Maiden voyage with Keystone 26BPR
This past fourth of July weekend I made my first voyage with the new camper and everything went very smooth for the most part. I have been trolling the posts and tried to get everything I needed be...
Forum Discussion
I've been using wood under my trailer tongue and jacks since the first day of camping, years and years ago. I did try the Lynx blocks, but found I hated them. I've stayed with solid wood and will use nothing else.
I carry quite a bit of lumber with me, especially when going to a new location when I have no clue what to expect. I've had to lay lumber on top of itself as high as 8 inches under one side once because the site was so unlevel side-to-side. I felt like the camper was in the tree tops doing that, but otherwise, it would have been a horrible experience.
I use 4x6 inch blocks under the jacks. The wood came from a 150 year old barn and I had to use a chain saw to cut those posts to about a 20 inch length. They are heavy, solid, and will last another 150 years and beyond. I only wish I had more.
I have found the shorter distance that jacks have to be extended, the less shake the trailer has. So using SOLID pads under the jacks makes for a SOLID base, makes for a SOLID camping experience.
Under my tongue jack, I have 4 layers of treated lumber crisscrossed and screwed to each other. I don't use anything else under the tongue jack. This 6 inch rise does lots of things.
First.. It's SOLID. Second, it will never wear out. Third, it allows the tongue jack to raise higher so when hitching, even in dips, the coupler always clears the hitch ball. If the campsite is unlevel front to back and the front has to be lowered all the way, then I just use a solid single level of board.
I've found nothing works better. Plastic will eventually break, give way, bend, and those Lynx blocks with their edges on the back will simply sink in dirt and mud and sand. You have to stack them on top of each other until the first one cuts its way into the ground. Age wears out the plastic over time. Nah! Not for me.
Wood blocks and boards also works great for leveling picnic tables. There is absolutely nothing worse than trying to cook on a flat griddle when the griddle is on a very unlevel picnic table. Eggs just slide off the end and onto the ground! Lumber works great for everything! Solid, (heavy yes), but ... you want to eliminate trailer shake! Well ... there ya go!
I carry quite a bit of lumber with me, especially when going to a new location when I have no clue what to expect. I've had to lay lumber on top of itself as high as 8 inches under one side once because the site was so unlevel side-to-side. I felt like the camper was in the tree tops doing that, but otherwise, it would have been a horrible experience.
I use 4x6 inch blocks under the jacks. The wood came from a 150 year old barn and I had to use a chain saw to cut those posts to about a 20 inch length. They are heavy, solid, and will last another 150 years and beyond. I only wish I had more.
I have found the shorter distance that jacks have to be extended, the less shake the trailer has. So using SOLID pads under the jacks makes for a SOLID base, makes for a SOLID camping experience.
Under my tongue jack, I have 4 layers of treated lumber crisscrossed and screwed to each other. I don't use anything else under the tongue jack. This 6 inch rise does lots of things.
First.. It's SOLID. Second, it will never wear out. Third, it allows the tongue jack to raise higher so when hitching, even in dips, the coupler always clears the hitch ball. If the campsite is unlevel front to back and the front has to be lowered all the way, then I just use a solid single level of board.
I've found nothing works better. Plastic will eventually break, give way, bend, and those Lynx blocks with their edges on the back will simply sink in dirt and mud and sand. You have to stack them on top of each other until the first one cuts its way into the ground. Age wears out the plastic over time. Nah! Not for me.
Wood blocks and boards also works great for leveling picnic tables. There is absolutely nothing worse than trying to cook on a flat griddle when the griddle is on a very unlevel picnic table. Eggs just slide off the end and onto the ground! Lumber works great for everything! Solid, (heavy yes), but ... you want to eliminate trailer shake! Well ... there ya go!
