Removing Wheels and Tires

Bottle jacks may not go low enough for what your want. They also have a very small head at the top of the shaft. This is normally OK for changing a tire, but when lowering a whole trailer, the trailer could become off-tilt when lowering it a long ways causing the bottle jack to slip. I think I'd use floor jacks with the larger contact surface if you have them.

I assume the trailer has two axles? If so, I think I'd work from side to side lowering it.

As for the blocking, treated lumber should be used for the ground contact boards, but rest of them don't really need to be treated if you don't have them. (Watch out for slivers when using treated lumber, they fester very easily.) If the trailer is being lowered on dirt and not cement, then on the bottom layer, I'd make it two 2X6s wide for a 12X12 pad and make the "bottom pad" two layers thick - in other words the bottom two layers should be 12X12. Also take some smaller / thinner pieces with you as you'll have to do some shimming to get everything level. If you store the tires there, put them on some wood also.

Bill

First...you are saying semi-permanent. Does that mean you are going to occasionally move it? If so, leave the wheels on, park on patio stones and cover them. No matter where they are sitting, they are going to dry rot over time.

If you are going to block up the trailer, put your cinder blocks on patio stones so they dont sink into the ground. Piece of wood between block and trailer

At that specific park, how are other RV/TT owners supporting their trailer? Might be good idea to clone their method. Especially if majority are done the same...

Hope this helps.

If you are going to be moving the trailer from time to time. I would just leave the tires on the trailer & jack it up just enough to place jacks stands or some type of blocks under the axles to just get the tires off the ground, then put tire covers on each tire.

I would pull the trailer up on a 2x8 and block under the trailer securely to support the weight. Then I would let the air out of the tires and allow the trailer weight to settle on the blocking. That takes your tires and suspension out of the equation.

Then if you need to move you can just air up the tires and roll out.

Cinder blocks (MBU's in the trade) are a poor material for supporting weight under a trailer. If they crack and break, your axles will be on the ground. Wood cribbing or metal stands are a better solution.
IMO, supporting the weight of the trailer by using the frame should first be supported close to the axles and then a support towards the end of the frame.

Thanks. It is not in an RV park, but on private land. The goal is to lower the unit for ease of entry for my mobility limited DW. It will be there for at least 6 months and possibly permanently.

So I need to place the jacks closer to the axles?

I have seen houses built on cinder block piers, and thousands of house trailers on them, I had no idea to suspect their structural integrity. I will do a search to see if I can find their load limits. The plan was for 6 piers, about 1,500 pounds per. Anybody know their limits?

Again, thanks for the assistance.

Here is what I found on line:

" - block 16 inches long and 8 inches wide will bear a load of 150,000 to 200,000 pounds, or more than the capacity of any but the largest testing machines."

I must be missing something.

westend wrote:
Cinder blocks (MBU's in the trade) are a poor material for supporting weight under a trailer. If they crack and break, your axles will be on the ground. Wood cribbing or metal stands are a better solution.
IMO, supporting the weight of the trailer by using the frame should first be supported close to the axles and then a support towards the end of the frame.

They DON'T sell "cinder blocks".. They are made of CEMENT.

CEMENT BLOCK CRIBBING IS THE DEFAULT AND STANDARD MATERIAL USED FOR SETTING MOBILE HOMES UP.

I should know, I OWNED a mobile home in a mobile home park in the past.

Cement blocks are very strong when used CORRECTLY with the open cells top and bottom.

Cement blocks are extremely weak if you turn them on the sides (open cells are side to side).

People make the mistake of using cement blocks set on the sides (open cells not top to bottom)and that is why they get a bad rap.

Then there is two cell and three cell cement blocks, two cells are more common but not as strong as three cell.. But both types as long as the open cells are top and bottom will be fine to use.

For mobile home use they create a "stack" placing two blocks side to side then stack the next row on top but turning them 90 degrees then the next row is turned 90 degrees. Makes for a strong temporary cribbing.

NMace wrote:
Thanks. It is not in an RV park, but on private land. The goal is to lower the unit for ease of entry for my mobility limited DW. It will be there for at least 6 months and possibly permanently.

So I need to place the jacks closer to the axles?

I have seen houses built on cinder block piers, and thousands of house trailers on them, I had no idea to suspect their structural integrity. I will do a search to see if I can find their load limits. The plan was for 6 piers, about 1,500 pounds per. Anybody know their limits?

Again, thanks for the assistance.

Have you checked to see what that will do to your taxes?

Around my area trailers as long as they have wheels on them are not taxed because they are not considered a permanent structure..

Take the wheels off and now it is consider permanent and taxes are assessed on the trailer.

Personally I would leave the wheels on and depending on the land I would dig down a foot or make a small wooden porch with long ramp. With a porch if done correctly you could make smaller modules that can be bolted together so if you are no longer able to use that land or want to move to another location the porch can be taken with you.

Taking the wheels off is only going to drop your height 8" at the most (my trailer has less than 5" between the road and bottom of the brake drum) and to get more you would have to dig a pit for the axles to sit in..