Bigfoot Jacks and the CA earthquake

Wow, surprised at the amount of movement it did. I would tend to guess if it's still standing the jacks are probably good.

Hopefully, you had it lowered as much as possible as this would remove a lot of stress on the jacks.

First thing I would do is inspect the jacks to see if any of them are leaning or at odd angles. If one is, it could just be under a strain from the last movement. I would support the camper in that area (make sure to spread the load as required in the owner's manual) and see if it moves back into position when the weight is removed.

Next, check the bolts for being pulled out, loose or stripped. Shouldn't need to pull on the wrench too much as they will be lose or good. And if good, you don't really want to twist them and take a chance on breaking the seal.

More than likely, if any damage was done it would be on the front jacks. They carry almost twice the weight as the rear.

Hope everything is good.

Thanks kohldad will do those checks - good suggestion on checking the level of the camper - did not think of that.

The rear jacks are as low as possible with the front shocks up higher to keep the camper level when i initially unloaded it from the truck. It was leveled with a bubble leveler back then so that will be a good check now as well. Thanks!

It's really not rocket science. If there is obvious damage you will see it. There may also be not-so-obvious damage that you can't see. All you can do is cross your fingers and hope in that case.

Living in C.A. when camper is off the truck
I have a bench I built and it rest on that
and not on the legs

Ours didn't move, and I am only 20 miles from the Epicenter..

I'd also block the bottom of the camper, and then lift the jacks. Check and see if any of them are loose, and if so, figure why (ie, bolts walked out, or stripped holes).

i would get some jack stands like this and reset the legs before extending them. This way you're redistributing the weight where it should be and the legs won't be caddywhompus. Mine are 6 ton in front & 3 ton in back because I have a slight slope.

On a Bigfoot, I think the weak point is where the jack brackets are screwed into the camper. That is done with a bunch of sheet metal screws into the wood blocking behind the fiberglass shell. I would check those and also look for breaks in the silicone sealant that they insist on smearing all around the brackets, much movement will break that seal.

My house is about 6 miles from the epicenter, but I was in Truckee with the camper and didn't feel a thing!

Not at home right now but I did get a text from my friend across the street saying I have a out of plumb front jack. When I get home I expect to find our new TV on the floor. It shook when just a dog trotted by

jamminalong wrote:
i would get some jack stands like this and reset the legs before extending them. This way you're redistributing the weight where it should be and the legs won't be caddywhompus. Mine are 6 ton in front & 3 ton in back because I have a slight slope.

+ 1
Much like Raften having an out of plumb jack leg, the "walking" of the camper down the driveway likely has created some binding on the jacks. If you can block the camper sufficiently to get the weight off the legs, they can be re-deployed without screaming and making a ton of noise.

Thinking about this and what would I do to try and prevent it when the ground shakes again. Thinking I would get a board long enough to go from front to rear jack. On each end, I would counter bore a hole about 1/2" for the leg to sit down in. This would keep the jacks at the same distance. Since you have a slant, I would add a wedge under the rear jack and another but larger wedge under the front jack. Done right, the board would be level and the wedges flat against the concrete.

If you wanted to go extreme, add a pin hole at front and rear to allow a cross bar to be installed to hold the opposite side at the proper distance. Add a diagonal and then everything would be completely locked and not allow any walking during the shaking.

Hope you neighbor is only seeing a strain on the jack from the walking action down the slope.