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Old 04-25-2017, 05:16 AM   #1
Double b
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Jack stabilizer reviews

Looking to pull the trigger on jack stabilizers for the TT. I found that there is a couple of products on the market for this. One is the JT Strong arms and the other that I am looking at is Bal Lock-Arm's. Looking for reviews on the BAL system. Looking at the mounting brackets and they do not look robust. A

ny reviews from people that have had both systems and which is the best?
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Old 04-25-2017, 05:48 AM   #2
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I have the BAL system on my Cougar. It serves the purpose, has never "failed" because of any "less than robust component" and I'd buy it again. My suggestion would be to buy the system, BAL, Steady Fast or JT Strongarm. All three do basically the same thing, stop motion at the jacks, and they all do it the same way. So, it's more a matter of personal preference and what you're willing to pay for the system.

Personally, I'd elect to buy the less expensive of the three.
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Old 04-25-2017, 06:25 AM   #3
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I have have been using the JT's for my 2015 Jayco TT for 2.5 years and as I have mentioned in a previous post, these are solid and reduce movement significantly over other methods. I just recently purchased my new Outback 293UBH and transferred them over to it. It has made a significant difference in movement there as well. Whether you purchase a JT Strong Arm (Lippert) or a BAL (Norco), you will be essentially getting very similar product with the same result (as mentioned in JRTJH's post above).

If my memory serves me, you can buy the kit with 6 Strong Arms with brackets for 5'ers or TT's. Plus if you decided to add more, individual parts were also available. As far as them being robust, they are made from heavy steel tubing (my set of six plus hardware came in at a little over 55lbs) so they are not light weight by any means. I liked the idea of having "T" handles (Lippert) to lock them down vs. just a bolt (BAL). At least I don't think BAL has "T" handles..

Either way, they are worth it if you are like me and can't stand a lot of movement.
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Old 04-25-2017, 08:57 AM   #4
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Not a TT, but 32' 5er, and JT's do the job!! zero wiggle.
Currently the best prices I have found are PPL MH, Makarios RV and Tweety's all with in a few dollars of each other in the low $220 range.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...stabilizer.htm

Makarios RV parts

https://www.makariosrv.com/strong-ar...t-of-6-191025/

Tweety's

http://tweetys.com/jt-s-strong-arm-j...-trailers.aspx
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Old 04-25-2017, 09:24 AM   #5
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Another question for everyone, why do they make their kits for only 3 legs/jacks only.

Does everyone add the forth jack/leg set or is it considered overkill and not needed?
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Old 04-25-2017, 11:21 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Double b View Post
Another question for everyone, why do they make their kits for only 3 legs/jacks only.

Does everyone add the forth jack/leg set or is it considered overkill and not needed?
JT Strong arms double brace the front jacks, side to side and fore, aft. The back stabilizers are also side to side. If one wanted to go crazy, you could buy additional tubes and mounts and do an eight tube job, but six does the job for me!
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Old 04-25-2017, 04:44 PM   #7
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I have a set of ulta-fab eliminator stabilizer system, just like the ones mentioned above, that is brand new if you are interested in buying. It is a 6 bar system, 2 for each front jack and 1 for each rear jack. I opened the box, read the directions, and took a bracket out of its bag to see if it would work on my TT, but I have a gas line running along the bottom of my frame where it would attach.

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Old 04-25-2017, 07:19 PM   #8
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I have a set of ulta-fab eliminator stabilizer system, just like the ones mentioned above, that is brand new if you are interested in buying. It is a 6 bar system, 2 for each front jack and 1 for each rear jack. I opened the box, read the directions, and took a bracket out of its bag to see if it would work on my TT, but I have a gas line running along the bottom of my frame where it would attach.

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Move the gas line, needed to move mine to install shocks.
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Old 04-26-2017, 08:04 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon View Post
I have a set of ulta-fab eliminator stabilizer system, just like the ones mentioned above, that is brand new if you are interested in buying. It is a 6 bar system, 2 for each front jack and 1 for each rear jack. I opened the box, read the directions, and took a bracket out of its bag to see if it would work on my TT, but I have a gas line running along the bottom of my frame where it would attach.

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I just removed the gas line fasteners a bit and there was just barely enough room to drop the colorplast enough to get a wrench in there. One thing I would advise is to look inside under the colorplast to make sure there are no wires, tanks, or other obstacles in the way before drilling. I can't speak for everyone, based on what others have mentioned and how my wires are just loosely ran all over (not properly fastened), it's a good idea to check. I think the whole process only took me a few hours to install 6 strong arms, and I took my time. Thinking about installing two more in the rear for front to back movement. That should make it pretty solid.
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Old 08-05-2017, 01:07 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by CamperDave View Post
I just removed the gas line fasteners a bit and there was just barely enough room to drop the colorplast enough to get a wrench in there. One thing I would advise is to look inside under the colorplast to make sure there are no wires, tanks, or other obstacles in the way before drilling. I can't speak for everyone, based on what others have mentioned and how my wires are just loosely ran all over (not properly fastened), it's a good idea to check. I think the whole process only took me a few hours to install 6 strong arms, and I took my time. Thinking about installing two more in the rear for front to back movement. That should make it pretty solid.
I am interested in understanding a bit more about how you attached the brackets around the gas line. I understand removing the brackets holding the line, but not sure what you used to get around it to mount the stabilizer.

Thanks in advance
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Old 08-05-2017, 03:37 PM   #11
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I don't know about camperdave's installation but I removed enough gas line brackets so that I could unfasten the colorplast and feel my I-beam frame to assure that wasn't anything that I was going to drill into. The brackets don't do around the gas pipe, you have to find an area where you can install the bracket by drilling into the frame. In my case I think I installed the SteadyFast bracket next to the gas line but like I said had to unfasten the gas line so I could unfasten the Colorplast so I could get access to the backside of the frame.
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Old 08-05-2017, 04:49 PM   #12
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I have and like these. The website explains a lot.

www.steadyfast.com
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Old 08-05-2017, 05:45 PM   #13
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Thanks for the replies. I looked at the steadyfast site. I have just not come across anything that shows how to get around the gas line. Mine pretty much runs parallel with the frame.
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Old 08-05-2017, 06:36 PM   #14
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Mine does too. With Steadyfast you have 3 mounting points. The rear stabilizer goes side to side so you mount it so the pad is on the gas line side and the frame attachment point is on the other....no interference.

The front one on mine, which mounts both across the trailer and down the side is mounted like the rear, with the pad on the gas line side and the cross piece frame mounted on the other...again no interference. The second front brace mounts on the gas line side from the pad towards the rear of the camper on the frame and using the included brackets I was able to offset it enough to miss the gas line...if that makes any sense to you.

Also be aware that if you have an ultralight trailer with the sandwiched foam floor and or stabilizer jacks instead of scissor jacks, the trailer will still bounce a bit no matter which system you buy. I would say that my Steadfast removed most of my bounce but I still feel the soft floor and flex in the stabilizers.

By stabilizers I mean these.
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Old 08-05-2017, 06:56 PM   #15
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I found a pic of the only frame mount on the gas line side that I had to make and as you can see I had enough frame surface towards the outside of the gas pipe to make the installation. The pipe runs on the backside of that bracket.
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Old 08-06-2017, 02:51 AM   #16
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Thanks for the replies. I looked at the steadyfast site. I have just not come across anything that shows how to get around the gas line. Mine pretty much runs parallel with the frame.
I have the steadyfast system as well as a gas line running parallel with the frame on the entry (curb) side of my trailer... I have no interference with the gas line as the only bracket mounted on that side is forward of the gas line on the A-frame. There is very little movement now, I don't use the x-chocks anymore with steadyfast.

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Old 08-06-2017, 04:12 AM   #17
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Pictures are worth a thousand words and this makes good sense. I kept thinking that the bars would need to mount onto the frame and had not considered the A frame.

My camper floor plan is similar to Bill-e as I have an Elite 27RB and my Jacks are mounted with the same plates (L Bracket/Angle Iron) are the same as Brandon.

If you guys did this yourselves - how long did it take?

Also - I really appreciate the time you guys took to answer and the pictures.
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Old 08-06-2017, 05:18 AM   #18
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Pictures are worth a thousand words and this makes good sense. I kept thinking that the bars would need to mount onto the frame and had not considered the A frame.

My camper floor plan is similar to Bill-e as I have an Elite 27RB and my Jacks are mounted with the same plates (L Bracket/Angle Iron) are the same as Brandon.

If you guys did this yourselves - how long did it take?

Also - I really appreciate the time you guys took to answer and the pictures.
Took less than 2 hours, I actually called the owner, as he gives his cell number, and asked where to mount that bracket due to the scissor jack being so close. He advised to mount to the A-frame.

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Old 08-06-2017, 06:07 AM   #19
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I am interested in understanding a bit more about how you attached the brackets around the gas line. I understand removing the brackets holding the line, but not sure what you used to get around it to mount the stabilizer.

Thanks in advance

The frame "lip" faces to the inside, once I was able to get the plastic out of the way enough (had to cut it a little, then reseal) to ensure there was no wires, tanks, etc., I drilled a 1/8" pilot hole in the center of the lip. The gas line was just barely ran outside the lip. Then, I drilled 3/8" holes for the brackets.

The only thing that really made this a challenge was the front stabilizer jack location, they are mounted too far back to reach the center of the cross member behind the A-frame. I had to add a piece of 1" square steel tube across the frame in the front to make the side to side movement go away.

Hope this helps, sorry I don't have any pics yet. I will take and post when I can remember to take them. Hope this helps.
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Old 08-06-2017, 06:46 AM   #20
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The frame "lip" faces to the inside, once I was able to get the plastic out of the way enough (had to cut it a little, then reseal) to ensure there was no wires, tanks, etc., I drilled a 1/8" pilot hole in the center of the lip. The gas line was just barely ran outside the lip. Then, I drilled 3/8" holes for the brackets.

The only thing that really made this a challenge was the front stabilizer jack location, they are mounted too far back to reach the center of the cross member behind the A-frame. I had to add a piece of 1" square steel tube across the frame in the front to make the side to side movement go away.

Hope this helps, sorry I don't have any pics yet. I will take and post when I can remember to take them. Hope this helps.
That does help. Just out of curiosity, which camper do you have? I am not sure that I will have the cross member issue but I am still reviewing the different configurations. Unfortunately their website is lite on pictures of travel trailers so it is hard to gauge all of the likely issues.

I have decided that I can probably make this work. It is just good to learn from others experiences. While it may have taken all of you a little longer as first time installers, rest assured the information provided is valuable to the rest of us! So thanks.
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