Forum Discussion

martinandanne's avatar
Mar 29, 2017

JT's Strong Arm Stabilizers and Insulated Trailer

Anyone installed JT Strong Arm Stabilizers on a trailer with an insulated belly? Our Evergreen Everlite is fully enclosed on the bottom, so there are no exposed frame members. Saw a Lippert video where they described getting a piece of angle iron and bolting it across the frame to serve as a mounting location. Was trying to avoid this if possible.

Thanks

Martin
  • Mine has an enclosed belly with the corrugated plastic. My frame is I- beam construction and I was able to bolt through the outside edge of the beam. I just cut away small squares of the under belly material where the brackets were. You could just bolt right through the material as well. It will compress to the frame when the bolts are tightened so the brackets will be tight. You can use self tapping bolts if you are unable to access where the nuts are needed (ie square tube frame)
  • For my front strut mounts I just ran the self tapping screws thru the fiberglass and into the outer frame flange on the sides. And thru the front pan for the center.

    For the rear, I could not determine what was under the belly cover without removing it. So I made a cross brace from 2"x2" square tubing cut at a 45 degree angle on each end and two clearance holes drilled in each end. And screwed that directly to the frame thru the fiberglass. A metal shop could easily make a cross member like that for you and simplify the installation.

  • BB_TX wrote:
    For my front strut mounts I just ran the self tapping screws thru the fiberglass and into the outer frame flange on the sides. And thru the front pan for the center.

    For the rear, I could not determine what was under the belly cover without removing it. So I made a cross brace from 2"x2" square tubing cut at a 45 degree angle on each end and two clearance holes drilled in each end. And screwed that directly to the frame thru the fiberglass. A metal shop could easily make a cross member like that for you and simplify the installation.



    I did this as well with the back(Thanks BB TX)my frame is I beam so I drilled holes on the outside of the I beam for the front
  • Colo Native wrote:
    BB_TX wrote:
    For my front strut mounts I just ran the self tapping screws thru the fiberglass and into the outer frame flange on the sides. And thru the front pan for the center.

    For the rear, I could not determine what was under the belly cover without removing it. So I made a cross brace from 2"x2" square tubing cut at a 45 degree angle on each end and two clearance holes drilled in each end. And screwed that directly to the frame thru the fiberglass. A metal shop could easily make a cross member like that for you and simplify the installation.



    I did this as well with the back(Thanks BB TX)my frame is I beam so I drilled holes on the outside of the I beam for the front


    Do the strong arms help a lot with that type of electric jack?
  • justafordguy wrote:
    ..........

    Do the strong arms help a lot with that type of electric jack?

    Actually those are manual stabilizers. And yes the JTs do help on those also to reduce wiggle of the rear of the trailer.
  • justafordguy wrote:
    Colo Native wrote:
    BB_TX wrote:
    For my front strut mounts I just ran the self tapping screws thru the fiberglass and into the outer frame flange on the sides. And thru the front pan for the center.

    For the rear, I could not determine what was under the belly cover without removing it. So I made a cross brace from 2"x2" square tubing cut at a 45 degree angle on each end and two clearance holes drilled in each end. And screwed that directly to the frame thru the fiberglass. A metal shop could easily make a cross member like that for you and simplify the installation.



    I did this as well with the back(Thanks BB TX)my frame is I beam so I drilled holes on the outside of the I beam for the front


    Do the strong arms help a lot with that type of electric jack?

    I haven't had a chance to try mine out( wife broke her arm so we have not traveled since) I have 4 point auto level system