Thought brought up by previous post. In our small Class A, the question has come up several times. If parked, and high winds or storms are forecast or happening, is the RV more stable with the jacks planted, or just sitting on the wheels?? On the Jacks, it does not seem to sway as much, but what do the rest of you think??

I’m not concerned about me in high winds. I’m concerned about my RV. Jacks up. And if possible my TT is connected to the TV nose into the wind.

Jacks down should be a bit more stable; typically they would have a slightly wider footprint than the wheels, and for sure less suspension motion. As long as the tires are still on the ground, I can't think of any possible reason why it would not be any less stable with jacks down.If the winds are particularly high, you're much better off to be aligned with the winds than perpendicular to them. An RV is perfectly capable of withstanding 60+ mph winds head on without any difficulty, as you demonstrate every time you drive down the highway.

We have been through some pretty rough spells of weather. Jacks down has always been our choice and has worked well for us. I have 1-1/2" x 16" x 16" plywood pads under the jacks (unless on concrete) which give a nice stable footprint. If the site is reasonably level, the jacks usually only lift the coach an inch or two to get it leveled. If we had the front wheels lifted, I would drop the front to get them back on the ground even if it meant I had to shut off the fridge til the storm is ended.

Jack's are there for stability, wind or not, class A or tent trailer.

After parking along the Columbia River (wind surfing capitol), we learned to point the tow vehicle into the wind and drop the front jacks. The first time we experienced the winds there, I spilled a couple glasses of Two Buck Chuck (wine) before I learned.

Jacks down or not?? | Good Sam Community

bigred1cav
Explorer
Jan 21, 2019
Nose in the wind it is built for 90 mph
valhalla360
Navigator
Jan 21, 2019
Durb wrote:
The Class A motorhomes I have seen have their jacks mounted to the frame and are inboard of the tires. Jacks down in a storm would mean the coach is less likely to sway or bounce around, but is more likely to roll over with a high velocity side wind. If winds that extreme are forecast, move the rig nose first into the wind and slides in.

Assuming you didn't jack it up so the tires are off the ground, if it did start to roll, immediately, the tires would come into play the same as if you didn't have the jacks down...but you will have eliminated harmonic sway as the jacks aren't springy.
apr67
Explorer
Jan 23, 2019
Jacks down will feel more comfortable. However from a safety standpoint it probably doesn't matter. If the wind is strong enough to blow you over it probably will either way.

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Jacks down or not??

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