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Old 09-28-2015, 04:40 PM   #21
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I was wondering about a composite deck material like Trex. It can be ripped and routed so I would imagine it could also be cut into disks to attach to the sand pads. .
Mmmm, my son just used that to do his deck. I'm going to have to look at his scrap. He already wants me to bring my truck over and take all of the scrap cedar end cuts from the railings....

Good idea.

And the pads are square, the pads that the RV store had that didn't fit were round.
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Old 09-28-2015, 06:52 PM   #22
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I have been looking for a place that sells that food grade white plastic like the kind they make cutting boards out of, but about an inch thick.
The place I used to go to for plastic has disappeared.
Anyways I want to screw the plastic onto the bottom of the foot plate so that I don't have to crank so much and the stabilizers will be a bit more stable.
You can cut up white cutting boards and just screw/bolt the pieces together to laminate whatever thickness you want. However, that material is UHMW and designed to be non-stick, so not too sure I'd want to depend on it to hold on a grade! Think I'd just use wood and replace it when it's worn out.
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Old 09-28-2015, 09:36 PM   #23
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You can cut up white cutting boards and just screw/bolt the pieces together to laminate whatever thickness you want. However, that material is UHMW and designed to be non-stick, so not too sure I'd want to depend on it to hold on a grade! Think I'd just use wood and replace it when it's worn out.
I don't think stabilizer grip should be an issue. Stabilizers manage vertical movement. Wheel chocks should be used to manage horizontal movement.
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Old 09-28-2015, 09:44 PM   #24
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That tree product is not to hard to work with but it's pretty dense and heavy. Would not absorb water in a puddle though. Deck builders would probably have some free scraps? Worth a try
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Old 09-28-2015, 09:51 PM   #25
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I was wondering about a composite deck material like Trex. It can be ripped and routed so I would imagine it could also be cut into disks to attach to the sand pads. I had a jig to cut circular disks on my (sold) table saw but there are other ways to do it. To reduce weight a hole saw could probably be used to remove material without affecting performance.

I would not use any artificial decking material. Its recycled plastic stuffed with max amounts of sawdust and I doubt it would have adequate torsional strength ... especially if "lightening holes" were cut into it. Think you would be ahead by stacking glued together plywood for an adequate thick sandwich.

Or

Diamond plate aluminum top and bottom with plywood center sandwich with lightening holes hidden between the aluminum plates.

I don't know?

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Old 09-28-2015, 10:06 PM   #26
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I'd just buy a bag of Lynx Levelers.
Oh wait, I did.
Made of plastic, they don't absorb water and are relatively light weight.
They are already full of holes.
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Old 09-29-2015, 12:40 AM   #27
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I don't think stabilizer grip should be an issue. Stabilizers manage vertical movement. Wheel chocks should be used to manage horizontal movement.
Single-leg stabilizers can help quite a bit with horizontal movement side-to-side as well, which is good because no matter how well they are chocked, tires are a bit wiggly side-to-side... and the tongue jack doesn't do much horizontally. I'm not talking about keeping the trailer from sliding away down a side slope, just reducing the amount is jiggles around as people move in it.

I added this style of stabilizer to my current trailer, and they help.
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Old 09-29-2015, 09:38 AM   #28
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Single-leg stabilizers can help quite a bit with horizontal movement side-to-side as well, which is good because no matter how well they are chocked, tires are a bit wiggly side-to-side... and the tongue jack doesn't do much horizontally. I'm not talking about keeping the trailer from sliding away down a side slope, just reducing the amount is jiggles around as people move in it.

I added this style of stabilizer to my current trailer, and they help.
I had never noticed much if any movement in that plane in my little trailer but it also had 4 single leg stabilizers with lots of extension length which under normal conditions created a very wide and stable stance on large metal sand pads.
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Old 09-29-2015, 10:17 AM   #29
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It is really about trying to set up or take down in the rain.
Running around, squatting down and handling slimey pieces of wood sort of sucks...
I'm just trying to simplify those parts of the task.

And, I guess if the pads on the end of the feet were thicker, they would have a wider stance and be more stable and with less cranking.
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Old 09-29-2015, 10:21 AM   #30
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We routinely have blocks under stabilizers because the stabilizers are only supposed to be extended so far.
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Old 09-29-2015, 10:22 AM   #31
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You can cut up white cutting boards and just screw/bolt the pieces together to laminate whatever thickness you want. However, that material is UHMW and designed to be non-stick, so not too sure I'd want to depend on it to hold on a grade! .
Point taken. Thanks.
I can, with some work, double cut a 'file' like surface on one side.
Lots of passes on a table saw...

what is UHMW?
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Old 09-29-2015, 10:34 AM   #32
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It is really about trying to set up or take down in the rain.
Running around, squatting down and handling slimey pieces of wood sort of sucks...
I'm just trying to simplify those parts of the task.

And, I guess if the pads on the end of the feet were thicker, they would have a wider stance and be more stable and with less cranking.
Exactly! And if ETI could just install a stabilizer with a greater extension instead of trying to sell me a bag of plastic blocks...
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Old 09-29-2015, 10:44 AM   #33
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Point taken. Thanks.
I can, with some work, double cut a 'file' like surface on one side.
Lots of passes on a table saw...
I made interlocking levelling boards with 45 degree saw cuts about 1/2" apart and 1/4" deep on the bottom board which prevented sliding.

This is an early prototype

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Old 09-29-2015, 10:45 AM   #34
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In the past 10 years of camping I have yet found a spot where I could not extend my stabilizers properly, if I did, I moved. I'm sure Bill if you encounter such a spot and decide not to move, perhaps an after market stabilizer can be added by yourself. Most bolt on, I've always liked the B@L model that extends
both from one side.
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Old 09-29-2015, 11:22 AM   #35
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Exactly! And if ETI could just install a stabilizer with a greater extension instead of trying to sell me a bag of plastic blocks...
It looks like BAL has longer versions

BAL - Innovative Products for the RV Industry
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Old 09-29-2015, 11:27 AM   #36
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what is UHMW?
Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene. I have a small amount of odds and ends purchased from Lee Valley on clearance.They sell an assortment of sizes up to 3/4" thick. It is pricey IMHO.

I have used it for table saw slides and carved a replacement door part for a dishwasher from it.
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Old 09-29-2015, 11:37 AM   #37
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Stabilizer blocks

Like Jim, I rarely encounter a campsite where the stabilizers on the 19, won't reach the ground and do their job. However, should I encounter the need, I carry some pieces of one by six about 8 inches long. I can stack a couple up and that will usually do it. If I need more than that, I usually move a little or put some dirt in the hole. I use scraps of western red cedar that I have at home.
As a long time camping ritual, when we've been out for several days and are going to return home the next day, we usually have a nice campfire on the last night. As it gets late, and nobody wants the night to end, I round up the spare blocks and announce to all present " We're going home tomorrow, got to, cause I'm burning the blocks." Then I throw them into the fire for one last bit of campfire. Good for a laugh at the time.
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Old 09-29-2015, 12:39 PM   #38
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Like Jim, I rarely encounter a campsite where the stabilizers on the 19, won't reach the ground and do their job. However, should I encounter the need, I carry some pieces of one by six about 8 inches long. I can stack a couple up and that will usually do it. If I need more than that, I usually move a little or put some dirt in the hole. I use scraps of western red cedar that I have at home.
As a long time camping ritual, when we've been out for several days and are going to return home the next day, we usually have a nice campfire on the last night. As it gets late, and nobody wants the night to end, I round up the spare blocks and announce to all present " We're going home tomorrow, got to, cause I'm burning the blocks." Then I throw them into the fire for one last bit of campfire. Good for a laugh at the time.
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Old 09-29-2015, 03:13 PM   #39
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Was working with a logger last night till well after dark making decorations for my son's wedding. He had a trailer there for hauling logs he was reinforcing, welds looked lice they were put on with a butter knife. Smooth and even, no grinding needed. Find a logger, you'll find a welder nearby. Them guys are hard on things. Made lots of cookies about a foot in diameter.
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Old 08-26-2017, 12:28 AM   #40
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We own an Escape 19. We lived in the Yukon, a level campsite is rare.
I purchased and installed scissors Jacks about five years ago. It only takes a few minutes to level the trailer. We have camped with one set of wheels hanging seven inches off the ground.
It only took me about an hour to install. The jacks.
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