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.)

[opnspaces]

No on the cinder block, it is not a good load bearing substitute. What was under the jack when it fell? How many yellow blocks were stacked up?

[DallasSteve]

Opnspaces

When it fell it was on about 5 yellow blocks.  They have worked well for me over 6 months.  I still think the problem came because I put one set of wheels on blocks to level that side, but I did not have chocks on the wheels on that side, only the other side.  It appears the trailer rotated toward that side with no chocks and the tongue jack slid off the yellow block.  If they had been wooden blocks I think the same thing would have happened.

[opnspaces]

I agree the same thing would have happened on wood blocks.. The hard part is blocking the tires that are sitting up on the plastic jacks so the blocks don't slip. I have done a few different things for in this situations. But what seems to be most reliable is something between the two tires like what MFL posted.

[Grit_dog]

If you crib up the low side on long enough boards it’s super easy to chock. 
If you drop the stabilizers, they will help prevent the trailer from rolling.  
If you jack up the front and then crib the frame you can retract the jack and crib under the jack to get back to enough tongue height. 
If you use something substantial, anywhere, it will be more stable than the Lego blocks. 
If you park on a longitudinal slope, the trailer will want to roll (like it did). Has nothing to do with blocking up one side laterally. You’ll need to chock both sides. 
If you don’t have scrap lumber and wood blocks laying around like most people do, you will have to spend money on stuff that most just “have.”  
Hooe this helps. 

[dedmiston]

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@opnspaces wrote:

I agree the same thing would have happened on wood blocks.. The hard part is blocking the tires that are sitting up on the plastic jacks so the blocks don't slip. I have done a few different things for in this situations. But what seems to be most reliable is something between the two tires like what MFL posted.

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I miss the good ol' Rotochoks. 

[DallasSteve]

Update: I bought more wheel chocks and chocked both sides.  Then I raised the jack out of the dirt. (I will try to post a picture).  I need to raise it another 12 inches to hook up to my truck.  Would a cinder block be a good solution? Is it sturdy enough to support a travel trailer?  Google's AI says it's not a good solution.  I don't like the wood cribbing idea.  It looks less stable to me.  What else can you suggest?  Does Home Depot or somebody sell something that assembles to do this job?

Update 2: I forgot that the jack itself can extend another 6 to 12 inches.  I'm not sure if it will go far enough, but maybe. I just asked Google's AI and it said "The tongue jack on a 2022 Jayco Jay Flight typically has a lift range of 18 to 24 inches. "  I may give it a try.  I can probably get there with a few more yellow blocks under the jack and I've got at least 3 more.

[rjstractor]

A properly built crib box is MUCH more stable than the stack of plastic blocks in your picture (speaking as a long time structural collapse rescue tech)- wood makes great material for this application for two reasons.  It crushes in a slow, noisy, predictable manner (unlike a cinder block which could fail without warning), and it has more friction than plastic.  The more weight that is on it, the less likely it is to slip, provided the cribbing is plumb (straight up and down), and on a firm, level surface.

[dedmiston]

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@DallasSteve wrote:

Update: I bought more wheel chocks and chocked both sides.  Then I raised the jack out of the dirt. (I will try to post a picture).  I need to raise it another 12 inches to hook up to my truck.  Would a cinder block be a good solution? Is it sturdy enough to support a travel trailer?  Google's AI says it's not a good solution.  I don't like the wood cribbing idea.  It looks less stable to me.  What else can you suggest?  Does Home Depot or somebody sell something that assembles to do this job?

Update 2: I forgot that the jack itself can extend another 6 to 12 inches.  I'm not sure if it will go far enough, but maybe. I just asked Google's AI and it said "The tongue jack on a 2022 Jayco Jay Flight typically has a lift range of 18 to 24 inches. "  I may give it a try.  I can probably get there with a few more yellow blocks under the jack and I've got at least 3 more.

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Have you tried jacking it the rest of the way up? Looking at your photo it looks like there's enough clearance to run the jack all the way up and hitch it.

If you're confident in your chocks, then there shouldn't be any harm in running the jack up.

If you're nervous about your yellow cheese blocks, retract the jack an inch and rock it back and forth to see if the blocks give way.

[DallasSteve]

dedmiston

I'm also thinking there may be enough range in the tongue jack to raise it up to the hitch.  I will try it later today or tomorrow.

Thanks, Steve

[opnspaces]

This is what I think most people are picturing when they suggest cribbing. The last 4x4 standing on it's end would lay down flat across the stack centered under the jack. You can also use cribbing to hold up the tongue in the process above. 

[opnspaces]

Yep been there once. It's down now so hopefully it doesn't move during recovery. But get some wood, some big stones, borrow some blocks from a neighbor but try to get at least one wheel blocked front and back on each side  of the trailer. Get everybody out of the trailer.

Then crank up the tongue jack as high as it will go. Now find a jack, a jack stand, something to put under the tongue that will temporarily support it in the air. Lower the tongue jack until this new support is holding the weight. Then retract the jack as high as it will go. Add spacers under the jack (at this point if it was me I would probably use my yellow blocks as spacers) and  crank the tongue up higher until you can hitch it to the truck. Then reposition as needed to make sure it's in as flat a spot as you can find.

[DallasSteve]

opnspaces

That's basically my plan.  When I block my wheels I like to put them in between my wheels like this because I think there's no way they can slip like this.  Is this a bad idea for any reason?

[bpounds]

That's good, but if only on one side the trailer can still twist.  Particularly if the jack is up on blocks, because the stack of blocks can tilt as the twist occurs.  I just think a stack of blocks under the tongue jack are almost always a bad idea.  One pad to distribute the load is good, just don't stack them up.

[bpounds]

I think the real issue was your chocks did not hold.  Trailer shifted.  It had to, or else the tongue jack would not have shifted.  BTDT.  When we had a TT we quit using a block under the tongue jack for that very reason.

Also, if this is your own lot, you might want to just dig a couple of holes for the high side tires to sit in to achieve level.  No blocks to deal with, probably no chocks needed, and your entry steps will be lower.  I always tried to do that when in campsites where it was allowed, which is just about any plain dirt sites.