Thinking of adding two Scissor jacks to my springdale...
forward of the tires... to help with leveling? but i have a damn propane line on the from, is it ok to install the jack and slide the mount under the line? any other advice?
Forum Discussion
I'm going to put on my devil's advocate hat for a moment, just to bat this idea around. I have no authority, knowledge, or evidence that proves or disproves what I'm about to say.
I have read accounts in print about the "proper way" to jack up a trailer, and most say to support the trailer by the frame rather than the axles. So, if one were to support the frame, seems to me that the length of the frame would need to be effectively supported in smaller sections than just the four corners. Breaking up the span of one side of the trailer beam with a support in the center would seem appropriate enough to safely carry the weight, provided the supports were suitable to carry the weight. If my trailer weighs 8000 lbs, then four would carry about 2000lbs each. If I use six, the needed weight carrying capacity of each jack would then only be 1333 lbs. Jacks vary in capacity, but pretty sure most are within 2000 lbs, so the 1333 should be no issue. Now, granted, the exact weight carried by each jack will not be equal depending on trailer design and loading, but I'm not sure one couldn't level with jacks so positioned as long as the jacks were up to the task. If I could jack it up to work on it this way without damaging the frame, I could certainly level it to camp. If the trailer wheels never actually left the ground, they would actually still be carrying some of the remaining weight, which makes the overall proposition look even better. With the main caveates being that the wheels actually never leave the ground, creating a stablizing issue which could let the trailer fall, and that the jacks be adjusted incrementally and in proportion to each other. The only other issue might be dynamic loading (moving people, etc). Most campsites are typically fairly level (within 6" or so?) so we'd only be jacking weight around for level, not actually free lifting. I don't see why it wouldn't work.
Opinions?
I have read accounts in print about the "proper way" to jack up a trailer, and most say to support the trailer by the frame rather than the axles. So, if one were to support the frame, seems to me that the length of the frame would need to be effectively supported in smaller sections than just the four corners. Breaking up the span of one side of the trailer beam with a support in the center would seem appropriate enough to safely carry the weight, provided the supports were suitable to carry the weight. If my trailer weighs 8000 lbs, then four would carry about 2000lbs each. If I use six, the needed weight carrying capacity of each jack would then only be 1333 lbs. Jacks vary in capacity, but pretty sure most are within 2000 lbs, so the 1333 should be no issue. Now, granted, the exact weight carried by each jack will not be equal depending on trailer design and loading, but I'm not sure one couldn't level with jacks so positioned as long as the jacks were up to the task. If I could jack it up to work on it this way without damaging the frame, I could certainly level it to camp. If the trailer wheels never actually left the ground, they would actually still be carrying some of the remaining weight, which makes the overall proposition look even better. With the main caveates being that the wheels actually never leave the ground, creating a stablizing issue which could let the trailer fall, and that the jacks be adjusted incrementally and in proportion to each other. The only other issue might be dynamic loading (moving people, etc). Most campsites are typically fairly level (within 6" or so?) so we'd only be jacking weight around for level, not actually free lifting. I don't see why it wouldn't work.
Opinions?
