My Travel Trailer Fell Down

[DallasSteve]

I was putting yellow blocks under my travel trailer wheels on one side to level it.  My lot is not paved, not gravel, just dirt and grass.  I did the job and it was great.  It was level.  Then I was adjusting the entry steps and the tongue jack slid off its yellow blocks and the whole trailer crashed to the side.  Fortunately no one was hurt.  I tried the tongue jack and it still works.  But I need to get it all raised back up because I can't get it hooked up to the truck without putting some blocks under the tongue jack.  Someone told me those yellow blocks don't work well on regular soil.  What would you do to get out of this mess?  (I do not like this new forum.  I do not like it Good Sam I am.)

[DallasSteve]

bpounds

Thanks.  I agree.  I now think it shifted because I didn't have wheel chocks on both sides.  I am going to use chocks on both sides in the future.  I will ask the park what I can do about levelling the trailer and maybe they will let me did out a little dirt on the high side.

[valhalla360 · Accepted solution]

Raise it up as much as you can then use jack stands or wood cribbing to hold the a-frame. Raise the jack and put more cribbing under the jack, so you can raise it further.

Honestly, I don't like using lots of blocks under the tires or jack. I typically limit the tires to a couple of 2x? thickness before looking at other sites. I do have a wood stand I made for the jack but it's about 1ftx1ft, so unlikely to slip. It's made of 2x4s, so plenty strong. 

If it's your permanent storage site, I would try to level it, so you don't need any blocks. 

[DallasSteve]

Tammy & Mike

Thanks for the tips.  I'm not clear on what would be a stable wood cribbing for a tongue jack.  I Googled it and this is one of the first photos that comes up.  Honestly that doesn't look much better than the yellow plastic blocks I bought at Walmart.  My thought at this point is to use the second set of wheel chocks from Walmart to secure the wheels on both sides and then proceed to jack it up and support it with the yellow blocks again.  As far as making the site level without blocks I also have no idea how to do that.

[DallasSteve]

MFL

I was thinking the same thing about the chocks.  It looks like the trailer rotated toward the side that didn't have chocks.  I thought one side was enough, but I didn't think about it enough.  I was also thinking about the jack for my F-250 but the trailer weight is around 10,000 pounds.  Most of that weight is probably carried by the tires, but that still leaves a lot on the tongue.  But I think I remember tongue weight being around 15% of the total.  If that is true then maybe the jack only has to lift about 2,000 pounds.  I'll buy another set of chocks.  Do you think I can use my yellow plastic RV blocks to support the F-250 jack and the tongue once I have things chocked or what would you buy to support them?  I'm also going to ask the park here if I can switch to a concrete pad.  My neighbor has one, but most are grass pads.

[MFL]

@Steve   I think your truck jack is capable if it will fit under. Your tongue weight is likely around 1,500, I'm not a fan of plastic blocks, and I'd use a piece of sturdy wood under the jack. If you have access to a saw, I'd buy a 2x6 and build a crib for support. You can purchase various purpose built pads for under the jack.

[rjstractor]

I would first try putting wood blocks under the trailer frame, and then retracting the jack enough to get some wood underneath the jack.  If there isn't enough space to do that (if you can't retract the jack enough to get wood under it), you could try getting a floor jack under the frame to lift the tongue.  You've probably figured it out by now, but it's best to set up on a firm, compacted surface.  You can do it on grass, but you need to use something substantial (like wood) to spread the weight of the trailer out so it doesn't sink or shift.

[MFL]

You need to use a short jack to raise the tongue back up enough to get support under the camper jack. Your 250 jack may work, with a support under it. You may try to borrow a short bottle jack, or even a scissor jack, if the 250 jack won't fit. Using some chocks on all tires may have prevented this mishap.

[DallasSteve]

MFL

I was shopping for an extra set of chocks and it occurs to me there will be a problem to use them if I also place blocks under those wheels to level the trailer.  The driver side is too low so I put yellow blocks under them and it was level, but then it rolled off the blocks.  I'm not sure if I can securely place the chocks between those wheels when they are raised on the yellow blocks.  I may need to have more yellow blocks and build a full line of them and drive the wheels upon them and then place the chocks between the wheels on top of the yellow blocks.  But I'm not sure if the yellow blocks will stay even so the chocks will fit.  The 2 chocks will barely fit between the wheels which gives them a snug, secure fit.

[MFL]

@DallasSteve    I also use this chock between tires, when needed, such as your situation, and tires are raised too high to use regular chocks. These also help stabilize trailer movement felt inside.

[MFL]

@DallasSteve

I like using a HD rubber trucker's chock when needed.