Stabilizing jacks don't really stabilize much at all

[NickG]

If this has been discussed (I can't believe it hasn't), I was not able to find anything in a quick search for it.

I recently bought a 2012 Forest River Flagstaff 27BHSS. It has electric stabilizer jacks in which I thought was an added bonus. My previous travel trailer was a 2001 Mallard 30E and is also the only other one I ever had.

I assumed the jacks would steady the trailer since the ones on my old Mallard did a great job. This Flagstaff may be different due to it being a "superlite", which I define as "flimsy". Still, shouldn't I expect a reasonable amount of steadiness? With the jacks fully down, the entire trailer reacts to anyone walking up the steps into the door. I can tell who it is by the amount the trailer moves. Also, If a kid turns over in a rear bunk, we feel the trailer rock all the way up in the front bed.

I can't be the only one experiencing this. What might our options be? Add more jacks?

[Lynnmor]

At a large RV show, I found that the electric jacks were almost useless compared to the usual scissors jacks. They didn’t have enough pressure on the concrete floor to prevent skating when pushed or pulled sideways from a corner

[LarryJM]

hbrady wrote:
Someone else here posted this so I can't take credit but this is the method I use and it works very well.

HEREare the jacks I purchased.

Jacks Method: The whole "SECRET" here is in the where and how you put and set these 4 jack stands. You might have to do a little experimenting based on the specifics of your trailer and it's living layout and who uses it. The first secret is to get the support much closer to the suspension points and I have found based on our 31'+ TT that about 4 to 6 ft in front and to the rear of each axle is a good target area. The second just as important step is in how you set these jack stands up. This is where that electric tongue jack is a life saver. You need to start with the trailer about 1" down by the tongue and put the rear jack stand in and "SNUG THEM UP" hand tight. Then you raise the tongue of the trailer about 2" "TONGUE HIGH" and put in the front jack stands and again "SNUG THEM UP" hand tight. Then you lower the tongue till all weight is off and then raise it again to just get a good pressure on it. Some will caution about "tweaking" the frame when putting pressure on these jack stands, but IMO that just is not an issue since we are only now talking about most support being across a span of between 8 and 12 ft and to the close to 30' if trying to support the entire span of the trailer on the existing stabilizer jacks. Also, you're not "LIFTING" the wheels off the ground you just need to get a real good upward force on the frame at those points. I actually measured the force when I dialed in my new system with my Sherline tongue scale and had around 400lbs of force on each jackstand. Now if once you find the best new locations for these jackstands you can remove and discard the old front jacks and depending on how well the overall stability is from movement in the rear of the trailer you might be able to also remove those rear stab jacks or if needed deploy them to just take out the "FRAME FLEX" component from that 10' or so span between your new rear jack stands and the actual rear of the trailer. As a consideration you might even store the removed jacks and put them back on when you get rid of the trailer so the next clueless owner won't feel he's not getting what is generally installed on trailers now days.

Your quote is from me and is still what I use and have been for almost 10 years now and while I didn't go into that aspect here, but only hinted at it the method you described DOES WORK VERY WELL and has been used by several other owners with EXCELLENT RESULTS.

Larry

[Huntindog]

NickG wrote:

Durb wrote:
Some electric stabilizers are ganged meaning one switch lowers both rear stabilizers at the same time. If you have these it is critical that they are block sufficiently so that both stabilizers hit your blocks at the same time. If not you may only have ground pressure on one stabilizer. I used to lower the rear stabilizers with the tongue a little low. Then use the tongue jack to bring to level and load the rear stabilizers more. Then firm up the front stabilizers and then firm up the tongue jack a bit.

Mine DO have the one-switch for both jacks. However, if one touches first, that one does not bind while the other continues down. When the other touches, the resistance transfers the pressure to both jacks. Knowing how this works tells me I could have another inherent issue. If the jacks "pivot" to allow them both to contact before the pressure reacts to both of them, then they really aren't very stable to begin with. There will always be that pivot point that is not locked in.

True, but the big advantage of this system is that it always maintains equal pressure on the jack legs.
IOW, it is impossible to rack the frame with these jacks. You can add something like the JT strong arms to eliminate the pivot, but then you could end up racking the frame if the jacks settle into the ground unevenly.

So I would only use the JTs when camped on a concrete or asphalt pad.

[hbrady]

Someone else here posted this so I can't take credit but this is the method I use and it works very well.

HEREare the jacks I purchased.

Jacks Method: The whole "SECRET" here is in the where and how you put and set these 4 jack stands. You might have to do a little experimenting based on the specifics of your trailer and it's living layout and who uses it. The first secret is to get the support much closer to the suspension points and I have found based on our 31'+ TT that about 4 to 6 ft in front and to the rear of each axle is a good target area. The second just as important step is in how you set these jack stands up. This is where that electric tongue jack is a life saver. You need to start with the trailer about 1" down by the tongue and put the rear jack stand in and "SNUG THEM UP" hand tight. Then you raise the tongue of the trailer about 2" "TONGUE HIGH" and put in the front jack stands and again "SNUG THEM UP" hand tight. Then you lower the tongue till all weight is off and then raise it again to just get a good pressure on it. Some will caution about "tweaking" the frame when putting pressure on these jack stands, but IMO that just is not an issue since we are only now talking about most support being across a span of between 8 and 12 ft and to the close to 30' if trying to support the entire span of the trailer on the existing stabilizer jacks. Also, you're not "LIFTING" the wheels off the ground you just need to get a real good upward force on the frame at those points. I actually measured the force when I dialed in my new system with my Sherline tongue scale and had around 400lbs of force on each jackstand. Now if once you find the best new locations for these jackstands you can remove and discard the old front jacks and depending on how well the overall stability is from movement in the rear of the trailer you might be able to also remove those rear stab jacks or if needed deploy them to just take out the "FRAME FLEX" component from that 10' or so span between your new rear jack stands and the actual rear of the trailer. As a consideration you might even store the removed jacks and put them back on when you get rid of the trailer so the next clueless owner won't feel he's not getting what is generally installed on trailers now days.

[rbpru]

It has been my experience, the cheapest way to solve an annoying TT problem is to ignore it; or you can spend a lot of money.

As mentioned, to get a TT really stable, usually requires more than the stabilizer jacks.

[Stefonius]

I use a pair of Camco stabilizing jacks under the frame rails just ahead of and behind where the axles' spring shackles mount. That takes all of the bounce out of the trailer, period. If I'm not staying for long, I just use one set in front of the axles (about the middle of my 36' trailer). My next rig is going to have 6 point auto-leveling. I'm getting too old and fat for all this bending over.

[NanciL]

You can get "stabilizing jack stands" at Walmart in the RV section (four for $50).
When I put our new 2017 Forest River on a permanent site, I used them. I put them under the frame at all four corners. That helped a bit, but not enough. Then I used four more and put one under each wheel axle shackle, and that made it even more solid.
I finally added concrete block piers with shims. Three on each side under the frame and that made the unit rock solid.
Naturally if you are moving the trailer around you can't do that, so you'll have to put up with some movement.

Jack L

[mbopp]

NickG wrote:

Durb wrote:
Some electric stabilizers are ganged meaning one switch lowers both rear stabilizers at the same time. If you have these it is critical that they are block sufficiently so that both stabilizers hit your blocks at the same time. If not you may only have ground pressure on one stabilizer. I used to lower the rear stabilizers with the tongue a little low. Then use the tongue jack to bring to level and load the rear stabilizers more. Then firm up the front stabilizers and then firm up the tongue jack a bit.

Mine DO have the one-switch for both jacks. However, if one touches first, that one does not bind while the other continues down. When the other touches, the resistance transfers the pressure to both jacks. Knowing how this works tells me I could have another inherent issue. If the jacks "pivot" to allow them both to contact before the pressure reacts to both of them, then they really aren't very stable to begin with. There will always be that pivot point that is not locked in.

Bingo! Our previous trailer had Lippert electric stabs and it rocked along the longitudinal centerline since there was no way to lock the pivot point. I used to put a flea-market automotive scissors jack under each side of the frame near the axle, they helped but didn't totally eliminate the rocking.

[LarryJM]

coolmom42 wrote:
All the electric part does is run them down for you. It will help if you put them on some sort of pad, and tighten them every day. But the trailer is still sitting on its suspension and tires, which will flex. The X-chock type devices will help, but the only true way to stop it is to jack it up and put solid support under the axles and get the weight off the tires.

IMO this is the ONLY CORRECT ANSWER ... however all you really have to do is to support the suspension and tires with about 1 1/2 times the weight working down on them. This support needs to be solid and not like from stabilizers that have all the pivots and joints.

Larry

[wowens79]

I think chocking can make a difference in stability. I just use regular chocks, but I've found that backing up onto the chock a little, then placing the chock in front of the wheel makes a big difference in stability.

I haven't tried the X-Chock yet, but I think it would help.

[NickG]

Possible cheap alternative? Looks too simple, but this guy says it works...

Wobble Stopper

[NickG]

Durb wrote:
Some electric stabilizers are ganged meaning one switch lowers both rear stabilizers at the same time. If you have these it is critical that they are block sufficiently so that both stabilizers hit your blocks at the same time. If not you may only have ground pressure on one stabilizer. I used to lower the rear stabilizers with the tongue a little low. Then use the tongue jack to bring to level and load the rear stabilizers more. Then firm up the front stabilizers and then firm up the tongue jack a bit.

Mine DO have the one-switch for both jacks. However, if one touches first, that one does not bind while the other continues down. When the other touches, the resistance transfers the pressure to both jacks. Knowing how this works tells me I could have another inherent issue. If the jacks "pivot" to allow them both to contact before the pressure reacts to both of them, then they really aren't very stable to begin with. There will always be that pivot point that is not locked in.

[NickG]

Thanks for the responses. Just a few notes...

-I am aware that I will never get the trailer rock solid, but I was hoping to get it to perform like my last one.

-I do use wheel chocks, but don't see how that stabilizes with the suspension still being active. I see these as safety items for anti-roll, but doing little to ward off up/down shake.

-I do use the orange, plastic stackable blocks, but did not use them on my last trailer. I will try the old wood blocks I used on the old one.

-I do adjust the jacks to compensate for settling. However, I have this issue on my concrete driveway as well.

-While it's possible the electric motor does not have the power to put enough pressure on the frame, I believe they do. Knowing I should not be trying to "bend" the frame with the jacks, they do set in hard and actually move the trailer up a bit when I let them dig in.

I believe it is possible that this trailer design simply has a more inherent wobble factor. My plan is to make something that will go between the axle and frame to lock out suspension jounce.


From the answers here, I think I will go back to wood bases under the jacks, minimize the extension lengths, do something that locks out the suspension, and maybe add a manual jack near the steps.

I do appreciate the many responses. If there is not one already, I'd love to see a stabilizing "sticky". There is a lot to know beyond the obvious, and I'll bet many people have improvised with great results.

[Durb]

Some electric stabilizers are ganged meaning one switch lowers both rear stabilizers at the same time. If you have these it is critical that they are block sufficiently so that both stabilizers hit your blocks at the same time. If not you may only have ground pressure on one stabilizer. I used to lower the rear stabilizers with the tongue a little low. Then use the tongue jack to bring to level and load the rear stabilizers more. Then firm up the front stabilizers and then firm up the tongue jack a bit.

[firemedic1992]

The only way to truly stabilize a travel trailer or fifth wheel is to use the JT Strongarms

I have put them on 2 Fifth wheel trailers and they make the trailer rock solid.