What advantage does the X-Chocks design (retail or homemade) have over doing a good job chocking up the trailer with regular chocks? I'm actually genuinely curious.I have quite a few chocks that I cut myself from a 6x6. When I get to a site I'll drop a chock behind each wheel. I'll then have my wife push the trailer back until the tire begins to ride up the chocks. I then slip a chock in front of each wheel and give it a kick. Once the truck is in neutral, the tire settles into this cradle. The tires still touch the ground, just cradled.On a recent trip, before I put the jacks down, the wife and kids started piling into the trailer. I noticed that even with all that movement, the tires were pretty immobilized. The trailer would rock side to side, but the tires did not move. In general we get very little wiggle in the trailer once the jacks are down. Maybe it has something to do with the way I cut the chocks. I cut them so that they match the curvature of a tire.

You only need 2 X-Chocks. You don't have to wiggle the trailer around to get them tight. They can't be accidentally kicked out of place, or sink down into soft ground. They don't get muddy from being on the ground. They are lighter than chunks of wood, and work better than curved plastic chocks.

coolmom42 wrote:You only need 2 X-Chocks. You don't have to wiggle the trailer around to get them tight. They can't be accidentally kicked out of place, or sink down into soft ground. They don't get muddy from being on the ground. They are lighter than chunks of wood, and work better than curved plastic chocks.And not suitable for actually "chocking" the trailer, ergo the reason the manufacturer includes a note in every box of X-Chocks warning against using them as a "parking brake". X-Chocks are designed to reduce suspension wiggle when walking around inside the camper, not to chock it. Any yes, any in-between tire chock can easily fall out of position if they're set in place while the tires are still hot, then cool as they sit.

I have used the X-chocks for about 8 years now. My biggest issue with the regular chocks is when I lift the tires to level side to side and put them on boards. sometimes the regular chocks don't seat too well.And I use them to lock the front to back rocking. I don't care what the safety manual says.

I have a different brand that operate in function like X-chocks. The trailer is solid and if you tried to drive off with them still installed they would skid the tires. Any movement back and forth, no matter how small, wreaks havoc on your stabilizer welds. I know it is low on the rating scale but I do appreciate that they stay off the ground and don't get muddy.

I made the home-made x-chock.... out of treated 4x4's and black pipe/HF clamps.... and there are parking type of brake... trailer can not move .. period.

X-Chocks vs, Regular Chocks | Good Sam Community

35 Replies

bdlaise
Explorer
Jun 19, 2016
I have a pair of homemade x type chocks, a pair of the yellow camco ones, and the basic wheel chocks (wedge style. I use the wedge style for quick set up when I don't need to worry about leveling. I only issue I have is that after the tires cool down I re-tighten the x chock
SoundGuy
Explorer
Jun 14, 2016
al7601 wrote:
Is there a correct torque when making them tight? I just got them but don't want to over tighten.

It's no different than setting your stabs - no specified torque, from snug just give 'em a couple more turns as you see fit.
al7601
Explorer
Jun 14, 2016
Is there a correct torque when making them tight? I just got them but don't want to over tighten.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Jun 14, 2016
samhain7 wrote:
THanks SoundGuy. But it's still not clear to me if the smaller set would fit my tires. The spot on my tires where they are the closest is 7". That means likely where the pads meet the tire on the chock, it would be over 10" no?

Norco's minimum and maximum measurements are in reference to the X-Chock's centre pivot point which is where your tires are closest together ... in my case that's just 2.25", in your case 7", but in either case the standard X-Chock will fit just fine.
samhain7
Explorer
Jun 14, 2016
THanks SoundGuy. But it's still not clear to me if the smaller set would fit my tires.
The spot on my tires where they are the closest is 7"
THat means likely where the pads meet the tire on the chock, it would be over 10" no?
SoundGuy
Explorer
May 31, 2016
samhain7 wrote:
What on your set up do you have to measure to know which size X-Cholks you need?

Distance between adjacent tires. Standard X-Chocks are rated from 1 & 3/8" to 10", the X-tended Fit X-Chock will fit a spacing as wide as 17".
samhain7
Explorer
May 31, 2016
What on your set up do you have to measure to know which size X-Cholks you need?
SoundGuy
Explorer
May 31, 2016
Chuck_thehammer wrote:
Trailers do not have parking brakes... just the nose jack ..

True, not here in Canada or the US but in other parts of the world parking brakes are a required safety device.

For anyone who believes hot tires don't shrink as they cool and confidently use just X-Chocks to secure their trailer this is visual proof of my own trailer this past weekend that proves otherwise. In the first pic the widest spacer I could fit between the rubber tire chocks was 34 mm wide, a couple of hours later I could easily fit a 44 mm wide spacer. That's a 10 mm difference, almost 0.4 inches, and yes, the X-Chocks loosened up noticeably as the tires cooled. :E
Community Alumni
May 31, 2016
She must have been going for the gold lol. I've tried to drive over a pair of my chocks before just testing to see what would happen. It took quite a bit of effort from the truck to get over them. I've left one or two down there by accident plenty of times on accident. It's pretty clear when there's one left behind.
IDoMyOwnStunts
Explorer
May 30, 2016
Well, since the wife once pulled the horse trailer right over the regular chocks (I wasn't there), I've been a fan of the X-chocks.

Forum Discussion

X-Chocks vs, Regular Chocks

35 Replies

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

X chock vs ONEstep chock

X-Chock Instructions

X-chocks

X Chocks

x-chock Tire Locking Chock