Sorry... another wheel chock question

[Glowrdr]

Been researching wheel chocks, and I bet I've read 50 different threads from all sorts of forums. Still have a couple of questions (coming from someone whose trailer has not left their driveway yet.

My trailer came with 2 of the camco plastic wedges, and to be honest - its downright scary to be in the trailer when unhooked from the TV (I have to use 4 2x8's under the tongue as my TV is quite tall).

After some extensive research, I really am interested in the Fastway ONEstep type chocks vs the "X" style chocks. Let me break it down, and hopefully you all can chime in and help me decide.

Fastway: Super simple to use, fast to deploy, I like that I won't have to crouch down to install/remove. But - I believe they have issues on non-level ground, and how well do they work if I'm on the legos?

X Chocks: Very well reviewed, they seem to make the most sense from an engineering standpoint, and I like that they aren't on the ground at all (not wet, muddy, sinking, etc). But, I'm hearing you still need regular chocks with them (at least to hook/unhook), and there are a few stories of them bending or not locking properly. I somewhat take that with a grain of salt though, as I'm sure if I look hard enough, I could find a story about an aluminum chock starting on fire and burning down a school full of orphaned mermaids under the sea.

Then there is the good ol' fashioned rubber triangle chocks. I'm talking the style used at truck stops. 10 inches wide, 8 inches high, weighing in at 8 pounds apiece with an eye bolt on the side. Just solid, no-slip, no crush rubber. After hearing the one-in-a-million horror stories of other chocks not living up to their name (or price) - I'm wondering if I just drop $30 on 4 of these (Northern is having an awesome sale at the moment)

With all of those thoughts typed out, what do the seasoned RV'ers recommend? Do I keep my little plastic chocks for (un)hooking from the TV, while deploying dual X chocks? Should I stick with the most basic of the 3 and grab the rubber? Or do I do something like get 1 X chock, and 1 Fastway (deploying the X on the leveled side)? Really want to get this taken care of before the first trip next weekend.

As always, thanks in advance!

[Community Alumni]

X2. After that story and similar experiences shared by others, it amazes me that that people still depend and utilize these things as chocks.

[LarryJM]

Nicholsfamily05 wrote:
We have always used the X chock.

As long as you adjust them properly and keep adjusting them as the tread wears I don't see how you can have an issue.

We have used them on some inclines and they hold great.
We have the rubber ones to but we use those on our atv trailer as not much weight there.

Then IMO you are play Russian Roulette since all those in-between type Faux chock systems are clearly NOT FOR CHOCKING and their directions CLEARLY WARN against relying on them to prevent trailer movement. Just look thru THIS THREAD for some scary stories/insight.

Larry

[GrandpaKip]

I still don't understand why anyone would take any chances with their camper. The cost of regular old triangular chocks is nothing compared to the cost of a camper. The time to put them down is negligible. They are simplicity personified. All it takes is one time when they should have been used and weren't.
Personally, I don't like to tempt fate. I like to avoid 'em.

[Westcoasting]

SoundGuy wrote:

Westcoasting wrote:
I'm sure that is nothing more than liability to cover the company's butt when someone doesn't tighten the chocks and the trailer rolls.

You're "sure" are you? 😛 Seems to me the people who designed and sell the BAL X-Chock make it pretty clear why one should not rely solely on these chocks to secure a trailer ...

"Do NOT use the BAL chock as a parking brake ..."

"Remove the BAL chock BEFORE connecting the trailer to the tow vehicle".

"Operating the trailer tongue jack can cause unnecessary stress to the BAL chock".

Hmmmm, now if you aren't using anything else to secure the trailer and do rely solely on the BAL X-Chock for this purpose how do you then "remove the BAL chock BEFORE connecting the trailer to the tow vehicle" and not have it roll away? :h

How dumb. :S

There is no problem putting in the chocks and then unhooking, have you ever tried it or are you just another internet troll who enjoys arguing? We have tried it both ways with a chock behind wheels and then unhooking, jacking up etc and leaving them in... no difference either way.

[SoundGuy]

Westcoasting wrote:
I'm sure that is nothing more than liability to cover the company's butt when someone doesn't tighten the chocks and the trailer rolls.

You're "sure" are you? 😛 Seems to me the people who designed and sell the BAL X-Chock make it pretty clear why one should not rely solely on these chocks to secure a trailer ...

"Do NOT use the BAL chock as a parking brake ..."

"Remove the BAL chock BEFORE connecting the trailer to the tow vehicle".

"Operating the trailer tongue jack can cause unnecessary stress to the BAL chock".

Hmmmm, now if you aren't using anything else to secure the trailer and do rely solely on the BAL X-Chock for this purpose how do you then "remove the BAL chock BEFORE connecting the trailer to the tow vehicle" and not have it roll away? :h

How dumb. :S

[Bucky_Badger]

I thought there was a post here last week about a guy that had his trailer roll on him while using x chocks

EDIT
my bad, he was using the Camco wheel stop, but it still rolled
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28981620/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm

[GoPackGo]

Why disagree with a company about how they say their product should be used - or not used ? Their intent is pretty clear.

As others have stated, x-chocks are for getting rid of the jiggles, and they do that well. They should not be used as the primary chocks that are expected to keep your trailer from rolling on an incline.

I've been full timing for 3 years now and have used 4 of the big rubber ones (like Northern Tool sells) since day one. Got mine on Amazon. Note they weigh 8 pounds - these are the ones you want. I tied a loop of 3/8 nylon to each eye bolt so they are easy to grab.

I just throw them in the back of my pickup when traveling - put them down FIRST when I pull in to a site and remove them LAST before I leave. They are simple to use - nothing to tighten. Nothing to adjust. Just plop them down and you're done.

I recently looked at the big ones that CW sells and they're not the same. Those seem to be made of a much more slippery material - would not recommend these.

I use 4 because it's not always easy to tell if there is a slight incline one way or the other - I think we've all seen the tourist attractions where water appears to run uphill. Your eyes can be fooled.

Last - I would never use those small hard plastic chocks on anything bigger then a small pop-up.

[Glowrdr]

beemerphile1 wrote:
Why do some seem to chock both fore and aft? Only one direction will be downhill and it sure isn't likely to roll uphill.

I do this currently, and its done a pretty decent job of eliminating the front/rear motion you get when walking in the trailer. Technically, a good solid chock would eliminate the need for additional sway control (X Chock). I still have a little side to side at the moment, but I don't have my stabilizers down in my driveway.

Actually, the flatter the site, probably the more need to chock both front and back of the wheels. If you were on a solid hill, you wouldn't have much rocking uphill if you chocked the low side only.

[Westcoasting]

SoundGuy wrote:

GrandpaKip wrote:
There was a pretty good discussion on X-chocks a coupla weeks ago, I think.

SoundGuy wrote:
Hard to believe it's necessary to repeat ad nauseam as we did in this recent rv.net discussion that Norco's BAL X-Chocks, despite being called "chocks", are not intended to be used to secure a trailer to prevent it from shifting. Every box of X-Chocks includes a warning note to this effect so how anyone rely solely on X-Chocks as chocks is mind boggling. :S

Westcoasting wrote:
My brother forgot his when he went to leave the campsite. Wheels were locked and they don't move... not sure how much more you need out of wheel chocks.

Clearly you (and evidently many others) still don't "get it". :R Tires shrink noticeably as they cool so anyone who pulls into a campsite, sets up, and uses nothing but X-Chocks to secure their trailer is in for a nasty surprise if there's any slope to that site. :E In the first couple of hours those tires will shrink, the X-Chocks (or any in-between tire chock for that matter) will loosen sufficiently to lose their grip on the tires. Installing X-Chocks before unhitching is also a no-no according to Norco as the tires want to rotate as the tongue jack is lifted / lowered during the unhitching / leveling process, resulting in undue stress being placed on the X-Chocks. This information is all contained in this manufacturer's warning note which your brother either didn't read or chose to ignore. :R

I'm sure that is nothing more than liability to cover the company's butt when someone doesn't tighten the chocks and the trailer rolls. Yes tires shrink and yes you should check the chocks. Properly tightened the trailer is not going anywhere.

[beemerphile1]

Why do some seem to chock both fore and aft? Only one direction will be downhill and it sure isn't likely to roll uphill.

[SoundGuy]

GrandpaKip wrote:
There was a pretty good discussion on X-chocks a coupla weeks ago, I think.

SoundGuy wrote:
Hard to believe it's necessary to repeat ad nauseam as we did in this recent rv.net discussion that Norco's BAL X-Chocks, despite being called "chocks", are not intended to be used to secure a trailer to prevent it from shifting. Every box of X-Chocks includes a warning note to this effect so how anyone rely solely on X-Chocks as chocks is mind boggling. :S

Westcoasting wrote:
My brother forgot his when he went to leave the campsite. Wheels were locked and they don't move... not sure how much more you need out of wheel chocks.

Clearly you (and evidently many others) still don't "get it". :R Tires shrink noticeably as they cool so anyone who pulls into a campsite, sets up, and uses nothing but X-Chocks to secure their trailer is in for a nasty surprise if there's any slope to that site. :E In the first couple of hours those tires will shrink, the X-Chocks (or any in-between tire chock for that matter) will loosen sufficiently to lose their grip on the tires. Installing X-Chocks before unhitching is also a no-no according to Norco as the tires want to rotate as the tongue jack is lifted / lowered during the unhitching / leveling process, resulting in undue stress being placed on the X-Chocks. This information is all contained in this manufacturer's warning note which your brother either didn't read or chose to ignore. :R

[bpounds]

How well do you think those will work if a tire loses air overnight? Hope you don't wake up in the river.

[Westcoasting]

SoundGuy wrote:

GrandpaKip wrote:
There was a pretty good discussion on X-chocks a coupla weeks ago, I think.

Hard to believe it's necessary to repeat ad nauseam as we did in this recent rv.net discussion that Norco's BAL X-Chocks, despite being called "chocks", are not intended to be used to secure a trailer to prevent it from shifting. Every box of X-Chocks includes a warning note to this effect so how anyone rely solely on X-Chocks as chocks is mind boggling. :S

My brother forgot his when he went to leave the campsite. Wheels were locked and they don't move... not sure how much more you need out of wheel chocks.

[JESTER7406]

I use 8" 4x4 pressure treated blocks. 8" long with a small rope handle on them. They cost about $1 to make as they were leftovers from another project. The trailer has never rolled off them.

I used to have one of the between the wheels style ratcheting chocks for stabilizing but it didnt seem to make much difference.

[SoundGuy]

lbrjet wrote:
BAL standard locking chock is all you need.

Agreed ... IF they fit, which they did with our previous KZ Spree.



Our current Coachmen Freedom Express has 14" tires with a 29" axle spread so BAL Standard Tire Locking Chocks will not fit between the tires, ergo the reason I instead use rubber chocks secured in place with hardwood spacers.



Each solution works equally well. :B