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Old 09-18-2014, 12:57 AM   #1
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how high can you raise your legs?

Hi guys,

How high can you raise your legs? And by this i do mean the frontlegs of your 5.0

Since most campgrounds are not level at all we do need to raise those legs quite high to get the 5.0 level. (i'll measure it when the rain stops falling overhere in Germany).

Although it works it seems to make the trailer a bit wobbly when standing.

So do you raise your legs high? Or do you use bigger blocks under the legs?

Am i just cautious or just being a sissy?

I wonder which it will be....

Have fun!

Severinus and Yvonne
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Old 09-18-2014, 05:45 AM   #2
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From what I've read it's better to use bigger blocks, so you don't have to put the legs out so far. I think they tend to be less stable the further out they are.
We use 2 - 2x8 pieces of wood screwed together - about 8" long-thus we have 4"x8"x8" blocks with a strap attached- so far they seem to work well.
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Old 09-18-2014, 06:32 AM   #3
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I'd use more blocks. I worry less about wobble and more about tweaking the landing gear. Having one leg bent could be most problematic when it's time to load up and go home.
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Old 09-18-2014, 06:37 AM   #4
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Hi: Seef... We used blocks I made from a piece of 4"X4"cedar fence post screwed to a 5/4ths. deck board. Our 5.0 had the axle lifted 2&1/2" to get over a GMC Sierra full sized pickup truck so I felt the extra high blocks necessary. We only ever lost one as it blew out of the truck box at 60 mph in a 50 mph cross wind. That was a surprise!!!
At home our trailer parking space is very sloped at the front so the legs need to be out quite far and the 5.0 is no "Chorus line dancer". Alf
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Old 09-18-2014, 08:54 AM   #5
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We raise our legs, without blocks. With the rear stabiizers, then placed down, we find the trailer quite stable.
Height of the legs when extended?- Do you need a measurement?
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Old 09-18-2014, 11:08 AM   #6
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We got scrap wood from some 8" beams a friend was installing on their house and carry them with us to put under the legs. They give us at least 8 inches and don't weigh much. The trailer is much more stable when the legs are minimally extended instead of way out there!
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Old 09-18-2014, 04:30 PM   #7
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We have a 19' and ours are limited to about 35 cm, I think. I assume you have something different on the 5.0, not the same stabilizers. You might find info in among papers that came with the trailer. That's where our limit came from. We use blocks.
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Old 09-18-2014, 05:31 PM   #8
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I say keep the blocks to the minimum. If your trailer ever comes off the blocks you will wish you had never used them. There is a hitch support that can be used to stabilize the trailer. Escape Trailer Industries has them but they should be available at most RV trailer places.

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Old 09-18-2014, 05:51 PM   #9
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Unfortunately, blocks are just necessary many times and there is nothing to do about that. Of course, the 5.0 is different in that respect, able to use a support. With possible slipping which may be unavoidable, chocks become very important. There are rubber chocks that are much less likely to slip than the plastic ones commonly used.
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Old 09-18-2014, 08:27 PM   #10
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With my larger trailer and my motorhome I used blocks as much to spread the load on the ground as to increase height - my current ones are about 40 cm square and the thicker ones are about 12 cm thick - so they are stable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Floating Cloud View Post
We have a 19' and ours are limited to about 35 cm, I think. I assume you have something different on the 5.0, not the same stabilizers.
The front legs (or jacks, or "landing gear") on an Escape 5.0 (and 5.0TA) are tongue jacks... the same type of thing that is on the tongue of the other models. There are just two of them, sticking up into the body so you don't see most of them, and carrying a lot of load because they are further back.

These jacks - and the larger jacks normally used on larger fifth-wheels - don't have much lateral stability, so there are various wiggle-reduction methods.

Quote:
Originally Posted by GerriJ View Post
...There is a hitch support that can be used to stabilize the trailer. Escape Trailer Industries has them but they should be available at most RV trailer places.

The tripod supporting the fifth-wheel pin is commonly used by people who stay in the same place a long time (because it takes time and effort to set up). I think these are used as much to support the overhanging part as to stabilize it, but in any case it wouldn't work for Seef because he converted the pinbox to another system and so it doesn't have a standard pin to match the tripod's head.

Another common solution to the wiggle problem is to add diagonal bars which laterally brace the leg ends to the frame, such as the JT Strong Arm Jack Stabilizer System.
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Old 09-19-2014, 01:16 PM   #11
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Hi guys,

Thanks for your replies, i took a while for me to answer, we were on the road back to home and WiFi was not available everywhere.

i took some measurements, the trailer is a bit wobbly when the legs are extended about 45cm, which happened more than once during the trip to Tuscany since camping grounds tend to be sloped over there.

So to get the trailer leveld it was sometimes needed to extend the legs about 45-50 cm and using some wood of about 2.5cm.

Most people seem to use bigger blocks so i will be on the look out for some big blocks of 8-10 inch or create something that big.

We arrived home today and on level ground the trailer only needs about 25-30 cm of leg hight, tested it, it is very stable now.

So agaIn, thanks for your replies and helping us figuring out the best way to do things.

Have fun!

Severinus and Yvonne
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Old 09-24-2014, 01:02 PM   #12
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See post #4. We appreciate those big blocks which came to us with "Escape Hatch" From end of July until last Sunday trailer was parked in a sloped spot where I could nearly walk under the front without stooping

We got a tripod too and if you wonder what's under the kingpin it's the top of fifth wheel I took off to use as a kingpin lock then of course later found the KP Alf left us.

Seef glad to hear you had a good trip to Tuscany.

Adrian
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Old 09-24-2014, 01:07 PM   #13
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Try again to get the pic to attach - well it did sorry it's sideways
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