Stabilizer pads on a TT - I have to ask
Jack pads. I have both a 40' DP that stays in the States and a Nash 26X TT that I bought last year and took back to use in Alaska.
On the DP, obviously a heavier rig, I made my pads out of a sheet of 3/4" green pressure treated plywood cut into 16' x 16" pieces glued and screwed together. Two of them are three layers thick and two are four layers thick. They've worked very well for the DP when needed for softer ground.
On the TT I've just been using a couple of 2 x 6 pieces along with the X-braces between the tires and use a 18V drill motor to screw down the corner stabilizers. We've been on the road in the DP for about two months and moving a lot. Of course it's always fun to watch other people in a RV park. Still being new to the TT, I've been watching how people set them up.
Some, like me, use a couple pieces of 2X material. Others bring out these huge stacks of plastic Lego blocks that they stack up 6" to 16" high under their stabilizers. Am I missing something here?
In a TT you don't have a lot of storage area so why are they carrying and using so much blocking? At first I thought it was because they were hand cranking the stabilizers up and down - the more blocks, the less hand cranking. But as I watch, they then bring out the drill motor and use it for the few inches they crank them down to reach the tall stack of blocks.
The TT moves around more than the heavy DP with hydraulic jacks. The DW thought the TT would move less if I used high blocks and less distance on the stabilizers. I tried more / higher blocks but I didn't notice any difference in stability.
So, does using a higher stack of blocking and therefore less distance on the stabilizers make for a more stable TT or are some people using so much blocking just because they have it or feel like it?
Bill
On the DP, obviously a heavier rig, I made my pads out of a sheet of 3/4" green pressure treated plywood cut into 16' x 16" pieces glued and screwed together. Two of them are three layers thick and two are four layers thick. They've worked very well for the DP when needed for softer ground.
On the TT I've just been using a couple of 2 x 6 pieces along with the X-braces between the tires and use a 18V drill motor to screw down the corner stabilizers. We've been on the road in the DP for about two months and moving a lot. Of course it's always fun to watch other people in a RV park. Still being new to the TT, I've been watching how people set them up.
Some, like me, use a couple pieces of 2X material. Others bring out these huge stacks of plastic Lego blocks that they stack up 6" to 16" high under their stabilizers. Am I missing something here?
In a TT you don't have a lot of storage area so why are they carrying and using so much blocking? At first I thought it was because they were hand cranking the stabilizers up and down - the more blocks, the less hand cranking. But as I watch, they then bring out the drill motor and use it for the few inches they crank them down to reach the tall stack of blocks.
The TT moves around more than the heavy DP with hydraulic jacks. The DW thought the TT would move less if I used high blocks and less distance on the stabilizers. I tried more / higher blocks but I didn't notice any difference in stability.
So, does using a higher stack of blocking and therefore less distance on the stabilizers make for a more stable TT or are some people using so much blocking just because they have it or feel like it?
Bill
