Stabilizing Jacks - seriously?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by HABBERDABBER

I'd rather deal with a busted up stabilizer than a twisted trailer frame, if the stabilizer were instead welded on.

I'm pretty sure that if you towed the trailer away with a welded-on stabilizing jack still down, you would still be dealing with a busted up stabilizer and an intact frame... without rusty screw holes. A stabilizing jack bolted to a suitable bracket would be even better.

[John in Santa Cruz]

fwiw, I have the original "V" sort of BAL jacks on my 2014 21, and I mostly use a electric drill driver with a socket to drive them up/down, but I have a hand crank, too.. about once a year I squirt some white lithium grease spray on the threads and slider. they work great for me, never had any drama. if its a really long reach, I'll put a stack of RV 'lego blocks' under it, so it doesn't have to reach as far down.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I'm pretty sure that if you towed the trailer away with a welded-on stabilizing jack still down, you would still be dealing with a busted up stabilizer and an intact frame... without rusty screw holes. A stabilizing jack bolted to a suitable bracket would be even better.

a friend has a sprinter/airstream camper, quite nice, and he hauls a small 'wells cargo' style util trailer that he's fixed up for astronomy, with a power bank, solar chargging, ramps for rolling out his big gear. etc.

he forgot to lift one of the rear levelers on his astro trailer one year when he left early, and dragged this big ? shaped gash in the ground, you can see it on google satellite view:

yeah, hah its still there.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8196.../data=!3m1!1e3

that camp in the middle left with the bright blue square awning in the middle of a bunch of white stuff, thats me my Escape 21, F250, the Escape's carefree awning, and my 10x10 blue popup. my 20 inch telescope is out there in the middle.

[John in Santa Cruz]

heh, my escape per google view

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8198...!7i5376!8i2688

[dstreight]

After taking ownership of our 15A in June 2019, the bigger mileage trip came in October of that year. Mind you this is my first "American" style RV, albeit a small one. Formerly imported and extensively pulled a Kimberley Kamper all over including some seriously tough terrain...but I digress. Other 4x4 trailers came after the KK.

So, there we were, camped out near Mt. Rushmore and it had been raining on/off for a couple days. We found a little private campground to set up the night before going to visit M.R. on a nice patch of green grass. Thoroughly soaked, from all the rain, green wet grass but at least it was grass and not mud.

Woke up to pouring down rain, pulled up camp hastily and forgot to retract the new to me levelers. I figured it out but only after pulling the trailer about a dozen feet before realizing there was something wrong.

Fortunately just one leveler jack got bent. They are all held on with #10 or maybe #12 self cutting/tapping machine screws, but none pulled out. After we got home I was able to massage the bent leveler back to its original position; well almost ��.

So far, I have not forgotten to retract the levelers ��.

But since our 15A sits about 3-4" higher overall than when it was stock, with the new suspension and slightly taller tires, and the fact we don't have a ton of extra storage space for all the blocks we typically need, in the pull vehicle and certainly the tiny 15A, I'll be swapping out the levelers to the units I linked above sometime this spring.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

... he forgot to lift one of the rear levelers on his astro trailer one year when he left early, and dragged this big ? shaped gash in the ground...

And the trailer survived, right?

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

... you can see it on google satellite view:

yeah, hah its still there.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8196.../data=!3m1!1e3

that camp in the middle left with the bright blue square awning in the middle of a bunch of white stuff, thats me my Escape 21, F250, the Escape's carefree awning, and my 10x10 blue popup. my 20 inch telescope is out there in the middle.

I can see what is parked in my driveway in the satellite images from Google, but that gash in the ground is hilarious.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I'm pretty sure that if you towed the trailer away with a welded-on stabilizing jack still down, you would still be dealing with a busted up stabilizer and an intact frame... without rusty screw holes.

Yup. Had to straighten one once. No frame damage.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

And the trailer survived, right?


I can see what is parked in my driveway in the satellite images from Google, but that gash in the ground is hilarious.

it was still obvious a year later when we held the same event, and we continued to make fun of the poor guy who did it.

yeah, the trailer was a Wells Cargo style utility trailer that he'd heavily modified to be his astronomy gear transport, covered in solar, etc. not really sure why be bothered with stabilizers since its not living space or anything, he does all that inside his Sprinter. he's got a couple very high end and large/heavy telescopes he sets up. anyways, I think the stabilizer leg got bent but the trailer itself was fine.

[syspig]

I've no time right now to fix this how I'd like to, permanently with welded plates - but for others who want a "better than factory" fix, this works pretty well and is relatively quick and easy.

Drill out the stock frame holes to 21/64, thread with a 3/8-16 tap. Drill out the inside mount hole on the center angle iron to 3/8". Get some proper 3/8-16 bolts and call it a day. If you've a decent hardware store nearby, they might have these body bolts w/integrated washer - commonly used on truck frames, they're cheap and hold up really well to corrosion.



Not ideal but definitely more secure than the undersized, large pitched self-tapping screws.

[sleepy]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

a friend has a sprinter/airstream camper, quite nice, and he hauls a small 'wells cargo' style util trailer that he's fixed up for astronomy, with a power bank, solar chargging, ramps for rolling out his big gear. etc.

he forgot to lift one of the rear levelers on his astro trailer one year when he left early, and dragged this big ? shaped gash in the ground, you can see it on google satellite view:

yeah, hah its still there.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8196.../data=!3m1!1e3



that camp in the middle left with the bright blue square awning in the middle of a bunch of white stuff, thats me my Escape 21, F250, the Escape's carefree awning, and my 10x10 blue popup. my 20 inch telescope is out there in the middle.

Thanks for sharing- Google Sat images- so that you can be 'reminded' ...lol...

[SWCO]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

Not that I know of.

Also I have not heard of many falling off...yet.

The inboard self-tapping screws will fall off/out of the thin frame material. It was my experience that it is much easier to retrofit with a bolt and nut at home before the stabilizer is bent vertically from dropping down when that inboard screw falls out.

After about 12,000 miles/two seasons of travel the passenger-side inboard self-tapping screw fell out of our 5.0 TA. We found the stabilizer hanging only from the two outboard screws when we stopped at a campground a few days ago. The stabilizer was hanging dangerously low but had not hung up and was not bent laterally. After loosening the two remaining (outboard) screws I still could not get the two inboard holes (frame and stabilizer) to line up to insert a 1/4" bolt. Not wanting to create an oversized oval shaped hole, I used a come-along to pull the stabilizer in to get the two holes into alignment, drilled out the thin "L" metal of the trailer frame (hole in the stabilizer comes even larger than 1/4") and inserted bolt, nut, washers, blue locktite. After the new inboard bolt and nut were tight I loosened the two outboard self-tapping screws and added locktite to their threads before retightening them. I did the same work on the other stabilizer at home this morning and had no problem aligning the holes in frame and stabilizer and retrofitting with a bolt, nut, etc..

[Eggscape]

I will keep in mind your experience...

I am sure the person traveling behind you would have not appreciate your jack come hurling through their windshield.

Sometimes I do modifications to bring our trailer up to my standards...like putting bolts in the jack ends and welding down the propane mounting plate. However I know there are some out there that figure if it hasn’t failed, why fix it.

Just waiting for the day that someone posts that their propane tanks fell off on the highway. No problem however as the cheapo rubber line gave way...until they discovered it was jammed under their grey tank. Luckily the propane tank only had a small flame coming out of it and was soon put out when the grey tank melted.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

.... Just waiting for the day that someone posts that their propane tanks fell off on the highway. No problem however as the cheapo rubber line gave way...until they discovered it was jammed under their grey tank. Luckily the propane tank only had a small flame coming out of it and was soon put out when the grey tank melted.

I know I shouldn't, but the images this conjured made me out loud.

Thanks for the scenario, 'tragic-comedy' though it may be