holds


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Bob Landry]

I tried the aluminum screw jacks and also installed scissor jacks on both sides of the axles and it made no difference. I gave up.

[Mike484]

Stabilizer bars are the way to go. They DO make a difference. If your on a budget or are unsure, get a set of BAL locking bars for about $75 and try them out. Or go all the way and get the SteadyFast or JT Strong, you'll wonder why you didn't do this first.

[CoreyC]

I find the BAL X-Chocks make a significant difference in the stability of my camper.

http://www.norcoind.com/bal/products/consumer/chocks/chocks.shtml

[Mike484]

They will make a huge difference in the fore and aft movement, but not much help in the side to side, you need the triangulation.

[B-O-B'03]

We installed the Steadyfast system on our toy hauler... Wow what a difference!

http://www.steadyfast.com/index.html

+1

Big difference in our trailer, the DW was duly impressed with them.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1490/25684758445_c1094311dc_z.jpg

-Brian

[the sodfather]

I've got the JT Stongarms on my 272BHS. As close to having a camper on a foundation as you can get.

[CaptnJohn]

Way back I used 6 screw jacks which helped. Last TT had the scissors jacks and would run them snug with the drill. Thought that and the electric tongue jack could not be beat. The new 5er has it all beat. Front being stabilized on both sides by the landing gear instead of at the tongue and the auto-level system ~~ love the auto-level. Push a button and stable and level. Stayed that way for 5 weeks straight in FL without any adjustment.

[audio1der]

If you're mechanically inclined, it's not difficult to make your own "Steadyfast" type stabilizers yourself :cool:
http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18352&highlight=steadyfast

[collins590]

I installed the bal lock-arm stabilizers and they made a huge difference. I have a sprinter 319mks and it has the lippert electric stabilizers. They would flex a lot and any movement at all would feel like your on a boat. There is still a small bit of movement if you really try but nothing you really notice anymore from normal movement.

[MarineFam]

Have any of you used supports for your slide outs? Curious if that helps. Wasn't sure if that could do any harm to it. I'm getting ready to order a set of JT Strongarms. A friend had them and they made a big difference. I'm still thinking I'll need support in the middle like some of you were talking about. Gonna see how this helps first.

[Mike484]

Just my opinion.

I don't like the idea of slide out supports. You will never get rid of all the "rocking" of your RV unless you put it up on blocks. I believe that if the sides are supported, then when the trailer has any "rocking", it will put unwanted stress between the RV and slide out. Could possibly cause damage that you do not want.

But, why do they sell slide supports if they could cause damage to your rig? I don't know, but I won't take that chance.

[MarineFam]

Just my opinion.

I don't like the idea of slide out supports. You will never get rid of all the "rocking" of your RV unless you put it up on blocks. I believe that if the sides are supported, then when the trailer has any "rocking", it will put unwanted stress between the RV and slide out. Could possibly cause damage that you do not want.

But, why do they sell slide supports if they could cause damage to your rig? I don't know, but I won't take that chance.

Agree. A friend of mine bought them and I mentioned my reservations about them and like you mentioned, why would they sell them. I just haven't Ben sold on them myself. Being new to the forum I was curious if people had any experience with them.

I blocked ours when we were seasonal but now am ordering the JT Strongarms to help combat my growing teenage boys lol

[JRTJH]

Another "history lesson" (Geesh I'm starting to feel old)...

Back when "tip outs" (not slide outs) first became popular in travel trailers, they were "cantilevered boxes" that "flipped into the trailer" for travel and "flipped out of the trailer" for extra space when camping. The design of those "tip outs" necessitated "supports" to keep them level during use.

When the transition to slides occurred in the late 70's/early 80's, initially they also required supports under them (and "travel locks" to keep them from deploying during travel). Through the years, slide engineering has improved significantly and today's slides do not require any "underpinning support".

Not to be "outdone", the manufacturers of "tip out supports" apparently decided to rename them "slide out supports" and continue selling them as an optional item to "improve the camping experience". Hmmmmm :confused:

This "new marketing of an old product" keeps them in the "selling game" (making money from RV'ers who read the advertisement and see a "must have"). They usually don't live up to their "hype" and as noted below, can cause more damage than good.....

Now, with today's slide mechanisms, the entire slide is supported by the mechanism and once deployed, becomes an integral part of the RV. The rams (or cable system and slide framework) support the weight of the slide and any movement of the slide frame "must mirror" movement of the RV frame. If the two move independently, the rams (or cable system) can be damaged, causing problems with alignment and operation of the slide mechanism.

Placing "slide out supports" under the slide will cause it not to "move with the rams and the RV frame", possibly bending the rams. This could damage your slide mechanism causing expensive repairs to be needed.

Even though the "RV marketers" claim that slide supports help with stability, the potential damage they can cause (if the RV moves and the slide doesn't) makes them more of a potential problem than an advantage in stability.

Heaven help the RV owner who has slide stabilizers under his RV and has the "highly unlikely" problem of two flat tires on that side of his RV. I wouldn't want to even consider the damage that could occur.....

[MarineFam]

That was the thought I had when my buddy bought them but he got them anyway and wondered why I still haven't. I rarely see people have them.

[Mike484]

Another "history lesson" (Geesh I'm starting to feel old)...

Back when "tip outs" (not slide outs) first became popular in travel trailers, they were "cantilevered boxes" that "flipped into the trailer" for travel and "flipped out of the trailer" for extra space when camping. The design of those "tip outs" necessitated "supports" to keep them level during use.

When the transition to slides occurred in the late 70's/early 80's, initially they also required supports under them (and "travel locks" to keep them from deploying during travel). Through the years, slide engineering has improved significantly and today's slides do not require any "underpinning support".

Not to be "outdone", the manufacturers of "tip out supports" apparently decided to rename them "slide out supports" and continue selling them as an optional item to "improve the camping experience". Hmmmmm :confused:

We had one with two tip outs in the early 80's. Today when I say tip outs, I can't find anyone that has a clue what Im talking about, even at our dealership.

[the sodfather]

I've got a couple tip out, flip out, slide supports or whatever you want to call them for sale. Cheap...:D