Trailer stability while parked

[Dog_Trainer]

We had a great maiden voyage and made it to fL. we are now parked and using our new TT for the 1st time. It is a triple slide 30' long.
Our biggest disappointment is the bounce we feel when someone walks through the TT even our small dog causes a lot of bounce.
I am on a cement pad the front of the trailer is only about 15" off the ground when level. I have the electric stabilizers and have tried putting a little more pressure on them. I have an X chock on 1 side and standard chocks on the other.
I think this is quite comnmon and so just hoping to get info on products and techniques to help eliminate this.

[rbpru]

We level as best we can then drop the stabilizer jacks. It is an RV so it is what it is. We get what the setup gives us.

Now if I were setting up for a long term stay, I would jack it up on concrete blocks and level it.

[goducks10]

What's happening is the TT is wiggling side to side and up and down. To get rid of the side to side you need diagonally stabilizers like JT Strong Arms. You need one set for the front and one in the rear. Without the rear one the TT will still get side to side movement from tire flex. One diagonal brace running from one stab to the frame will cure the rear. Same for the front.

The up and down movement can be stopped by using screw jacks under the frame right next to the axles. One jack per side. Doesn't have to be so tight that it lifts the TT, just enough to not let the TT sag. A good snug up is all that's needed.

BTDT with out last TT @31' On concrete or black top is was real solid. Gravel and dirt good but not great.

[hawkeye-08]

Ron3rd wrote:
Had the same problem when I went to the longer 35 ft trailer. You need to determine if the movement is front to back, the X Chocks will help with that, or up and down, the X Chocks will do nothing for that. A scissor jack under the axle works wonders. I chased this problem for some time and tried an old scissor jack I had in the garage and that got rid of most of the movement. I'd try that first or even experiment with a bottle jack if you have one on hand. Don't put too much pressure on the axle, it doesn't take much.

Our last trailer had some bounce/wiggle. The wheel chocks and extra screw jacks took care of it. I would not put jacks under the axles since that would only remove tire wiggle/bounce, but leave the suspension wiggle/bounce. I put my jacks on the frame either just in front of front axle spring hanger or just behind rear axle spring hanger and had no more problems..

Set of 4 cheap screw jacks from Walmart.

[Ron3rd]

Had the same problem when I went to the longer 35 ft trailer. You need to determine if the movement is front to back, the X Chocks will help with that, or up and down, the X Chocks will do nothing for that. A scissor jack under the axle works wonders. I chased this problem for some time and tried an old scissor jack I had in the garage and that got rid of most of the movement. I'd try that first or even experiment with a bottle jack if you have one on hand. Don't put too much pressure on the axle, it doesn't take much.

[BubbaChris]

The frame-flex and reading too many forum posts had me worried and considering options. Then I reconsidered after doing a post-trip cleaning of the TT with only the tongue jack down (no stabilizers). A world worse without the stabilizers.

I reminded myself they're called "stabilizers" for a reason. Taking it a step up would change the name to "immobilizers" if truly effective.

IMO, the advise to work on supporting the frame close to the wheels will get you the most bang for the buck if you want to cut down on flex. You can go with simple screw jacks to start with.

[_tiredTeacher]

There will be movement as long as any of the TT's weight is on the suspension. All the above mentioned solutions will mitigate this movement, but will not eliminate it.
DW and I went in the other direction with our solution. Our solution is free of charge and requires no extra set up time or effort. We ignore it.

Teach

[camp-n-family]

Bounce or wiggle? The stabilizers when set firmly should take out the bounce. You may want to consider a 3rd set in the middle close to the axles. Stacking blocks under the jacks to shorten the extension can help too. The longer they extend the less stable they become.

Our long tt didn't bounce much but it did wiggle with any movement inside. Solved it by adding JT Strongarms to the stabilizers, all 4 corners. No more wiggle or bounce. Best investment/ mod so far.

[RoyB]

My trailer uses manual scissor jacks on the four corners of the trailer and also a tongue jack. I also use 12x2 boards under each of the jacks.

I like to lift the front door area just a tad higher than the back side to allow run off water from the air conditioner to drain to the back side of the trailer. My trailer has to be very level from end to end otherwise my access door does not open freely.

Being manual jacks allows me to be more firm on setting-up each side.

My trailer is not as long as yours but is pretty firm when setup.

Roy Ken

[therink]

Longer trailers are going to bounce as the frame will flex a bit. There are 2 things I have done to minimize the bounce. 1) I installed Bal locking stabilizer bars on front and rear Jacks. This almost eliminates side to side and front to back movement. 2) For the frame flex/bounce I use small bottle jacks under the axle equalizer on each side, just putting enough upward pressure to tighten up the axle suspension at center of trailer. Some folks have installed scissor jacks just fore or aft of the axles. I am thinking of doing this myself.

[spadoctor]

I use a 3rd set of stabilizers in front of the front axle....2 x-chocks I made....and BAL stabilizer arms ( their version of JT Strongarms and a hell of a lot cheaper). Its almost perfect....as perfect as possible that is.

[Halmfamily]

We installed the Steadyfast on our fiver and it made a huge difference, especially when the washer is in the spin cycle. We also use X Chocks on both sets of wheels. I still feel some movement when my teenagers are moving around but pretty darn solid now.

Only took a couple of hours to install the Steadyfast system and the company president emailed me to make sure the install went well and gave me his personal cell phone number if I had issues. Now that's service.

[prichardson]

You cannot expect a trailer to be as firm underfoot as a home. Even a house on pillars has a support at the minimum every 3 feet; and that is with framing far beefier than a trailer.

[RJCorazza]

I also x-chock on both sides.

[MarkTwain]

Dog Trainer wrote:
We had a great maiden voyage and made it to fL. we are now parked and using our new TT for the 1st time. It is a triple slide 30' long.
Our biggest disappointment is the bounce we feel when someone walks through the TT even our small dog causes a lot of bounce.
I am on a cement pad the front of the trailer is only about 15" off the ground when level. I have the electric stabilizers and have tried putting a little more pressure on them. I have an X chock on 1 side and standard chocks on the other.
I think this is quite comnmon and so just hoping to get info on products and techniques to help eliminate this.

suggest X chocks on both sides of trailer.

[jmiller]

2 words. Steady fast. Love ours and works GREAT. check out there website