Leveling a trailer with tandem Torsion Axles

[cj_rezz]

Hi All,

I have a question that I can't find an answer to that I was hoping you all could help me out with.

I just bought a used Jayco 23B trailer. My driveway is sloped at about a 4 degree angle which results in my trailer tongue jack having to be fully extended plus sitting on an additional 17" block.

The only way to fit a 17" block under the tongue is to lower the tongue jack all the way, place a jack stand under the tongue, retract the tongue jack completely and then place the 17" block under. Is this acceptable? Is there an easier way?

This results in the rear axle being fully compressed and the front one drooping completely although still touching the ground.

Is this okay? Can one axle support the majority of the weight long term?

When not using the trailer, is it better for the trailer to be parallel to the slope of the driveway instead of level?

On a similar note, when leveling the trailer side to side at a camp site, can I elevate just one wheel of one side of the trailer or do I have to raise both wheels of one side to level the trailer side to side?

[Ductape]

Nice work. With that pic you will help some newbies in the future.

[pitch]

bid_time wrote:
They let you park that trailer in your front yard? That is surprising to me.

If you can't park yours in your yard, I guess you chose the wrong place to live.
That is a decent set up you have. cj_rezz. Now you know you are an authority on leveling and should be able to set up any where!

[westend]

I would redo all that immediately and park the trailer somewhere else.

.......just kidding.....:B:B:B

Nice job on the elevating and cool that you could put that math education to work for you!

[Grit_dog]

bid_time wrote:
They let you park that trailer in your front yard? That is surprising to me.

It's surprising to me that you noticed or care about it.....

[bikendan]

duplicate

[bikendan]

We parked our HTT in our front driveway for 8 years, when we lived in Napa, California.
No ordinances against it.

[cj_rezz]

I'm sure there are many different rules on this across North America. But the city I live in, Kelowna, there are no city bylaws restricting you from parking a travel trailer in your front yard. Some developments create development bylaws which would restrict you from parking a trailer on your property but they city wouldn't enforce those laws.

Not sure I would own a trailer if I had to park it somewhere other than my house and go pick it up when I wanted to use it or do maintenance on it, then drop it off after using it.

[bid_time]

They let you park that trailer in your front yard? That is surprising to me.

[DrewE]

I would think that's level enough, although I rather doubt there's any very consistent standard for angle vs. bubble position vs. the lines on levels. Basically, if it seems level when you're in the trailer (that is, the cabinet door behave normally, the coffee or tea in your cup isn't slanted, the eggs don't all slide to one edge of the frypan, the water in the shower drains rather than pooling up in a corner, and so forth), then it's fine for the fridge. With a four foot level, a one degree angle means you'd have to raise the low end by a bit less than an inch to achieve level. (You can figure out the exact amount using more trig if you really wish!)

Many, including myself many times, are far more precise than is actually necessary.

[cj_rezz]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I was able to get the trailer leveled out this weekend.

Used some high-school trigonometry to figure out how high the low side of the trailer would have to be elevated to become level. Cut the proper lumber once, backed the trailer on and it was perfectly level! All those times I thought to myself in school "I'm never going to need to know this!"

Also had to lay 2 stacked 2x10's down on the one side, back the trailer onto the boards and further back to let the back wheels drop off the boards, then put an extra 2/10 down infront of both front wheels, then pull forward to get the front wheels elevated higher than the back wheels.

So the front driver side trailer wheel is on 3 2x10s, the back wheel is on 2 2x10s, the passenger side front wheel is on 1 2x10 and the back wheel is on the ground.

For the tongue, I built and 6" platform out of pressure treated 2x4s that I could just barely fit under the fully retracted tongue jack when hooked up to the tow vehicle. Then I jacked the trailer up as high as possible, placed two jack stands under the trailer frame close to the tongue, retracted the jack fully then inserted another pre-built 7.5" platform, lowered the jack and continued jacking up the trailer.

I got the trailer to the point where the bubble on my 4 foot level, when placed on the floor lined up front to back, is just under one of the lines showing where the bubble should be centered to be level. This should be close enough to level to let the fridge run and still allow water to flow off the trailer roof right?

Here's the final product:

[SoundGuy]

Any travel trailers we've owned have been dual axle with a conventional leaf suspension but since my driveway also slopes noticeably to the street and I do always keep the trailer levelled front to back so I can use it while parked here at the house I built a set of Wheel Pads that not only firmly secure the trailer from shifting but also allow the suspension equalizers to sit level just as they would when the trailer is sitting on a level ground surface.

When levelling on the driveway I too use a 18" stack consisting of 3 separate sections so the tongue jack extension isn't excessive and yes, I do it in steps using a support stand under the trailer A frame. It's a bit time consuming but that's a function of having a sloped driveway, nothing to do with the trailer itself.

As far as side to side levelling when camping is concerned you always want to elevate both low side tires the same amount to avoid excessive force being placed on just one axle compared to the other.

[Ductape]

Torsion axles use rubber inserts in the tube to suspend the load. Storing fully compressed at 2x normal weight runs the risk of them losing some elasticity IMO. I would simply put a block under the lower tire to somewhat equalize the tire loading front to rear.

[Anmacc2]

cj_rezz wrote:
On a similar note, when leveling the trailer side to side at a camp site, can I elevate just one wheel of one side of the trailer or do I have to raise both wheels of one side to level the trailer side to side?

I missed this question... Do both wheels. It's easy enough.

[Anmacc2]

I have done this for short periods of time while camping with no negative results. However, I have never stored it that way for long periods. My concern would be putting too much pressure on too few points. Are there any engineers on this forum? Or do you know any you could ask? My experience with my dealership/mechanic is any time I ask a question like this they talk about my warranty.