Stablizing parked F W

[tonychipperman]

Hi, I have a 32ft FW with front and rear stabilizers plus I use the wheel chocks and tripod but still get a fair bit of movement and was thinking of using two bottle jacks to lift the wheels off the ground. has anyone else tried this, I'm just a bit concerned about putting to much stress on the chassis but I think if the tyres are off the ground it might help.( Anything would be easier than asking the wife to lose a few pounds.)

[milo]

wandering1 wrote:

There are a lot of other options out there to “eliminate” the bouncing/wiggling if you have the extra money and want to spend it.

And just what exactly are those options?

[ependydad]

tonychipperman wrote:
Thanks guys but I have both of those already and still get to much movement and as we tend to stay put for at least a month at a time I thought the jacks would work...Merry Christmas.

Yep- as mentioned:
1) SteadyFast or JT's StrongArms or equivalent triangulation stabilizers at the jacks.
2) Between the wheel chocks.
3) Mount scissor jacks (or, as I saw someone had- reinforced electric jacks) just in front of the tires. You're not lifting the camper off of the suspension, just snugging it up somewhat.

I've done #1 and #2 - for #3, I tried to go cheap and bought the Valterra Stabilizer Stand and haven't felt it did what it needed to.

[joebedford]

Home Chocks!

[WeBeFulltimers]

RotoChoks are the best.

[2oldman]

2-MTnesters wrote:
These.. between the wheels on each side. Tim

I was asking the OP.

[tonychipperman]

Thanks for the reply's guys. I'll give it a go and see how it goes..

[wandering1]

When someone is walking around inside the 5er it will bounce/wiggle. Rubber tires will bounce, suspension systems are made to bounce. To eliminate the bouncing/wiggling you need to keep the weight from pushing down on the tires and suspension by making sure your stabilizers are tight between the 5er and the ground. Don’t just let them out far enough to touch the ground, turn the crank more to make sure they are tight so they will not allow the 5er to push down on the tires. Use a bipod/tripod under the king pin. Make sure it is tight between the ground and the king pin, don’t just adjust it till it touches, tighten it so the front overhang will not move. Make sure to check the stabilizers and bipod/tripod every couple of days because they will loosen up over time. Doesn’t make sense spending a lot of money on landing jack stabilizers when the landing jacks are stable and don’t bounce up and down. If you have properly adjusted the stabilizers and bipod/tripod then you shouldn’t have any bouncing/wiggling. This has worked for me over the past 15 years.
Chocks are to keep the 5er from rolling forward or backwards. They do not eliminate the weight of the 5er from pushing down and causing the bouncing/wiggling. If you park on a site that has a incline/decline then you probably want to use chocks to keep your 5er from rolling when you unhitch.
There are a lot of other options out there to “eliminate” the bouncing/wiggling if you have the extra money and want to spend it.

[Old-Biscuit]

Bottle jacks in front or rear of tires.
Set them on blocks and jack them up against frame....stops the bounce movement caused by rubber tires and leaf springs suspension

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

If you stay put for a long period of time, check the jacks, stabilizers, chocks, kingpin tripod, etc.

As your trailer sits, it 'settles' for lack of a better word, or the surface that your pads rest upon settles. The firm jacks and stabilizers work at bit. I've found I need to adjust about every four or five days - especially if I am not parked on level concrete.

I'm assuming you are using some type of between the tires chock - others don't do anything to minimize movement.

[2-MTnesters]

2oldman wrote:
What kind of wheel chocks?

These in front and behind the tires and These between the wheels on each side. Tim

[2oldman]

What kind of wheel chocks?

[2-MTnesters]

No need to raise the wheels off the ground. On our Montana I have the SteadyFast stabilizers and the X-chocks. I also have a set of scissors jacks mounted just in front of the wheels. After dropping the rear stabilizers I use the front landing gear to snug the rear jacks, then I lower the scissors jacks by the wheels till they're snug. Camper is VERY sturdy with very minimal movement. If staying in same place for an extended period you might have to snug up all jacks after a couple of days. Tim

[tonychipperman]

Thanks guys but I have both of those already and still get to much movement and as we tend to stay put for at least a month at a time I thought the jacks would work...Merry Christmas.

[Martyn]

The struts pictured in the previous post are JT Strongarms. IMHO these are the best thing you can purchase for stabilizing a trailer.