We are staying on a slope today. The trailer had to be leveled side to side which meant that I wasn't able to chock those tires.From front to back is quite a slope with the front having to be raised. To be extra safe, I want to leave the car hitched with the emergency brake and chocks under the side that couldn't be chocked. This means that the back of the SUV is lifted quite a bit. Will that hurt the car at all?We'll be here till Saturday...Maybe I'm too worried about it rolling down the hill, but I'd sleep better with the extra brakes.

Isn't lifting the rear of the SUV taking weight off the wheels which have the parking brake? It's not rear wheel drive is it?

You can always open the hitch coupler but leave the safety chains attached for the extra security.

Oh drat. Being an SUV, I'm sure you're right, Azrving.Wnjj, the car is downhill from the trailer.

oyarsa wrote:We are staying on a slope today. The trailer had to be leveled side to side which meant that I wasn't able to chock those tires.Why? :h Cardinal rule - always chock both sides of any trailer anytime it's parked and not hitched to the TV - always. Front to back slope or side to side level has nothing to do with it.

I'm using the Lego type levelers. Unfortunately I don't have enough to create a platform large enough to accommodate the tire and a chock.

Parked on a slope with car still hitched... | Good Sam Community

Grit_dog
Navigator
Dec 09, 2018
Now I'm gonna blow all y'all's minds......sit down, get ready, wait for it........

Ok, ready?

Just to prove I'm not talking out my arse, I've been hauling and hooking/unhooking trailers of most sizes and configurations for a couple years now. I'm only a whippersnapper at the age of 45, so only bin doooin this for 30 years.

Still waiting for the advice?

Ok, here we go..........

Wood blocks, 2x4, 4x4x 4x6 or similar, rocks, rubber wheel chocks are all I've ever used to chock a trailer from rolling.

Here's the weird part. Never lost a trailer!

I know, I know, I'm just bragging here, but dayum son.... How many differnet overpriced plastic craptastic gadgets are out there to take the place of a well placed rock??
Grit_dog
Navigator
Dec 09, 2018
Wow, wut the heck is that in those pictures? Numbered wood blocks?
All I can say is LOFL!

I may have now seen it all.....
I love how this forum never ceases to entertain!
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2018
Huntindog wrote:
GrandpaKip wrote:
I would never dream of just using my x-chocks without the wedge chocks. I haven’t had a problem with either because of cooling tires. Without a doubt, tires will shrink as they cool. But, as they cool, the pressure also decreases, with the bottom of the tire flattening. As this happens, there will be an increase in diameter of the tire.
Now, how much those measurements are, I have no idea. Maybe one compensates for the other. My guess is that both are very small. As I said, I have not noticed a problem and I have checked. I do not doubt SoundGuy’ s account, I just have had a different experience.
Ummmm tire flatening on the bottom as pressure drops will NOT cause the diameter to increase. Just the opposite.

When I was into car racing, we would often change the diameter of the tires with air pressure to get a specific amount of stagger.

Back to TTs. Every single time I have set up camp using any chock, I have had to retighten them after the tires cooled. Now I am in AZ, so my tires likely run hotter than most, but the principle is the same no matter the temp.

Hot air expands raising the tire pressure which pushes out from inside the tires harder than cool air at lower pressure will.

BTW...... This is WHY you check tire pressures when they are cold.

What I was thinking, was that as the vertical axis length of the tire decreased, the horizontal axis length would increase. Just a thought experiment.
Huntindog
Explorer
Dec 07, 2018
GrandpaKip wrote:
I would never dream of just using my x-chocks without the wedge chocks. I haven’t had a problem with either because of cooling tires. Without a doubt, tires will shrink as they cool. But, as they cool, the pressure also decreases, with the bottom of the tire flattening. As this happens, there will be an increase in diameter of the tire.
Now, how much those measurements are, I have no idea. Maybe one compensates for the other. My guess is that both are very small. As I said, I have not noticed a problem and I have checked. I do not doubt SoundGuy’ s account, I just have had a different experience.
Ummmm tire flatening on the bottom as pressure drops will NOT cause the diameter to increase. Just the opposite.

When I was into car racing, we would often change the diameter of the tires with air pressure to get a specific amount of stagger.

Back to TTs. Every single time I have set up camp using any chock, I have had to retighten them after the tires cooled. Now I am in AZ, so my tires likely run hotter than most, but the principle is the same no matter the temp.

Hot air expands raising the tire pressure which pushes out from inside the tires harder than cool air at lower pressure will.

BTW...... This is WHY you check tire pressures when they are cold.
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Dec 07, 2018
I would never dream of just using my x-chocks without the wedge chocks. I haven’t had a problem with either because of cooling tires. Without a doubt, tires will shrink as they cool. But, as they cool, the pressure also decreases, with the bottom of the tire flattening. As this happens, there will be an increase in diameter of the tire.
Now, how much those measurements are, I have no idea. Maybe one compensates for the other. My guess is that both are very small. As I said, I have not noticed a problem and I have checked. I do not doubt SoundGuy’ s account, I just have had a different experience.
Huntindog
Explorer
Dec 06, 2018
I have used X chocks in the past.
I now use homemade chocks.
I do not generally need chocks as I dig holes for the high side tires.... Gravity is the BEST chock of all.

It really doesn't matter which chocks you use,
They will ALL loosen as the tires cool.
The holes will work just as well no matter what the tire temps are.

But anyone that seriously thinks that tires don't shrink as they cool..... Needs to go back to school and pay attention the second time around.
PaulJ2
Explorer
Dec 06, 2018
The type of X chocks i have are a pair of connected wedge shape blocks that are placed between the tires. Then you pull down a lever that wedges them tight toward each other. No way the tires will ever move, EVER!
Ralph_Cramden
Explorer II
Dec 06, 2018
SoundGuy wrote:
Ralph Cramden wrote:
A tire is not going to contract enough when cooling down to loosen an X chock unless the person installing it's IQ was less than the X chocks IQ. That's a stretch of a comment, physics or not. How much does one contract? 1/10000 of an inch?

Your feeble attempt to insult another forum member just because you don't agree with the point being made doesn't change the FACT that trailer tires do shrink noticeably as they cool. I know that to be FACT because my own X-Chocks installed when the tires are hot do loosen to the point where they will fall out of position if not periodically retightened as they cool. I've measured this contraction at ground level where my BAL Single Tire Locking Chocks sit between the tires of our precious K-Z Spree to be as much as a 1/4". When we bought our most recent travel trailer I discovered that the axle spread of just 29" provided insufficient space between the 14" tires to reliably insert the BAL locking chocks so I came up with another solution. That solution was a pair of rubber chocks between each set of adjacent tires, using hardwood spacers of varying widths to ensure each chock snugged against it's respective tire.

However, since the tires shrink as they cook that meant I had to make up a SET of hardwood spacers of varying widths as those inserted when we first set up would have to be replaced with wider spacers as the tires cooled.

Had I been able to continue using the adjustable BAL locking chock I would have because expanding it as the tires cool was a simple matter of periodically giving the adjusting screw a couple of turns ... I couldn't so this rubber chock / spacer system was the next best solution. Norco's warning isn't a CYA, it's a reminder of the FACT that physics does play a part here ... there's no way around it, X-Chocks are not designed for or intended to be used to actually chock the trailer and secure it from inadvertently rolling away. For sure, it's your personal choice if you want to ignore this advice but that doesn't change the FACTS of the matter.

Feeble attempt to insult? LOL.
If my intent was to insult, you would have known it clearly.

More proof that here at RVnet you can take something that is as simple as it can be^^^^^^, and turn it into some ritual bordering on O.C.D. I hope your carrying a properly calibrated dial caliper so you know the correct hardwood spacer to choose? As far as the tire shrinking enough when it cools to loosen an X chock I'm still calling Bullsheet on that one.

RV Forums....complicating the uncomplicated since 1837.

By the way your use of CAPS to attempt to get your skewed opinions across is insulting, and not feebly LOL.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Dec 06, 2018
Ralph Cramden wrote:
A tire is not going to contract enough when cooling down to loosen an X chock unless the person installing it's IQ was less than the X chocks IQ. That's a stretch of a comment, physics or not. How much does one contract? 1/10000 of an inch?

Your feeble attempt to insult another forum member just because you don't agree with the point being made doesn't change the FACT that trailer tires do shrink noticeably as they cool. I know that to be FACT because my own X-Chocks installed when the tires are hot do loosen to the point where they will fall out of position if not periodically retightened as they cool. I've measured this contraction at ground level where my BAL Single Tire Locking Chocks sit between the tires of our precious K-Z Spree to be as much as a 1/4". When we bought our most recent travel trailer I discovered that the axle spread of just 29" provided insufficient space between the 14" tires to reliably insert the BAL locking chocks so I came up with another solution. That solution was a pair of rubber chocks between each set of adjacent tires, using hardwood spacers of varying widths to ensure each chock snugged against it's respective tire.

However, since the tires shrink as they cook that meant I had to make up a SET of hardwood spacers of varying widths as those inserted when we first set up would have to be replaced with wider spacers as the tires cooled.

Had I been able to continue using the adjustable BAL locking chock I would have because expanding it as the tires cool was a simple matter of periodically giving the adjusting screw a couple of turns ... I couldn't so this rubber chock / spacer system was the next best solution. Norco's warning isn't a CYA, it's a reminder of the FACT that physics does play a part here ... there's no way around it, X-Chocks are not designed for or intended to be used to actually chock the trailer and secure it from inadvertently rolling away. For sure, it's your personal choice if you want to ignore this advice but that doesn't change the FACTS of the matter.
Ralph_Cramden
Explorer II
Dec 06, 2018
SoundGuy wrote:
bartlettj wrote:
Xchocks are only for stability, not safety, and they will pop right out with enough force. Please use real wedge chocks.

Warning note included in every box of BAL X-Chocks sold ...

FACT is, tires shrink as they cool so X-Chocks installed during your setup process will loosen ... it's simple physics. Nevertheless some will claim this warning is just a manufacturer CYA :R ... unfortunately you can't fix stupid. :S

That is not what that means unless that is what you want to read into it.

It's to protect the X chock from potential damage should some idiot raise the landing gear or tongue jack an excessive amount after installing them. The tires could come together with enough force to bend them or something else depending on the the specific situation.

A tire is not going to contract enough when cooling down to loosen an X chock unless the person installing it's IQ was less than the X chocks IQ. That's a stretch of a comment, physics or not. How much does one contract? 1/10000 of an inch?

I will continue to use my X chocks just the same as I have for the last 10 years on 3 different trailers. I have not had one loosen due to tires cooling down ever and have had to use the ratchet to get them out every single time.

All of that said I will warn you not to get a site downhill from me in advance. I could be putting the safety of your entire family at risk but if we don't pile into you and I wake up, I'll be sure wave when flying past. :S :B