Forum Discussion

NorthernVandal's avatar
NorthernVandal
Explorer
Jul 15, 2014

Question on bent scissor jacks

I have a simple 19ft Prime time Avenger, 2013. Haven't used it but a few times so please excuse the silly question. I took it to a bbq competition in a parking lot, not much slope at all, just barely any grade at all. I positioned it and put the scissor jacks down, by day two the front right one was bent forward from the back to front and twisted a bit, none of the others were. Could this be just a bad jack or did I do something wrong? There wasn't much traffic or weight shift at all in the trailer all weekend. I only had rubber chocks, so do I need the wheel stabilizer things as well?
  • Dick_B's avatar
    Dick_B
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2014
    Keep in mind that not all scissors jack have the same bolt hole arrangement for attaching it to the camper; even from the same manufacturer. Some drilling/expanding of holes in the jack may have to be done. Not a big deal but one would need the proper tools.
  • fallsrider's avatar
    fallsrider
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2014
    Chocking the tires firmly should go a long way in preventing that happening again. I use chocks similar to these...

    Tire Chocks

    and drive them in firmly with a rubber mallet. Works pretty well.
  • NanciL's avatar
    NanciL
    Explorer II
    Jul 15, 2014
    Sounds like an El cheapo stabilizer to me if you just had them tight to the ground and that happened.

    Jack L
  • hddecker's avatar
    hddecker
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2014
    RoyF wrote:
    It may be that the trailer moved a bit, three of the jacks slipped without damage, but the one was down tighter and was twisted. In any case, you will need to replace the damaged one. That's not hard.

    Not sure what your "rubber chocks" are. Most chocks are plastic. But travel trailers certainly need to be well chocked before you unhitch. Put the scissor jacks down AFTER you unhitch.


    X2 on the slippage.

    Do you chock both sides of you trailer, one chock in front of the tire and one cock behind and kick them in tight.

    I had the Bal TELESCOPIC STABILIZING JACKS on my old Airstream, they are head and shoulders above the scissor jacks for stability. They cost about 50% more than scissor jacks, but well worth it. Just one more project on the to do list.
  • kayakcrazy's avatar
    kayakcrazy
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2014
    I had the same thing happen to me when I owned my Kodiak 242RESL. After bending the scissor jack I changed to these: http://www.campingworld.ca/shopping/item/telescopic-stacking-jacks/18023 They worked a lot better
  • Rescue16's avatar
    Rescue16
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2014
    The scissor jacks that come with these Travel trailers are rated at 2500lbs. I bent one of mine catching it on some gravel doing a emergency back up in a runaway ramp and had to get some new ones. Bought 2 5000 lbsScissor Jacks from harbor freight which by no means it tops in quality, but these are so much better then what came with the RV. BAL makes a 7500lb Scissor jacks which I will get if I ever have to replace them again.
  • RoyF's avatar
    RoyF
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2014
    It may be that the trailer moved a bit, three of the jacks slipped without damage, but the one was down tighter and was twisted. In any case, you will need to replace the damaged one. That's not hard.

    Not sure what your "rubber chocks" are. Most chocks are plastic. But travel trailers certainly need to be well chocked before you unhitch. Put the scissor jacks down AFTER you unhitch.
  • TNRIVERSIDE's avatar
    TNRIVERSIDE
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2014
    Insure that you will get a better reply but here is my thought. The camper may have shifted some due to the rubber chocks. Better checks might be all you need. Good luck.
  • popeyemth's avatar
    popeyemth
    Explorer
    Jul 15, 2014
    I don't know how you use your jacks but they're not for leveling the unit but are intended to stabilize it to lessen the rock when you move around in it.

About Travel Trailer Group

44,029 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 21, 2025