? Chocking to "Stabilize" Question?

[dcmac214]

Just finished reading some posts reference chocking the wheels to "stabilize" the RV...

Stabilize?

I don't get it - someone please explain.
I see how wedges, x-chocks or whatever hold an RV in position -- you certainly don't want gravity pulling it across an un-level pad. But I don't see how chocks of any kind will help stabilize an RV. Isn't that what the jacks & stabilizers (= somewhat less hefty jacks) are supposed to do? Chocks just hold the wheels in place, the rest of the RV can still rock & roll to its heart's content no matter how tightly the wheels are chocked.

[SoundGuy]

The downside to using wedge style chocks (and in-between chocks such as X-Chocks) is that tires shrink as they cool so even if the chocks are initially quite tight they will loosen noticeably in the first couple of hours. :E That's why I prefer using BAL Standard Tire Locking chocks that can initially be snugged in place, then subsequently be further tightened as the tires cool. :B It's actually shocking how much tires do shrink so the key IMO is to be able to adjust the chocks in fine increments to the smaller tire diameter once the tires are stone cold. Adjusted as such I've noticed there's really not much additional benefit to also installing my X-Chocks so increasingly I'm not bothering with them. Certainly this is about as simple as it gets - park the trailer where you want it, snug up adjustable BAL chocks between each set of tires, then readjust them as the tires cool. Guaranteed, regardless of site slope that trailer isn't going anywhere and it isn't going to rock much either. :B

[ASCTLC]

I do exactly as wowens79. I chock the back of the rear set of tires (both sides), back up a tad more to add a bit of pressure to those back chocks and set the park brake (if by myself), then chock the front of the front tires.

The cradling adds enough pressure (if you back up enough) that the suspension doesn't bounce at all and the side to side twisting around that center is eliminated. I do that first then I tighten my side to side DIY frame stabilizers (front and back).


I learned to do this with my wide spaced axles that x-chock type products don't work well with, and aren't any more effective than the cradling effects.

Andy

[wowens79]

I just use the wedge chocks, but I will put a chick behind 2 of the wheels, the back up a bit more, and have the wife and son put the Chocks in front of the wheels, so they really cradle the tires. I can really tell the difference when I do that versus just tapping them into place.

[sgfrye]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
As long as most of the trailer weight rests on the wheels the suspension is going to do its job and the trailer will ‘wiggle’.

Each persons tolerance for the amount of wiggle varies. What some people call rock solid will make others sea sick.

The only way to eliminate all movements is to jack the trailer up off the suspension and put the weight on solid supports. That is what hydraulic or electric ‘self leveling’ jack systems do. Get weight off the suspension and tires.

X chocks do help remove some movement. So do JT strong arms, so does putting blocks under the stairs. Almost all of us use a combination of methods.

X2 on this.

[Fizz]

I never notice any wiggling till I lie down for a nap.
I lock everything that can possibly wiggle, specially the wheels.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

As long as most of the trailer weight rests on the wheels the suspension is going to do its job and the trailer will ‘wiggle’.

Each persons tolerance for the amount of wiggle varies. What some people call rock solid will make others sea sick.

The only way to eliminate all movements is to jack the trailer up off the suspension and put the weight on solid supports. That is what hydraulic or electric ‘self leveling’ jack systems do. Get weight off the suspension and tires.

X chocks do help remove some movement. So do JT strong arms, so does putting blocks under the stairs. Almost all of us use a combination of methods.

[Community Alumni]

Speaking from personal experience, the 4 corner scissor jacks didn't keep my TT stable enough. I eliminated all movement by placing opposing chocks on each side of the TT and made sure the chocks were firmly pressed against the tires. I used a hammer to tap the chocks firmly to the tires. To remove the chocks, I tapped them gently to the side until they were loose.

[SoundGuy]

dcmac214 wrote:
I don't get it - someone please explain.
I see how wedges, x-chocks or whatever hold an RV in position -- you certainly don't want gravity pulling it across an un-level pad.

You're right, you don't get it :W ... but then quite a few others don't also. 😞 X-Chocks are not intended to actually chock a trailer to prevent it from rolling away and the manufacturer even includes a note in every package to this effect.



X-Chocks are designed to minimize rotational movement of the tires about their axis, thereby helping to reduce wiggle when someone walks around inside the camper. To prevent the trailer from rolling away you want to be using some form of "wedge", my preference being a set of adjustable BAL Standard Tire Locking Chocks.

[fj12ryder]

If you move around in a trailer that has no chocks the wheels can move a bit, adding to the overall motion of the trailer. If you immobilize the wheels you'll cut down on the forward/backward motion. It's kind of like if you put your car in Park you can still roll it back and forth a bit, but put on the emergency brake and it's is solid.

When I speak of chocks I'm talking about something like the RotoChoks, not the wedge chocks that go on the ground.

[MDKMDK]

I'm thinking if you bought a few thousand orange "wedgie" wheel chocks, and stacked them underneath the trailer, alternating upside down, and right side up, eventually bringing them up to touch the basement of the trailer, it would provide extra stability. Might look a bit weird........ :E

[F-TROUP]

Goggle JT Strong Arms, I think that's who makes them.

[Lwiddis]

Blocking the tires does IMO help stabilize by TT from front to back movement whether using stabilizers or not.

[DrewE]

I think they mean stabilize in the sense of "prevent rolling away movement," and not in the sense of "prevent suspension bouncing movement."

In other words, you aren't missing a thing, just people using vocabulary a little differently than you might choose to. It's not incorrect, after all, to figure that a trailer that is rolling across the site on its own is not exactly stable.