Need advise RV Covers 5TH Wheel Tripod

[TNT Miller]

Is the tripod under the pin a good safety device if a front jack fails ?? What is a good one to get and where . also looking for advice on a good lightweight
cover for my new trailer any suggestions ?? Thanks- Todd
PS Took the new Trailer out for it's maiden run on the Russian river in Nor-Cal Had a full hook-up pull-thru site
Nice clean campground Had a good time until it was time to dump the grey water . The nice people at Laredo did one of three thing wrong 1- The labels got switched (Easy fix )
2 the wire's to the sensor is hooked to the wrong tank (not so easy fix ) 3- the plumbing is crossed ( ugly fix ) When I pulled the valve marked GREY the black tank dumped (Lucky I had the hose in the ground)

[Jim W]

Is the tripod under the pin a good safety device if a front jack fails ?? What is a good one to get and where . also looking for advice on a good lightweight
cover for my new trailer any suggestions ?? Thanks- Todd
PS Took the new Trailer out for it's maiden run on the Russian river in Nor-Cal Had a full hook-up pull-thru site
Nice clean campground Had a good time until it was time to dump the grey water . The nice people at Laredo did one of three thing wrong 1- The labels got switched (Easy fix )
2 the wire's to the sensor is hooked to the wrong tank (not so easy fix ) 3- the plumbing is crossed ( ugly fix ) When I pulled the valve marked GREY the black tank dumped (Lucky I had the hose in the ground)

I have never ever heard of the front legs on a 5er failing, but I guess it could happen.
Now will the tripod support the weight of the 5er if the front landing gear were to fail and collapse----NO.
That is my opinion, but based on a free body diagram most of the downward force of the fiver would be placed on this king pin support and they are not deigned to support this type of loading. To me the tripod is design to work in conjunction with the front landing gear not to support the entire weight of the fiver as it pivots about the rear axle if the land gear were to fail and collapse.

I do have one, but I use my tripod as a means to steady the camper along with the X-Chocks between the tires. I also use the tripod to prevent me from walking into the king pin with grease on the pin when I am in the front basement. I purchased my tripod from Camping world.
Jim W.

[KanTC]

Todd,

It's not only the Laredo that has 'mis-labeled tanks', and it's not only Keystone brands... but apparently the
same knuckleheads still work at Keystone though :eek: ...our Laredo tanks were also mis-labeled, and that was
over 2 yrs ago!! Or... maybe, they're still using the same 'trainer'?? ["Who cares, dude, just-add-the-labels"!] :D

All kidding aside though --

A tripod (aka king pin stabilizer) is meant to help eliminate the front-to-back and side-to-side motion of
the 5th wheel. It's not designed for weight-support, nor could it, even in an emergency... as Jim also said.

Some folks use them, and others don't... it's a personal preference. We used one on our previous 5th wheel,
but our tripod was heavy (32 lbs), bulky, and inconvenient to use while traveling... so, we had JT Strongarm's
(stabilizer bars) installed when we bought the Laredo.

There's several tripod brands available, here's 2 examples:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/heavy-duty-king-pin-stabilizer/20307
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/ultra-economy-tripod/64850

You might also try Craigslist or Ebay, (or local garage/yard sales?) for a good 'used' one.

We've never used an RV cover, but there's previous discussions about them on the forum... here's some:
http://keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=542
http://keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4199
http://keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4066
http://keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2991


Hope this helps!
Terri, the Chevy co-pilot :)

[webslave]

If your front landing gear "fails", it will just sit there. No collapse; it just won't go up and it won't go down. The motor locks them in position and even with the shear pin broken (and I've only seen that happen when folks try to retract them too far), they just sit. If some miracle of combined mechanical malfunctions prevented the "lock up", it would only collapse as far as the fully retracted position and your 5er would be "kneeling", but, still be off the ground and some good person with a front end loader could easily lift, via the pin box, the unit up in the air for repair.

And has been said...the tri-pod isn't designed to be a safety device in the event of a "collapse". While some of the heaviest steel versions may support the pin weight, that isn't their design or intent.

As for covers... Can't help you much. I've always used Adco covers and was quite please with their serviceability, but, that was when I had bumper pull trailers less than 24' long and only 10' off the ground. Now that I'm looking at 35' long and 13' off the ground, my old arthritic chasis isn't up to covering that behemoth with anything. A nice pole barn is in my future..."bouncey:

[TNT Miller]

Thanks guys I have the strong arm stabilizers already . My wife is worried the trailer is going to take a nose dive .
Has any of you used RV covers made by Classic ??

[5mary6]

Where did you go on the Russina River? Casini Ranch?

[Rusty]

The Landing gear designed with an internal Threaded rod with a pinned/secured nut/threaded block with two bevel gear pinned at the top of the threaded rod. The only failure you will see is the pins will snap if over torqued and if the gears become stripped from that over torquing.

Both of these scenarios have happened to me in the past. The leg itself is bolted rather securely to the frame of the trailer, it has a notch that sticks out about a 1/4" or so on the leg, and a corresponding notch on the frame, then a carriage bolt though two brackets when snugged up do not allow any fore and aft or side to side movement.

In order for the leg to collapse the carriage bolt and bracket would have to fail, I have never heard of a leg collapsing in that manner. Not saying it has never happened but I have yet to hear of it happen.

With the threaded rod all of the full weight of the front of the trailer is concentrated on that rod and nut arrangement, it is highly unlikely that that arrangement would allow a full collapse of the leg.

I have some PDF's from a leg manufacturer and I would love to upload them but I cannot figure out how to......

[mazboy123]

i would not waste my money on a tripod.

as for a cover for your trailer, i was always told not to cover the trailer. the trailer is built to be outside. it had something to do with the rubbing on the trailer.

:rolleyes:

[PerryB]

My experience with a tripod is that it does very little to enhance stability. It might be a good safety device in the event of a landing gear collapse because the crunching/popping noises it would make might alert the neighbors to come to your assistance. For stability I do two things.
1) Back into the kingpin. Not necessarily all the way in but enough to establish firm pressure between truck and trailer. This actually helps a lot.
2) Put portable screw jacks under the front spring eye hangers (which are welded to the frame) and screw them up tight. This also helps a lot. My wife is rather fussy about a stable trailer so I've tried to figure out the most effective and efficient ways to acheive this. The tripod was a complete waste of money and storage space- in my opinion.

[billstuart]

If you want a tripod, I'll be happy to make you a good deal on the one I wish I hadn't bought. Only been used twice.