Forum Discussion

myredracer's avatar
myredracer
Explorer II
Oct 23, 2013

Ultra-Fab Power Twin II stabilizer jacks?

Have been toying with the idea of upgrading to the Power Twin II electric stab. jacks instead of using the Lippert ones. The Lippert ones have waay too much flex in them for my liking. If you look at them from the rear when someone walks into our trailer, the jack moves and flexes a LOT. The trailer is just too bouncy inside, even with bottle jacks added ahead of the wheels.

Ultra-Fab Power Twin II

We could add the BAL lock-arm stabilizer bars (or equivalent), but it seems ridiculous to have to add stabilizers to the stabilizers. That's around another $200 cost and you need to bend down to set them up. So there goes the convenience of a switch to set down your jacks.

The Ultra-Fab ones claim to prevent side-side and fore-aft movement.

Has anyone used these and do they like them? One thing I do wonder abut is the lifting capacity. I wouldn't want them for lifting but what if you over-tightened them when setting up your trailer on a site? Could you inadvertently damage the frame? Is there a potential for denial of warranty coverage on a frame?

The only other thing I can think of doing is strengthening the Lippert jacks somehow.
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Oct 31, 2013
    brulaz wrote:
    sljkansas wrote:
    I found on mine, that if the rear stabilizers are lower more that 3/4 the way down they are not as steady. I carry 2 8X816 blocks to put under them, and it helps a lot.


    THat was the case with the scissors jacks on my old trailer. But these new electric stab jacks have a sort of A-frame support that comes down with them. IT seems to make them a lot more rigid. So far I've just needed to use my 10x10 lumber pieces when the ground is soft.

    Even on uneven ground they work without blocks. According to Lippert it somehow senses the pressure and adjusts each side individually so they exert the same pressure.
    That is the big difference between the dual motor UF and the single motor Lippert.
    The Lippert system makes it impossible to rack the frame.
    The "C" channel cross piece rides inside a slightly larger "C" channel. When the first leg hits the ground, it stops lowering and the motor continues running while the inner channel , motor and screw drive slide inside the larger channel, and the opposing leg lowers until it hits the ground. Both legs then raise together maintaining equal pressure between them.

    This system is IMO the best available. While it is not perfectly stable, it is VERY good. Much better than the other older systems.
    The original screw jackstand jacks are of course the most stable, but they do have drawbacks in ease of use. Especially when boondocking on soft ground which often requires restabilizing every day or two.
  • brulaz's avatar
    brulaz
    Explorer
    Oct 31, 2013
    sljkansas wrote:
    I found on mine, that if the rear stabilizers are lower more that 3/4 the way down they are not as steady. I carry 2 8X816 blocks to put under them, and it helps a lot.


    THat was the case with the scissors jacks on my old trailer. But these new electric stab jacks have a sort of A-frame support that comes down with them. IT seems to make them a lot more rigid. So far I've just needed to use my 10x10 lumber pieces when the ground is soft.

    Even on uneven ground they work without blocks. According to Lippert it somehow senses the pressure and adjusts each side individually so they exert the same pressure.
  • sljkansas's avatar
    sljkansas
    Explorer
    Oct 31, 2013
    I found on mine, that if the rear stabilizers are lower more that 3/4 the way down they are not as steady. I carry 2 8X816 blocks to put under them, and it helps a lot.
  • mikeb9550's avatar
    mikeb9550
    Explorer
    Oct 31, 2013
    Is that $600 just the pair correct? Its not my money but that seems like a lot of cash for something that takes two seconds with an electric drill. I have the old fashion ones that are firm as a rock. Now if they were leveling jacks for $1500.00 I would be the first in line to buy them.

    Also, your suspension and frame could have something to do with the bounce. My old trailer would bounce like crazy. My new one bounces less without the jacks than the old one did with the jacks.
  • brulaz's avatar
    brulaz
    Explorer
    Oct 31, 2013
    myredracer wrote:
    We have the Lippert electric stabilizer jacks with the single motor that came as an option on our TT.

    Just not impressed with the strength of the Lippert jack. I am really surprised how much the stab. jack flexes and moves around when someone walks into the trailer. The horizontal piece that runs between the I-beams flexes and the angled arms that attach to the legs bend/move quite a bit at the through bolt. I was going to take a video of it and post on Youtube but never got around to it. The basic scissor jacks are superior at minimizing bounce inside the trailer. It bothers me that for the $500+ that we spent on the Lippert jacks, the trailer moves around and bounces so much.

    I could reinforce the Lippert jacks, but that's a lot of work. I'm currently thinking of getting Ultra-Fab Eliminator stabilizers (for the stabilizers). Ultra-Fab Elminator

    I have not been able to find any information on the internet about how well the Ultra-Fab jack works. But the more I look at pics of the Ultra-Fab, I don't see how it could be much better than the Lippert one and I'm not buying Ultra-Fab's claim that it completely eliminates movement.


    Agree the Ultra-Fab and Lippert auto-jacks look very similar and probably behave alike. Not sure why our experience is different from yours, but I've been happy with our Lipperts on the Timber Ridge.

    Are you sure that the "Eliminator" can be fitted to either one of those? I've heard they work well with regular scissors jacks.
  • myredracer's avatar
    myredracer
    Explorer II
    Oct 31, 2013
    We have the Lippert electric stabilizer jacks with the single motor that came as an option on our TT.

    Just not impressed with the strength of the Lippert jack. I am really surprised how much the stab. jack flexes and moves around when someone walks into the trailer. The horizontal piece that runs between the I-beams flexes and the angled arms that attach to the legs bend/move quite a bit at the through bolt. I was going to take a video of it and post on Youtube but never got around to it. The basic scissor jacks are superior at minimizing bounce inside the trailer. It bothers me that for the $500+ that we spent on the Lippert jacks, the trailer moves around and bounces so much.

    I could reinforce the Lippert jacks, but that's a lot of work. I'm currently thinking of getting Ultra-Fab Eliminator stabilizers (for the stabilizers). Ultra-Fab Elminator

    I have not been able to find any information on the internet about how well the Ultra-Fab jack works. But the more I look at pics of the Ultra-Fab, I don't see how it could be much better than the Lippert one and I'm not buying Ultra-Fab's claim that it completely eliminates movement.
  • DaddyLonglegs's avatar
    DaddyLonglegs
    Explorer
    Oct 31, 2013
    I installed the Power Twin II on my 2002 HR trailer. I have been very satisfied with the operation and support received from Ultra Fab. After a year of use had a motor go bad. UF sent me new motor at no cost.
  • brulaz's avatar
    brulaz
    Explorer
    Oct 29, 2013
    Not sure which Lippert jacks you are referring to, but our new trailer has Lippert powered stab jacks that look identical to what you are linking to. Except they have a single large motor instead of two.
    Middle of this page

    That general design really does work eliminating forward/back as well as side to side motion. I can jump up and down in the trailer and barely feel it move.

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