Leveling Issue

[John in Santa Cruz]

I find things go much smoother if the car is in a straight line with the trailer.

thats often not practical, especially when the ground slopes side to side, and you have to put levelers under one side of the trailer, but the tow vehicle of course remains parallel to the ground. its even worse if the trailer spot is at one angle, and the vehicle is at another.

I use the andersen levelers, which are also chocks...



and on the other side, I use a pair of hard rubber chocks like these...

[h2owmn]

John in Santa Cruz: re, accidental edit.

No problem at all. IF ONLY that was the biggest irritant of my day. My credit union was taken over by another one and it is the biggest snafu I have ever witnessed. and I used to work in education. So, a big thanks for being concerned.

[gbaglo]

My sister went to the funeral home today to pick up my dad's ashes. Got home and the name on the box was somebody else. How's that for a snafu?

[CharlesPou]

if you're having trouble getting your trailer parked, leveled, and unhooked, just be careful. this is something that can get you hurt bad, like smashed foot, broken leg, or worst. I've been lucky over the years, and survived the dreaded false hitch, and trailer swinging wildly to one side with me standing next to it. just saying, be careful. cheers

[John in Santa Cruz]

i've never had the 'stirrup hitch' on the escape not come off the ball as long as I roll the truck forward a half inch or so after leveling and chocking the trailer. i tend to back up onto the Andersens, then put the holding wedges in, then let the truck roll forward so the weight is balanced, then chock the opposite side wheels.... if I do all this that way, it usually isn't a problem at all.

ditto, after dropping the hitch onto the ball in preparation for leaving, I sometimes have to roll the truck forward to make it taut, before the stirrup will lock in place. then I can raise the nose jack, kick the plain wedges out from under the tires, backup an inch or two to take the weight off the Andersen holding blocks,. toe them out of the way, then roll forward off the andersen curved wedges.

if I get sloppy and try and shortcut that, it often bites back.

[cpaharley2008]

We always use the B@l-X-Chocks between the tires, in addition to the rubber chocks and levelers. They eliminate a lot of "torsion axle movement" one can have even with chocked tires. By locking the suspension they really keep the movement minimal.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

We always use the B@l-X-Chocks between the tires, in addition to the rubber chocks and levelers. They eliminate a lot of "torsion axle movement" one can have even with chocked tires. By locking the suspension they really keep the movement minimal.

We had to replace both our Dexter axles. Both times we were asked how we chock our camper. Dexter specifically asked if we used X-Chocks. We had the same rep both times. Apparently Dexter feels that X-Chocks have bent a few spindles. They feel only after the camper is set and disconnected from the tow vehicle can you use X-Chocks. Think about what can happen if there is too much movement by your tow vehicle. We were advised this 15 years ago when we purchased the first version of a X-Chock type product (it was hard to use and now sits in a box).

So again, only after we've chocked and disconnected the camper do we use our X-Chocks.

Food for thought,

Perry

[flynfrfun]

Curious if the latching mechanism for the ball is adjustable on these trailers? It is on my small cargo trailer. If adjusted too tight you can't get the ball in the hitch.

[Mark B1]

Originally Posted by Perryb67

So again, only after we've chocked and disconnected the camper do we use our X-Chocks.

Agreed. When you lift the trailer off the hitch and level it front to back after unhooking from the TV, if the X-chock is already in place the front tire will go up/down with the hitch jack torquing the two tires against each other. If the X-chock is tight it will lift against one of the tires and put increased down load on the other rather than sharing the load. As you are referring to, this will load the hubs differently than normal movement with a long moment arm from the jack position.They should not be tightened until the trailer is level in the longitudinal (fore/aft) position. If the ground is not level, we chock the wheels with regular wedge type chocks until we are unhooked and level. We will then use the X-chock if we want additional stability.

[Rossue]

This discussion about using X-Chocks before or after unhitching is on other forums too with some waiting until after and others prior to unhitching. If you are in a level paved campsite that is one thing. In dispersed sites it can be quite another and have had the tongue swing right or left several feet after coming off the ball despite using heavy rubber chocks. For that reason I use the X-chocks a lot- not always- prior to unhitching and after leveling side to side. Have never had a problem in six years and my tires wear just fine so I know there is no problem with the spindles.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by flynfrfun

Curious if the latching mechanism for the ball is adjustable on these trailers? It is on my small cargo trailer. If adjusted too tight you can't get the ball in the hitch.

No, none of the yoke-style couplers (the yoke is the U-shaped part that comes down over the front of the coupler to latch) are adjustable; they don't need to be.

[kvermeulen]

Try using vaseline, its not as dirty as grease.

[bonitaraders]

Thanks.. I have been using the graphite..

[bonitaraders]

Wow!! Thanks for all this info!! Now I need to read it a few more times.. I might have additional questions Some of it I need to look up and find pictures of what you'll are referring to. I am a woman and all this doesn't come as natural to me as it does to others. I've been doing this for years first with my Casita and now with my 21 foot Escape and a definitely still learning.

As I said I do chock my wheels front and back but when I'm trying to level I have a problem. Last time I just let it sit unleveled because I didn't want to fight with it.. I'd already put it back on to put the tongue back on my wood block 2 times..

[Meandering Minstrel]

I often have a problem with the hitch coming off of the ball also. As others said you just have to wiggle the towing vehicle a little bit usually front and back to get it to loosen up. Hopefully escape will use a different type of hitch in the future because there are much better hitches that don't do that binding thing. That being said, always chock the wheels. I use the x chocks that go between the tires and those things are fantastic.

[bonitaraders]

I have the x chicks and will start using them but need to understand when to put them on..

[padlin]

Are you using them for stability, or like regular chocks, to keep the trailer from rolling away? If it's for stability, you'd use them all the time. If it's for safety, then just when you think you need the extra margin. I used mine when parked on hills. Most others use them all the time. For me, they were the last thing to do when leveling and stabilizing.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by bonitaraders

I have the x chicks and will start using them but need to understand when to put them on..

park the trailer, level it left to right via leveling blocks, andersen style wedges, or whatever your choice is, then install the X Chocks as part of chocking the wheels in place, then unhitch, and raise/lower the nose jack to level the trailer front to rear, and put down the stabilizers.

[Meandering Minstrel]

I put the X-Chocks between the wheels as soon as I have the trailer leveled up side-to-side. Then I unhitch the 21NE, roll the truck away, and level it front to back.

[Rossue]

Yep, exactly. Remember to cinch the X-chocks tight.