Wheel chocks - Best for trailer?

[John_S2]

Have a 27’ Airstream trailer and have had bad experiences with plastic wheel chocks that fit under the dual wheels.

Are there better wheel chocks that are recommended?

In looking online there are some that expand between the tires/wheels. Are those better? If so which brand is best?

Any and all suggestions and tips are appreciated.

TIA. John S

[JIMNLIN]

In looking online there are some that expand between the tires/wheels. Are those better? If so which brand is best?

Any and all suggestions and tips are appreciated.

TIA. John S

.
You say dual wheels ?? IMO you mean a tandem axle trailer.
Like you I've used plastic and wood and rubber chocks but they all work loose and allowed too much movement in the trailer over a period of time.
I would suggest any brand that is adjustable for both sides of the trailer.
I have a pair adjustable chocks that fit between the tires. Once tightened their good from now on unless the tire goes flat.

My medical condition requires my trailers to be rock solid as in no movement.
Others may not use any type of wheel chocks for their trailers.

[Crabbypatty]

I use large yellow plastic chocks. When on un even or sloping sites I also lock of the tires by using ratchet straps. Simply hook into each wheel slot on the top, two opposing slots and apply just enough pressure to have a tight strap. No way it can roll and also reduces some back n forth motion. I came up with this in a pinch when the trailer rolled an inch or two and the bumper stopped it. I couldn't move the truck and a strap was all I had. Since then I use them almost always and have no need to spend $ on rotochocks etc. Works perfectly

[opnspaces]

I used to use the plastic chocks but they were starting to really show sun damage. I replaced them last year with some 4x6 lumber that was from a friends patio remodel. I can pull up onto the new wood chocks without fear of crushing them like with plastic. Funny thing is when I went to throw the plastics away I noticed they had a use by date of 2010 on them. I guess I got my moneys worth out of them 🙂

[SoundGuy]

ScottG wrote:
Yet another person here just using the cheapo yellow chocks.
30 years of RVing and never an issue with them.

Probably everyone who owns a trailer has used simple plastic chocks at one time or another, myself included until I realized they often can slip out of position when sitting atop plastic Lynx levelers :E ... a problem for me as I always use Lynx to level. I've found that heavier rubber chocks are less likely to shift but I further ensured that by using hardwood spacers to keep each adjacent chocks in place where they belong. Regardless, I find that using a set of infinitely adjustable BAL Standard Tire Locking Chocks - Model 28000A to be the simplest, most versatile method of locking the trailer down so it absolutely can't shift at all regardless of site slope and therefore highly recommend this as the "best" solution, which after all is what the OP initially asked for. 😉

[wborst]

I have a pair of roto chocks that I no longer need. If interested, pm me.

[austinjenna]

I use the big black ones from Harbor freight and xchocks between the tires

[myredracer]

Dave H M wrote:
I used the X chocks all the time. Personally I think the company is doing a good jo0b on CYA. :h

^^^ Agree. Except on sloping ground you don't want to rely on just these alone.

X-chocks are all we use but we're always on a level site in a CG and at home. I've rolled into a CG with the tires heated up, installed the X-chocks and had the temps go down below freezing overnight and the X-chocks have not loosened up. They never loosen up with a swing in temp but I cinch them up tight. I think the CYA is there because there is no way you can specify how to torque the X-chocks up enough so that every trailer owner will get them tight enough.

Chocks are for not only to prevent/resist a trailer from rolling away, you want to minimize fore/aft motion and the X-chocks do an great job of that. On sloping sites, use something in addition to or instead of the X-chocks.

Most important thing of all is to make sure you have some kind of chocks in place before you unhook the chains and don't let anyone distract you. X-chocks will pop out if you pull forward with them still in, but you will also run over other types of chocks.

[Lynnmor]

wanderingbob wrote:
A camper here at Panacea Camp forgot to remove his X-Chocks and pulled forward with a bunch of us watching and screaming , one went up and one went down and he never felt it . In a serious situation I would not trust them to hold !

I believe that. I have seen one rolled out of the tires and it seemed to take little effort. With the give in the trailer suspension and the easily distorted tires, the holding power in my opinion, is not sufficient. I use conventional chocks and only add in an x-chock when the tires are on blocks.

[jerem0621]

Hey, here are the best Chocks I have ever used. There is no running over these.

Laminated Rubber Chocks

These are the only chocks I really trust.

I forgot to pull the out one time and it held my trailer and my truck fast.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[SoundGuy]

JonWalter wrote:
I used my new x-chocks last night and despite the fact that the wind is blowing like crazy I’m pretty rock solid!

Absolutely, when tightly secured X-Chocks can definitely prevent the tires from rotating but that's not the point. :S Here's the reasoning for not using just X-Chocks alone to secure your rig from shifting or rolling away ...

Let's say you use no other method other than your X-Chocks to secure the trailer ... so you install them, tighten them up, and proceed to unhitch from your TV. You've now made Mistake #1, as Norco specifically warns against having the X-Chocks in place when raising or lowering the tongue jack, which is of course required during the hitching / unhitching process if you expect the trailer to not roll away on you once disconnected from the TV.



Some will diss this and claim this is nothing more than CYA on Norco's part ... it's not, if you think about it at all it's just common sense. If the tires are locked firmly in place while the trailer is being forced to change it's attitude excessive stress is going to be placed on the X-Chocks and the tongue jack which is fighting against those tires which are being prevented from rotating by the tightened X-Chocks. Norco's warning makes this clear.

OK, so if you don't use the X-Chocks at all at this point OR do install them but don't tighten them in order to not stress the tongue jack what else is preventing the trailer from rolling once it's unhitched from the TV? Answer - nothing. Guess what happens then. :E

Second point - when you first arrive on-site your tires are hot and therefore measurably larger in diameter than they will be in a couple of hours once the tires have fully cooled. Let's say you disregard the foregoing explanation, install & tighten your X-Chocks anyway, and unhitch ... in even just a few minutes those X-Chocks will begin to loosen their grip on the tires as those tires begin the cooling process, and if you use no other method to secure them the trailer then has every opportunity to shift. There's no magic to this, it's got nothing to do with CYA, it's the laws of physics in action, with the trailer wanting to roll down any slope. Obviously, if there's little campsite slope the trailer will be less likely to roll but I can assure you it doesn't take much slope at all, either fore or aft, for any trailer, once unhitched from the TV, to naturally want to roll toward the lower end of the site. :E

Despite all the claims otherwise by pundits who claim to know better than Norco who designed & sells the BAL X-Chock the fact is that using X-Chocks alone to secure any trailer is misuse of the product. Do what you want, ignore Norco's warning, ignore the good advice offered here by those of us who understand the issues clearly, ignore the physics, discount it all as CYA ... but sooner or later there will come a day when you regret using just X-Chocks alone to secure your trailer and prevent it from inadvertently shifting or rolling away on you. Your choice. 😉

[JonWalter]

I used my new x-chocks last night and despite the fact that the wind is blowing like crazy I’m pretty rock solid!

[time2roll]

SoundGuy wrote:

time2roll wrote:
You can also get plastic wedges as part of the leveling blocks that integrate or lock in with the rest of the blocks.

Unfortunately those Lynx Stop 'n Chocks don't lock tightly against the tires as their position is limited by how they lock into the Lynx blocks, the result being the trailer can still shift. :M With my particular trailer they're also FAR too large to fit between the tires ... a non-starter. 😞

If I use mine I roll the trailer down slope onto the levelers and against the integrated wedge.
I have a theory that the trailer will not spontaneously start rolling uphill.

[wanderingbob]

A camper here at Panacea Camp forgot to remove his X-Chocks and pulled forward with a bunch of us watching and screaming , one went up and one went down and he never felt it . In a serious situation I would not trust them to hold !

[LarryJM]

Dave H M wrote:
I used the X chocks all the time. Personally I think the company is doing a good jo0b on CYA. :h

Now I have Roto's because of the small gap between the tires.

However most time I use the cheapo plastic ones. I have not tried Larry's approach when leaving yet.

IIRC "my approach" works best when camping in the cow pastures at Penn State for their home games after it rained and the ground was softer.:E

I also only forgot one chock on one wheel using this "QUICK EXIT" maneuver:R:p

Larry