Wiggle

[Snowbird67]

Yep you read that right,, wiggle..we just got into our new big fifth wheel and find that it wiggles alot more than our little one did.. It has the 6 pt leveling system, but the back has the slide outs..so wondering if all of you owners have any ideas on how to get some of that out.. we tried extra jacks under that back, but that didnt help.. we are open to suggestions that have worked for you.. thank you..

[bid_time]

Snowbird67 wrote:
for those of you who actually gave me some ideas.. I thank you..we will look into the JT strongholds.. I read where they work with the 6 pt system.. I am one of those people extreme sensitivity to movement.. so appreciate what was said.. those of you who decided it was just a time to be a smart aleck.. go someplace else to do that.. I was asking an honest question, and was really hoping to get honest caring answers.. thank you to those that did just that.

I'm sorry you thought my post was "smart aleck". It wasn't meant to be smart aleck, I was 100% serious - honest answer to an honest question.

[larry_barnhart]

WeBeFulltimers wrote:

larry barnhart wrote:
I do hear from the newer fifths owners with the auto systems complain of the wiggle they were excepting to not have and not as level as they thought the result would be. Sometimes I can see they are not level.

chevman

If "they" are so far off-level that you can see it something IS definitely wrong.

The owner should be proactive and manually level the fiver and then recalibrate the leveling system electronics.

That is what I did when system was new and it hasn't failed in 4 years to be within 0.1 degrees level both side-to-side and front-to-back. I check it each time with a bubble level and the system's built-in display.

So far as wiggle goes it is almost eliminated by using 2" boards under each leveling pad as I stated in my previous reply to this thread.

I feel it is totally unnecessary to add additional hardware such as JTs or scissors jacks to the factory system if it is properly used.

Sometime folks can not be helped. A fifthwheel was over 3" out of level left to right and after 3 days I asked how can they stand being so out of level? He was shocked and then could see what I was seeing and was happy to fix the problem. Dr. of math and is smart but not on some things.

chevman

[WeBeFulltimers]

Snowbird67 wrote:
Yep you read that right,, wiggle..we just got into our new big fifth wheel and find that it wiggles alot more than our little one did.. It has the 6 pt leveling system, but the back has the slide outs..so wondering if all of you owners have any ideas on how to get some of that out.. we tried extra jacks under that back, but that didnt help.. we are open to suggestions that have worked for you.. thank you..

Just another thought..........Is your 6 pt system hydraulic or electric? Lippert makes them both and from what I understand the hydraulic is much better.

[laknox]

My experience is that the shorter you can make your landing legs and stabilizer jacks (within reason), the more stable you are. Simple physics. Personally, I run down my landing legs pretty far before I drop the extensions. I use an extra lego block as a footpad on them. On the jacks, I'll crib them up with 2x4's about 4 high to keep from having to crank them down so far. Short of installing stabilizer bars, it does a fair job. At our annual boondock site, the front is =real= stable as I have to drop the landing legs almost 2' to get level. 🙂

Lyle

[WeBeFulltimers]

larry barnhart wrote:
I do hear from the newer fifths owners with the auto systems complain of the wiggle they were excepting to not have and not as level as they thought the result would be. Sometimes I can see they are not level.

chevman

If "they" are so far off-level that you can see it something IS definitely wrong.

The owner should be proactive and manually level the fiver and then recalibrate the leveling system electronics.

That is what I did when system was new and it hasn't failed in 4 years to be within 0.1 degrees level both side-to-side and front-to-back. I check it each time with a bubble level and the system's built-in display.

So far as wiggle goes it is almost eliminated by using 2" boards under each leveling pad as I stated in my previous reply to this thread.

I feel it is totally unnecessary to add additional hardware such as JTs or scissors jacks to the factory system if it is properly used.

[Hvyhauler]

Years ago I installed 2 Bal scissor jacks a few inches behind the front landing gear on each side,also have 3" x 4" x 20" long lighweight dunnage blocks bolted to all 4 scissor jack pads which provides a large footprint when cranked down tight and helps prevent movement.I use Bal crank out tire chocks between the tires too.

With the tripod on the pinbox and cranked up tight there is no movement in the bedroom / bath area. Thinking about installing 2 more scissor jacks mid way on the frame on each side to take out the small amount of movement we get sometimes in unlevel sites & take more weight off the tires which enable movement.

[larry_barnhart]

We have a 15 year old alpenlite with the old fashion landing gear and rear stabilizers. A couple of years rving my wife wanted to end the wiggle for doing her needle work as she sits over the tires. I installed scissor jacks in front of the tires. Still using this method for our 6 months each winter but did install the JT Strong arm product. They are an awesome product for ending the wiggle and when the wind blows. I do hear from the newer fifths owners with the auto systems complain of the wiggle they were excepting to not have and not as level as they thought the result would be. Sometimes I can see they are not level. I do know when we park at home on concrete and not setup the strong arms the fifth is really solid and feel the problem for the guys not liking any wiggle the ground is the main reason. I have been in large MH's that wiggle.

chevman

[WeBeFulltimers]

We are full timers and have the 6 point system. I have had great success by placing 2x10x12" treated boards under each stabilizer regardless of the surface we are setting up on. We have been doing this for 4 years and although it does not eliminate ALL movement it is very effective. Only adds about 1 minute to set up time and have only had to replace them 1 time in the 4 years. Home Depot will cut them to any length for you for only the cost of the board.

[Snowbird67]

lpxguy wrote:
I had the very same disappointment when we got our first 5er...I found the one thing that took the most wiggle out was keeping as much of the front jacks retracted as possible by setting them on large blocks. That alone made a huge difference.

Later I added JT Strongarms to the 4 pt level and wiggle is 98% gone

thank you, will try the blocks thing.. I felt perhaps we should have done that, but didnt

[Snowbird67]

pcm1959 wrote:
We have the SteadyFast system on our 38' Lifestyle. It is a great system and only 3 quick, easy knobs to turn to deploy.
It does not remove 100% of the movement in the rear but in the front is just about does. I think you'd be pleased with the results.

thank you.... I realize that nothing will do 100% but this feels like a swing..only in the back as you said..so anything will be nice.. ty again

[Winged_One]

6pt here. Just use it as it is good enough for us. Only trailer I didn't notice any movement was with tires removed and on blocks.

That said, I did have X-chocks with my previous TT that worked great in that instance (just manual 4 corner stabilizers). I tried them on the current 5th w/6pt, and found no difference (IN MY CASE). So I sold them.

I also tried a pin stabilizer (good one, 3 adjustable legs, etc). Had one for a 5th I owned a long time ago, and it worked great with that 5th (but only front legs and rear stabs on that 5th). Did nothing appreciable again for the current 5th. Difference in part was the old 5th had a solid pin, the current had a trailair (which allowed too much movement). Bought it used for $65 and sold it again for $65. It was worth a shot.

[lpxguy]

I had the very same disappointment when we got our first 5er...I found the one thing that took the most wiggle out was keeping as much of the front jacks retracted as possible by setting them on large blocks. That alone made a huge difference.

Later I added JT Strongarms to the 4 pt level and wiggle is 98% gone

[byronlj]

Your level up system should eliminate most wiggle. Try to level it manually.
Dave

[fj12ryder]

Are all of you posting about adding the stabilizers like JT Strongarms, also ones with the 6 point level up system? Or not? I'm still astounded that the leveling system doesn't take care of most of the movement.