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-...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]

Originally Posted by hankaye

skifreak76, Howdy;

I have a set of these;
http://www.adventurerv.net/aluminum-...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;

Originally Posted by AlbertaRvMan

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;

Originally Posted by AlbertaRvMan

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


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[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...s/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]

Originally Posted by Vastdavidson

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.



-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
http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/sho...ght=steadyfast