Need advice on trailer jacks...

[Padilen]

My friends brought their trailer over, I had them park it on 2x8's. When I went to level it, with the tongue Jack all the way down. I had to add 2 more 2x's under the tire's to level. Plus 2x under rear BAL jacks. And my scissor Jack on one side. Took time, but not 2 hours. So I suggest - level as possible parking spot. At least one extra non mounted Jack. At least 2 stabilizer jacks mounted at rear of trailer. And some 2x.
I have an axle flip on my trailer. Before I added it I camped and had to dig divots for my rear stabilizer jacks. I had parked on 2x's but still couldn't swing backs down. I also use screw type Jack stands.


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[Hader]

So I suggest - level as possible parking spot.

Amen to that.

[edgeau]

That savajack idea is brilliant! I think I'll make something like that

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[Hader]

That savajack idea is brilliant! I think I'll make something like that

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I would love to see what you come up with. I've got some other ideas to improve on the DIY I posted.
I don't want to hijack this thread. I'll post some to my build.

Thank you RandyH for bringing this up, I'm sure others do and will appreciate it. It was one of the main challenges in our build.

[lrrowe]

I like the BAL jacks. They look like they were made for this kind of trailer.



Mike...

Interesting use of the jack stands.

[PaulzOx]

I kinda like the idea! The price is $70 for 2. I'll have to come up with my own build and save the $140.
Video shows how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxv66ZzZlFY

What an awesome idea... looks like I have a new todo on my CTC!

Paul

[tsyj]

I made a 12" long plate out of a piece of 2x8 pine that I put (2) carriage bolts through, then mounted it to the underside of my floor.
When I get to camp, I simply put the jack under the trailer and lift it up enough for it to slide onto the carriage bolts and then I put a wing nut on each bolt to hold everything from shifting around.
Now that I know it works, I will replace the standard pine with some PT when I insulate and seal the underside.

[RandyH]

These BAL jacks may be what I need....anyone using these?

https://www.amazon.com/BAL-23225-Set-Jacks-Handle/dp/B002P2TWBE/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1481766444&sr=1-2&keywords=bal%2Bjacks&th=1

[PaulzOx]

These BAL jacks may be what I need....anyone using these?

https://www.amazon.com/BAL-23225-Set-Jacks-Handle/dp/B002P2TWBE/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1481766444&sr=1-2&keywords=bal%2Bjacks&th=1

I have 4 of them on my trailer, mine are 25" and i love them. i also added the sand pads thingys (yest that is a technical term).

Paul

[jerry4570]

I've had small, large and very large travel trailers and always hated cranking jacks down, I used a cordless drill and it was still more trouble than it shold be. I installed these

On my cargo trailer and they're so simple, they fold up against the floor and dont extend below the frame. you push them forward and they swing down, then you insert a rod and push down a couple of times and they're done. in the picture they're in the collapsed position and 90 degrees off of when they're installed.

[mrwall1]

I've had small, large and very large travel trailers and always hated cranking jacks down, I used a cordless drill and it was still more trouble than it shold be. I installed these

On my cargo trailer and they're so simple, they fold up against the floor and dont extend below the frame. you push them forward and they swing down, then you insert a rod and push down a couple of times and they're done. in the picture they're in the collapsed position and 90 degrees off of when they're installed.

I had these on my teardrop loved them.... except the jack handle that came with them bent the first time I went out.... and I didn't bring anything else that would fit Lol... but nice for stabilizing the unit

[hankaye]

tsyj, Howdy;

I made a 12" long plate out of a piece of 2x8 pine that I put (2) carriage bolts through, then mounted it to the underside of my floor.
When I get to camp, I simply put the jack under the trailer and lift it up enough for it to slide onto the carriage bolts and then I put a wing nut on each bolt to hold everything from shifting around.
Now that I know it works, I will replace the standard pine with some PT when I insulate and seal the underside.

One question that comes to (my), mind is ... how do you prevent the floor from bulging up where you have the jacks
attached to the floor and not to the frame?
Wouldn't you be pushing the floor up over and away from the screws that are attaching it (floor), to the frame.

hank

[NO David!]

+1 on the folding "stab jacks" that mrwall1 and jerry4570 mentioned. I had 4 welded to the frame of my 7x16 at the factory. They are great. Quick fold, set tension with a piece of rebar, and you're set. When you don't need them, they fold neatly out of the way.

I carry 4 blocks to use under them when needed since I have leaf spring axles (no drop) for better ground clearance. Sometimes if I'm on a slight incline, I'll have to block one end and not the other, for example. Makes a really stable camp site.

I guess you can only see one in this picture, it's all I have with one setup that you can see.

[tsyj]

tsyj, Howdy;

I made a 12" long plate out of a piece of 2x8 pine that I put (2) carriage bolts through, then mounted it to the underside of my floor.
When I get to camp, I simply put the jack under the trailer and lift it up enough for it to slide onto the carriage bolts and then I put a wing nut on each bolt to hold everything from shifting around.
Now that I know it works, I will replace the standard pine with some PT when I insulate and seal the underside.

One question that comes to (my), mind is ... how do you prevent the floor from bulging up where you have the jacks
attached to the floor and not to the frame?
Wouldn't you be pushing the floor up over and away from the screws that are attaching it (floor), to the frame.

hank

Hey Hank, somehow I missed your post. I am taking into consideration that the 2x8x12 pine is spreading the load around to the ~90 square inches of surface area and the fact that the point is so close to where the edge of the 3/4" plywood fastens to the frame. You could make your plate even larger if you were that worried about it.

Also, there's not much weight in the rear of my trailer....95% of the weight is from the axle forward when we are sleeping in it. I really don't even need the jack because I can't physically put my body that far back into the trailer now with the bulkhead in. It is there mainly to prevent the trailer from rocking ever so slightly when we are moving around (tossing and turning) at night because I hate that "clunk clunk" noise.



If your axle was more toward the front, I would just make a bigger plate to spread out the load even more and possibly fiberglass reinforce that area. 3/4" T&G subfloor is pretty dang tough.