Gdetrailer wrote:
Gjac wrote:
To make the set up a little easier can't stronger jacks be added that would lift the TT high enough to level it? Just thinking a small TT would weigh much less than a large one. The jacks look similar to scissor jacks used to jack up cars that weigh about the same but actually lift the tires off the ground.
Trailer frames are not really designed to have the weight supported via jacks on the corners only. Doing so is going to tweak the frame in ways it shouldn't be, sometimes enough to make it difficult to open/close the trailer door.
Trailer frames should be supported mainly by the axles, basically you will need to put a board or plastic lego things under the wheels on one side to get the side to side fairly level. Then you use tongue jack for front to back leveling, then you can use the stabilizers to stop the up/down bounce.
While you could use "stronger" jacks or stabilizers, it is not recommended.
To make life a bit easier some stabilizers are bolt on so all you need is a cordless drill to run them up and down.. You can get a electric tongue jack..
A trailer can be a bit more work to setup and tear down than a motorhome with fully automatic powered levelers. Hitch/unhitch plus manual leveling a trailer can be some work but once you get a feel for it, it goes quickly.
But to me, I would rather use a trailer.. If my tow vehicle has problems I can have the the tow vehicle towed to a repair shop and I can camp in my trailer.. A MH,well you might be camping in the repair shop lot or end up in a Motel/Hotel..
I can replace just the tow vehicle and not the entire RV as the tow vehicle wears out.. And replacing the tow vehicle in most cases is considerably cheaper than replacing an entire MH..
We can also replace the trailer and keep the same tow vehicle..
I don't mind getting out of the tow vehicle at a rest stop to get into the trailer, gives me the chance to walk around and stretch before getting in the trailer..
Snacks, well, we pack a few chips and water in the tow vehicle so we do not have to stop if we want to snack.
Backing up with trailer is not all that of a problem, just requires some practice. Just need a empty parking lot that has some room to practice to get the hang of it.
Depending on the size of MH you are moving from, a trailer may be even easier to park, backup and fit into small spaces.
Thanks for your explanation I just thought a pair of scissor jacks would solve the problem not realizing the frames were not strong enough. When considering smaller units the TT's main advantage to me over larger TT's or 5 wheels is the truck can be used as a DD. I would not want a dully as a DD. Also having had two major breakdowns while out west I found few places have lifts to handle large class A's and the truck stops that do want to work on trucks not class A's. Your right about having to overnight in a repair facility, had to do that once and once had to drive home from Mt in my tow car and hotel it along the way the fly back 3 months later to dive the MH back home, not fun. I figure any Ford place can work on a F-150 truck if there is a problem. When I looked at TC's and 5th wheels you lose the truck bed for storage. The other trade off is a 24 ft Class C without a tow car but you still need blocks to level and have less storage than a truck TT combo and I think after a while I would miss not having a tow car. I don't have a truck now so a truck TT combo would probably cost more than a 24 ft class C but the truck could be used as a DD. I was looking at the Ford hybrid power boost which is about $1900 over the ICE but is suppose to get 20% better fuel economy or about 26 mpg which is more than my older Honda CRV gets, so to me that looked like a good option. Every RV is a trade off and there is no perfect solution.
