Owners manual discrepancy.

Question

Wife and I witnessed a new RVer back their trailer in campsite.
They lowered the stabilizers before leveling the trailer and then proceeded to raise tounge Jack to obtain level.

I found this odd so walked over and asked the nice gentlemen about this procedure.
Also indicated to him that he should obtain level before dropping the stabilizers.

As new RVers, he showed me a checklist that they followed to a tee that he printed off from owners manual and other literature that came with new trailer.
I saw it with my own eyes but insisted that that part of his checklist needed to be edited and that I was certain.

Anyone heard of this reverse procedure?

canoe_on_top · Answer

Makes no sense at all.Very difficult to raise the front with the rear stabilizers down. If you try to lower the front with the stabilizers down the jack will just come off the ground. Not only does it not make sense, it wouldn't work.

schlep1967 · Answer

Sounds wrong to me.
But then again I saw a trailer backed into an uphill site this past weekend. The site leveled off for the trailer but not the towing vehicle. Owner did not disconnect. Did not chock any tires. And had the rear wheels of the SUV almost lifted off the ground with the electric tongue jack. So maybe.... most of us are doing it wrong?

zingerlite · Answer

schlep1967 wrote:Sounds wrong to me. But then again I saw a trailer backed into an uphill site this past weekend. The site leveled off for the trailer but not the towing vehicle. Owner did not disconnect. Did not chock any tires. And had the rear wheels of the SUV almost lifted off the ground with the electric tongue jack. So maybe.... most of us are doing it wrong?That guy probably thought everyone else was wasting their time by disconnecting lol.

lwiddis · Answer

Anyone heard of this reverse procedure?"Nope. Sounds crazy.

burbman · Answer

It's not wrong, that's actually a procedure recommended by some mfrs. Get the TT slightly nose-down, then drop the rear stabilizers. As you bring up the tongue to level the TT, you're bringing some of the weight off of the suspension, so when you drop the front jacks the trailer is more solid than it otherwise might be.

Obviously you don't want to jack the wheels all the way off the ground, so the TT has to be only slightly nose down when you drop the rear jacks.

Also, most mfrs will say to level the TT before you run the slides out, not before you drop the jacks.

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Owners manual discrepancy.

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