Stabilizer blocks alternatives

[alexey75]

Hello folks,

We have scissor stabilizers on our TT. Usually we put a number of blocks under each stabilizer (probably up to 10-15”).
I am looking to save weight (and space) of all the blocks we are carrying around.

I see there are a lot of different types of plastic pads/blocks.
These are nice but I don’t want to have 40+ of these pads.
Is there any better solution than these thin plastic peaces? Maybe some DYI light weight solution?

Thank you!

[CavemanCharlie]

rbpru wrote:
In 7 years or camping I have never has a situation where the stabilizer would not extend far enough. In soft round a 12" x 12" x 1/4" plywood square would not do the job.

A few weeks ago I was at a campground I like but, I got stuck into the last spot available. I had to use everyone one of my Lynx Levelers under the wheels on one side of the TT to get it level. There was no way the stabilizer was going to touch the ground on that side. Because I was out of blocks I used the spare tire under the back stabilizer to take up the space. I just didn't put the front one down. It worked OK for the week that I was there.

[joshuajim]

Here’s a pic of my 5-7-9 blocks (depending on which way you turn them). They are hollow and have minimal internal framing so they are light.

[Gdetrailer]

rbpru wrote:
In 7 years or camping I have never has a situation where the stabilizer would not extend far enough. In soft round a 12" x 12" x 1/4" plywood square would not do the job.

I would concur with your experiences.

But, for some reason folks are scared of the weight of a piece of wood or have been extremely over hyped and over marketed to believe their is always some new fangled super improved lighter weight more expensive product that they must have or buy.

[rbpru]

In 7 years or camping I have never has a situation where the stabilizer would not extend far enough. In soft round a 12" x 12" x 1/4" plywood square would not do the job.

[alexey75]

Gdetrailer wrote:

alexey75 wrote:

Second Chance wrote:
Would something like this be too pricey?

Anderson blocks

We just use 2 x 10 pressure treated wood cut to 12" lengths... but we have a different situation, too.

Rob

Yes, too pricey and too heavy. I have watched some review a while ago, and I remember each peace is like 8 pounds or so.

I use whatever scrap lumber I have laying around.

I just weighed one piece I have which is a 2x8 at 12", weight is 5 lbs.

5 lbs is not all that much weight to move, handle or store.

I typically use 2x6 pieces that are about 10" in length under my stabilizers and that works fine even on a sandy area.

Blocks of leftover wood are cheap, effective and will last longer than any plastic blocks with a given amount of weight on them.

If weight is a huge issue, you do realize that can also be fixed?



Yep, a spade drill bit can be used to drill through or drill partial holes in a diamond pattern and not affect the strength of the board very much but yet remove some weight..

Something else to consider, pressure treated lumber when first bought is heavily laden with moisture as part of the treating process so those boards start out very heavy. As the board dries (after you buy it) it just needs some time sitting in the sun for a few weeks to loose the extra moisture back to the same weight as non treated lumber. Pressure treating plants don't bother removing the excess moisture before shipping to the lumber yards.

Wood (even treated) is a natural product, plastic, not so much.

Yes, I thought about drilling some holes, not sure how much of the difference it will be.
I can take one peace, weight it before and after and decide if it worth it 🙂

[Gdetrailer]

alexey75 wrote:

Second Chance wrote:
Would something like this be too pricey?

Anderson blocks

We just use 2 x 10 pressure treated wood cut to 12" lengths... but we have a different situation, too.

Rob

Yes, too pricey and too heavy. I have watched some review a while ago, and I remember each peace is like 8 pounds or so.

I use whatever scrap lumber I have laying around.

I just weighed one piece I have which is a 2x8 at 12", weight is 5 lbs.

5 lbs is not all that much weight to move, handle or store.

I typically use 2x6 pieces that are about 10" in length under my stabilizers and that works fine even on a sandy area.

Blocks of leftover wood are cheap, effective and will last longer than any plastic blocks with a given amount of weight on them.

If weight is a huge issue, you do realize that can also be fixed?



Yep, a spade drill bit can be used to drill through or drill partial holes in a diamond pattern and not affect the strength of the board very much but yet remove some weight..

Something else to consider, pressure treated lumber when first bought is heavily laden with moisture as part of the treating process so those boards start out very heavy. As the board dries (after you buy it) it just needs some time sitting in the sun for a few weeks to loose the extra moisture back to the same weight as non treated lumber. Pressure treating plants don't bother removing the excess moisture before shipping to the lumber yards.

Wood (even treated) is a natural product, plastic, not so much.

[alexey75]

Second Chance wrote:
Would something like this be too pricey?

Anderson blocks

We just use 2 x 10 pressure treated wood cut to 12" lengths... but we have a different situation, too.

Rob

Yes, too pricey and too heavy. I have watched some review a while ago, and I remember each peace is like 8 pounds or so.

[wing_zealot]

I use a piece of HDPE on each corner about 12 x 12 inches square and 3/4 inch thick. Can’t get much more minimal than that (pretty easy storage).

[alexey75]

MitchF150 wrote:
I've been using these plastic stands that I got off of Amazon. They stack on each other for storage, not as heavy as wood and they reduce the length that the jacks have to extend because of my taller trailer.



I still put a piece of wood under the jack and the 'block' as it seems to spread the load better.

I also added the Strong Arm bars and that's the single most best thing to removing pretty much all the 'bounce' out the trailer when walking inside.

I have 4 on the rear and 2 up front. Here is the front setup.



Works for me. 🙂

Good luck! Mitch

Cool! I like these yellow plastic stands!!

It’s a good idea to have the strong arms, but I see it’s $400+ cad here…

[CavemanCharlie]

If I have left over Lynx Levelers I put them upside down under the stabilizer jacks.

[wanderingbob]

I made plywood boxes out of 3/8ths plywood . With a little thought you can get 3 different heights out of each box . I believe mine are 4 inch , 7 inch or ten inches . Will they last , mine are 7 years old !

[MitchF150]

I've been using these plastic stands that I got off of Amazon. They stack on each other for storage, not as heavy as wood and they reduce the length that the jacks have to extend because of my taller trailer.



I still put a piece of wood under the jack and the 'block' as it seems to spread the load better.

I also added the Strong Arm bars and that's the single most best thing to removing pretty much all the 'bounce' out the trailer when walking inside.

I have 4 on the rear and 2 up front. Here is the front setup.



Works for me. 🙂

Good luck! Mitch

[Second_Chance]

Would something like this be too pricey?

Anderson blocks

We just use 2 x 10 pressure treated wood cut to 12" lengths... but we have a different situation, too.

Rob

[Grit_dog]

That's alot of height for blocks. I could see a good stack on one end or the other if the spot is a ways out of level, but not as a matter of course.
Are you running out of travel in the stabilizers at roughly 1' from the ground? Doesn't seem plausible that the camper stabilizers aren't even big enough to reach the ground.

All that said, I agree, having a pile of little plastic levelers seems excessive and expensive. Maybe bigger lumber? maybe 2 or 3 pieces of 6x6 lumber per corner, short blocks like 1' long?