Parking on area with dirt/grass stability
Hello, all. I am new to this whole trailer thing, and I have a travel trailer I have on grass/dirt area. Yesterday when we leveled it it was level, but this morning it seemed to become out of level. ...
Forum Discussion
I camp almost exclusively out on the sand in the desert. Based on your description I can't imagine anything snapping. But just to go there even though you didn't ask here's what I do.
Before you disconnect the trailer level it side to side. I use the plastic lego blocks, many people use pieces of wood.
Chock the wheels using a minimum of 4 chocks so neither side and roll forward or backward.
Put something down on the ground for the trailer jack to sit on and distribute the weight. (I crib 4x4's for this)
Using the tongue jack level the trailer front to back.
Now drop the stabilizers down to help remove some of the wiggle. I typically crank down until the jack contacts the ground or the piece of wood and then give about 1/4 additional turn. If the ground is really soft I might give a half turn.
Personally I use pieces of 4x4 lumber about a foot long to put under the tongue jack and under the stabilizer jacks. The idea is to fill the open space between the jack foot and the ground so you don't have to crank the jack down very far. The stacking of wood will also help make the trailer more stable than just the jack cranked all the way to the ground.
You want to use cribbing when you stack the wood under the jacks. Place two pieces of lumber in one direction like north/south (leave a gap between the two pieces). Then stack the next layer on top perpendicular (East West) Keep alternating layers N/S, E/W until you get the height you desire. I always end up with a single 4x4 across the center of the cribbing for the jack to contact. Then crank the jack down and add 1/4 to 1/2 turn and call it good.
Later that night or the next morning make sure your jacks are still tight as the ground can settle.
Before you disconnect the trailer level it side to side. I use the plastic lego blocks, many people use pieces of wood.
Chock the wheels using a minimum of 4 chocks so neither side and roll forward or backward.
Put something down on the ground for the trailer jack to sit on and distribute the weight. (I crib 4x4's for this)
Using the tongue jack level the trailer front to back.
Now drop the stabilizers down to help remove some of the wiggle. I typically crank down until the jack contacts the ground or the piece of wood and then give about 1/4 additional turn. If the ground is really soft I might give a half turn.
Personally I use pieces of 4x4 lumber about a foot long to put under the tongue jack and under the stabilizer jacks. The idea is to fill the open space between the jack foot and the ground so you don't have to crank the jack down very far. The stacking of wood will also help make the trailer more stable than just the jack cranked all the way to the ground.
You want to use cribbing when you stack the wood under the jacks. Place two pieces of lumber in one direction like north/south (leave a gap between the two pieces). Then stack the next layer on top perpendicular (East West) Keep alternating layers N/S, E/W until you get the height you desire. I always end up with a single 4x4 across the center of the cribbing for the jack to contact. Then crank the jack down and add 1/4 to 1/2 turn and call it good.
Later that night or the next morning make sure your jacks are still tight as the ground can settle.
