Stabilizers

JBauern · 10-11-2017, 12:57 PM

Has anyone used the stabilizers, that have the 4 legs, and the threaded center rod for their RV. http://www.camco.net/ecom/productpag...9-0f1feb680d81instead of the "factory ones"? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

**JRTJH** · 10-11-2017, 03:24 PM

Yup, and the "bilingual" part that's on the link you posted is the 4 letter words that get uttered while crawling around under your RV placing them in the right place while screwing them out to get them tight enough to actually work, only to find that they're a couple inches too short, so you crawl back out from under the RV to find a 2x4 to hold above the jack while you twist the screwtop back out again. Then when you're finished and realize that the front of the trailer "still jiggles" and you crawl back under it again...... Oh, and don't forget when it rains the night before you're leaving and you know you've got to put on your "best old dirty clothes" to break camp because you'll be back under there, laying on your belly to get those "bilingual" jacks out from under the trailer.......

That said, they're OK if you're going to be some place for a length of time.... Those jacks were "all we had" in the 70's and 80's. There's a reason all the manufacturers went to the "screw down, permanently mounted jacks" that we all "cuss when they don't work well".... but they're much better than what we "used to use".......

**chuckster57** · 10-11-2017, 06:11 PM

Like John, I had a set back in the day. They were pretty much the only game in town. If I was going to be parked longer than a week, I might use them.

SteveC7010 · 10-11-2017, 07:20 PM

I have a set in the garage. They don't go camping any more, but they still get used a lot. Best use I made of them was when I built a log home. Used the jacks to hold the whole row of upper kitchen cabinets precisely in place while I fastened them to the walls. And they're a great set of extra hands for all kinds of projects.

JBauern · 10-12-2017, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Yup, and the "bilingual" part that's on the link you posted is the 4 letter words that get uttered while crawling around under your RV placing them in the right place while screwing them out to get them tight enough to actually work, only to find that they're a couple inches too short, so you crawl back out from under the RV to find a 2x4 to hold above the jack while you twist the screwtop back out again. Then when you're finished and realize that the front of the trailer "still jiggles" and you crawl back under it again...... Oh, and don't forget when it rains the night before you're leaving and you know you've got to put on your "best old dirty clothes" to break camp because you'll be back under there, laying on your belly to get those "bilingual" jacks out from under the trailer.......

That said, they're OK if you're going to be some place for a length of time.... Those jacks were "all we had" in the 70's and 80's. There's a reason all the manufacturers went to the "screw down, permanently mounted jacks" that we all "cuss when they don't work well".... but they're much better than what we "used to use".......

Thanks. We are semi perm residents right now, waiting to get our actual home built. We have two lively dogs, and my wife and I are not small. she and I can both make our trailer "bounce" with a certain brand of X braces on both ends, and we have the X chocks between the tires. I was going to get 1/4 sheet aluminum or may be some wood to prevent the jacks from going into the dirt. My wife is under the impression the threaded part will not be strong, and I informed her it will work, once the jacks are tight against the frame. So, I think I am just going to inform her to just "live" with the bounce, since my 40 years of airplane wrenching doesn't count.

**chuckster57** · 10-12-2017, 08:23 PM

You could use them in addition to the current stabilizers. Since your going to be hanging around that spot until you get clearance to move.

ctbruce · 10-13-2017, 02:28 AM

It won't hurt to add them, other than the hurt from getting down and crawling around. You be able to take the bounce out of it until you get it off of the springs. That is the source of the bounce. Good luck with your project.

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Cqyqte · 10-13-2017, 04:01 AM

I use them to support the trailer on the slideout side by placing them under the spring perches. This eliminates the flex of the springs and reduces the bounce. I place one under the center spring perch on the opposite side as well, collectively they do wonders to reducing that bounce.

**JRTJH** · 10-13-2017, 06:00 AM

If you look at an empty 53' flatbed semi trailer, you'll see that it is "bowed in the middle" when empty and "relatively flat" when loaded. This "camber" of the frame rails allows the steel to support more weight with a lighter frame system. Travel trailers are also built this way, and the frame is "designed" to be level at GVW and is "bowed in the middle" when not loaded. Supporting the frame, like you're doing, with the jacks at each end, makes the middle a spring that will bounce with every step.

Using X-Chocks between the tires will eliminate most of the "fore/aft" motion, but does nothing for the "up/down" motion. So, using a pair of those "screw type" jacks either in front of or immediately behind the tires/axles will do much to eliminate some of the "spring type motion" that you're experiencing. Install them on the frame rail, either an inch in front of the front spring support or an inch behind the rear spring support and I think you'll see some improvement.

Remember though, they will only eliminate "up/down" motion. You still will have the "rotational motion" from "yaw" along the trailer axis. That's where the SteadyFast, BAL stabilizer bars come into play. Most of us have installed the "stabilizer bars" (no recommendations on which brand) to eliminate that motion and find that with them, the "up/down spring" really isn't that important and doesn't need the "screw type jacks" as it's not a big problem.

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