Leveling jacks question

Congrats on finding out it's a turkey before you bought it. You expect some projects when you buy a used rv but that one sounds like it's been abused or neglected.

ddndoug wrote:

loneryder wrote:

I should have be more clear. It's a class A motorhome 32ft.
Thanks for all the info.

What chassis do you have under it? And what year is the chassis?


Doug

It was a 90 Chevy P90 30' chassis but I did not purchase the RV. Drove 350 miles yester with a friend to pick it up and pay the man. It would not start. All the "replaced" batteries were dead. So was the generator. After jumping the motor, the water pump was rattling and their was no sign of any coolant in it. I walked away and we drove home. I was really concerned that it would not make it 350 miles home, from Kitty Hawk to WV. So I hope to be back on here in the future with more questions about a different unit. In the meantime I'll be lurking and learning on this site.
Thanks all.

if the tread is 10 inches sidewall to sidewall I would suggest using 2x12s sice 2x10s are what 9 1/2 inches wide?
bumpy

Just finished building a new lever for this class a... I will tell you about it

The wheels have tread that is about 10 inches wide so the levelers are made from 2x10

. One slab 3 feet long
.ON top of that at one end is a 2 fot long slab
And on top of the two foot slab, also at the end is a 3 foot slab

Much like the 3 sentences above

One of the ones I made a year or two ago broke apart so I built a new one this week,,, The glue failed to hold so I put in 4 dowel rods that go through the middle slab and into both the top and bottom slabs.

To clamp it.. Well one of my hydrauic jacks is toast.. So I put the steps under a frame point near where the jacks go layed two more 1' long 2x10's atop them (just to spread the pressure more evenly) set an 8 ton bottle jack on top of that and leveled the rig.

It is very well clamped

I will unclamp it a week from Monday (Why wait so long.. Well that's when I move the RV next why unclamp it till I have to?)

How to use

Set either in front or (more likely for other reasons) behind the wheels.

Drive or back onto them

I have 4, two are 2 step, two are 3 step, plus additional 3rd steps if needed.

I put levels on the rig when it was level (in the cockipt) so I look at the levels, decide if I need side to side or front/rear or how much of each.

Then I select which sets of steps to put under which wheels. Occasionally setting one of them a foot farther back

You put steps under BOTH rear tires on one the other or both sides. Never under just one tire.

loneryder wrote:

I should have be more clear. It's a class A motorhome 32ft.
Thanks for all the info.

What chassis do you have under it? And what year is the chassis?


Doug

Bumpyroad wrote:
my lego blocks were not wide enough for my motorhome tires, the edges hung over putting too much strain on the sidewalls. they are fine for my TT however.
bumpy

The ones in the link I posted above are large enough for 19.5 and 22 inch tires. You do have to use separate ones under the dualies.

WrongWayRandall wrote:
Dtaylor is correct on the stabilizers - you don't want to lift with them at all, only set them to where they are firmly down to the ground. Lifting the body with these, even in a light trailer, can cause damage.

We have a hard side pop-up and I run them down just until the resistance begins to build and then I stop. This results in a camper that does not rock (or tip backwards when you walk to the rear!) but where all of the weight is still on the axle. You will always want to set at least one rear stabilizer on any trailer that is light enough to tip backwards if there was weight aft of the axle (like when your wife walks back there while you are getting setup.)

Your rig is larger enough not to have to deal with that, but the weight issue still applies to the stabilizers...

- Randy

IMHO your description of how to set the stabilizer jacks is a POOR WAY to get any sort of stabilization and you're not putting enough pressure on the jacks to do much good. In fact even the folks that sell the add on stabilization systems recommend setting them differently than you described CLICKY.

While I use a different system that IMO is superior to the normally found stabilizer jacks I even go further in how much pressure I put on my jacks by increasing the numbers in that above link on how far to drop the front and then raise it when setting my stabilizing jackstands.

Unless you go crazy and start lifting the entire trailer at the corners only all this HYPE about damage by putting more than just "hand tight" pressure on the stabilizer jacks is IMO dancing to the "CHICKEN LITTLE" music.

Larry

my lego blocks were not wide enough for my motorhome tires, the edges hung over putting too much strain on the sidewalls. they are fine for my TT however.
bumpy

The last time I checked - in 2002 when I had a motor home with no jacks - the cost to have them installed was $4000 or $5000.

I would not have a motor home without them now but way back then, I used the leggo type leveling blocks. I carried four sets of ten and a couple of times used them all.
You can see them HERE

Johno02 wrote:
did you say what type of rig you are driving? If so, I missed it. On a Class A motor home, jacks are almost a necessity,and can be used to carry the full weight if necessary. Class C, or B, very nice, but not a full requirement. Trailers, they are stabilizres, and are pretty much a necessity, especially for larger rigs. Your question had different answers depending on what type rig.

I should have be more clear. It's a class A motorhome 32ft.
Thanks for all the info.