Stabilizer Jacks?

wildmanbaker wrote:
Jim, the scissor jacks may not be the answer. Ask anyone that has had them on a TT, the back end still moved around quite a bit. There is a lot of movement in them, especially when extended as far as you will need them. Bottle jacks are the cheap answer. If you are at all handy, you may be able to fab some right triangle braces to bolt the frame and extend out to the side of the MH, if there is room, to place the jacks under to easily use the jacks, without having to crawl under to install and retrieve the jacks every time you need them.

I hadn't thought of the movement with the scissor jacks nearly fully extended - thanks!

It's sounding more and more like a combination of jackstands and hydraulic jacks is the answer. I can get the rear close to level and then let some air out of the bags to drop them onto the jackstands. I can use hydraulic jacks on the front.

I'd be willing to drop $2k on a hydraulic system max, but I don't see kits that are anywhere near that cheap. There is a guy on eBay selling a kit he cobbled together for $1,200 but I'm wary of that and it's only 2 jacks.

Jim, the scissor jacks may not be the answer. Ask anyone that has had them on a TT, the back end still moved around quite a bit. There is a lot of movement in them, especially when extended as far as you will need them. Bottle jacks are the cheap answer. If you are at all handy, you may be able to fab some right triangle braces to bolt the frame and extend out to the side of the MH, if there is room, to place the jacks under to easily use the jacks, without having to crawl under to install and retrieve the jacks every time you need them.

Dale.Traveling wrote:
Probably three 5 ton bottle jacks and a couple of lengths of 4X4" cut to 6" lengths would work. I used to level and stabilize, as you have, with two 12 ton jack stands and a 12 ton bottle jack. Usually I got it pretty close on the first try. No easy low cost solution.

I install a hydraulic system for $3000 two years ago. Worth the cost.

Thanks. I'll toss some 4x4s into the mix. I have 12-ton jackstands under it now, and I have a substantial bottle jack (not sure of the rating).

I did find 30" scissor jacks on eBay. As it sits currently the frame is 22" off the ground. It's not level because my driveway has a pretty good pitch, but it's where the air suspension thinks it should be. If it were parked on a level surface it would be fairly level inside this way. Unless a site is way out of whack, I can usually level it with the rear air bags. I was really looking to stabilize it.

The 30" eBay scissor jacks allegedly have a 7,500 lb. capacity. I can bolt them to the frame and use a cordless drill or impact wrench to wind them down.

Hydraulic would be nice, but while I love my rig I'm not willing to make that kind of investment in it. It's too old and I'd never recoup that cost.

We were lucky in that our first rig, another Hurricane 30', had them installed when it was originally purchased. So we learned how much difference they made, even in a smaller lighter coach. On a coach, hydraulic is about the only choice, as you probably do not have anywhere for post-type jacks to retract into.

I was thinking about something like a porta-power we used to use in the shop, but after looking at what is available and the prices, HWH might have a better solution. You could save a bit by going with one of the manual systems instead of an auto-level one.

Probably three 5 ton bottle jacks and a couple of lengths of 4X4" cut to 6" lengths would work. I used to level and stabilize, as you have, with two 12 ton jack stands and a 12 ton bottle jack. Usually I got it pretty close on the first try. No easy low cost solution.

I install a hydraulic system for $3000 two years ago. Worth the cost.

Dale.Traveling wrote:
What is your budget?

I don't have an install-a-new-hydraulic-leveling-system budget. I would entertain something that I can manually crank down or use an electric impact wrench to wind down.

What is your budget?