Stabilizer Jack Orientation

[Capebuild]

Regarding installation of the 2 stabilizer jacks at rear of chassis..... is there any benefit to orienting the jacks at a 45° angle to the chassis frame
or is it better to just mount them in line with the frame? Please see attached image for reference as to what I'm referring to.

Thank you.

John

[TimC]

I think it is really personal preference. Ease of access to deploy them might be your best guide.

I have two of a similar style. They are mounted at a 45 degree angle. I actually never use them. If I was on very uneven ground I probably would deploy them but for stability of the trailer to avoid doing a wheelie I think I'd have to climb on the galley countertop and jump up and down to get the tongue off the ground. I have good tongue weight designed into my teardrop.

[saltydawg]

I initially had them side to side, and had a lot of front to back sway. I went to 45 degrees and now its solid, I used the bal c jacks.

[working on it]

..... is there any benefit to orienting the jacks at a 45° angle to the chassis frame or is it better to just mount them in line with the frame?

... I actually never use them. If I was on very uneven ground I probably would deploy them ... for stability of the trailer to avoid doing a wheelie.... have good tongue weight designed into my teardrop.

I initially had them side to side, and had a lot of front to back sway. I went to 45 degrees and now its solid, I used the bal c jacks.

* I've never used the "Bal C" jacks personally, but have known those that do, usually angled at 45 degrees. My travel trailer (20ft Puma) has four scissor jacks, one at each corner, and it's very stable. My 4x8 squareback trailer is a one-off design (whatever works), with different stabilizer types and reasons for their use.

* Initially, I seldom used the rear pipe-clamp drop-down stabilizers at all, preferring to just leave the trailer hooked to the truck, no matter the angle. Then, I used them, along with the usual front tube jack (with sand foot) to level it better (though the tube jack allowed some wobble, being loosely ring-mounted on the tongue). My firm suspension really doesn't allow much movement at rest, so it wasn't a problem.

* Later on, I modified the tube-type tongue jack, adding an eight-inch jockey wheel, so I could roll it around (the tongue weight, at 260+ lbs, is a bit much for me to lift and tote). I added a 5000lb scissor jack on the tongue, so it now serves as a third point (discounting the tires) to anchor/level the trailer at the campsite (on my last trip, the wind was so strong, I actually wished I had anchored it down). If I don't plan to make any side-trips, I'll probably leave the trailer hooked to the truck, as there are always strong T-storms whenever I camp.

[Capebuild]

Thank you all for the suggestions and comments. I'll most likely not leave the trailer hooked up to the tow vehicle as we tend to poke around away from the trailer ( using the pipe clamps is pretty innovative use for stabilizers).... but that being said, at first I thought since the trailer really would only shift front to back, kind of rotating about the wheel axle (if in fact it was going to move), my thought was to just mount them in line with the frame. But I see the wisdom of mounting them at 45° angle to the frame.... so thanks for sharing that.



John

[gudmund]

the 2 mounted at the rear that came mounted on my trailer when I bought it, were mounted 'right/left' swinging opposite outward to each side. Have been working just fine for the 3 years I have had the trailer so far. At first, I thought they were kind of a joke - but once I figured out their purpose = they work fine!! One of the guys in our trailer group has them mounted at all 4 corners and many-a-time I have seen him with all four down, holding up the whole trailer off the ground level for days at a time.

[Sparksalot]

When I built Rose, I used the screw jacks at all 4 corners. Over time I quit using them in the rear, just in front to stabilize things with me in the cabin. Later I got tired of the th8ngs always being in the way so added Bal-C jacks, again on the front corners. Mine are mounted where I could find existing points to use. They’re about 20 degrees from perpendicular to the outside rails.

Stabilizers and sleeping guard.


Old style hated em jack.

[Az Pete]

My experience, over the past 25 years and several trailers, is 45 degrees for best stability.

[Shadow Catcher]

Our wheels are chalked and the tongue jack has a sand foot, Axle in the right place and in 14+ year we have not felt a need/desire for stabilizers.

[CavediverSam]

45 degree is best
Too much movement any other way


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[tony.latham]

Our wheels are chalked and the tongue jack has a sand foot, Axle in the right place and in 14+ year we have not felt a need/desire for stabilizers.

I'm in the same boat and the water is dead calm.

I purchased my first teardrop in 2004. It had stabilizers and we didn't use them after the second or third trip. There was no need for them. My teardrops have evolved from then. No stabilizers.

People seem to either feel they are necessary or wonder why others use them. My theory is --it's the length of the chassis. I wish I could do a poll here that split folks into two groups. The eight-foot crowd vs. the ten-foot crowd. Six bits says the shorter teardrops either use stabilizers or wish they had them.

John aka Capebuild:

Remind me to ask you at the end of next summer if you use them. But don't get me wrong, now's the time to install them. Obviously. Just food for thought within the community.



Tony

[Capebuild]

Thank you all again for your thoughts RE: stabilizer jacks. Being
my first build I think I’d rather have them and find I don’t use them,
than rather not have them and find I wish I had them. We’ll see if I wind up using
them. I’m going to bolt them on so I can easily remove them if I find I never use them
and save a few pounds.

John

[Socal Tom]

Stabilizers do 2 things for you.
1) in windy conditions they stabilize the trailer, they aren't really meant for leveling, but they can help a bit with that.
2) if you unhook from the TV, they keep it from flipping back ward if you don't have enough tongue weight.

- Why to unhook
1) If your trailer isn't level when hooked to the TV, it might be necessary to unhook
2) you want to take the TV someplace without moving the TD.

FWIW, I use my stabilizers almost every time I camp. I often camp in areas that aren't very flat, getting the TD level is a lot easier without the TV attached.

[working on it]

... in windy conditions they stabilize the trailer....

* Normally, on 2-3 day trips, I don't unhook from my truck, with enough supplies (especially ice) to last that length of time, and don't let down the rear stabilizers (hooked to the truck, they just barely touch the ground, and exert no lift or force to keep the already-stable trailer steady(er?).

* On some 3, and all 4 day trips, I do unhook, and dip the nose of the trailer before dropping my gravity-controlled stabilizers, then I raise the nose via the tongue's scissor jack, until the trailer is semi-level (I prefer a 5% rearward slope, to facilitate roof drainage, and to keep the onboard A/C at its' proper level). I'll need the truck available for side-trips, or food (ice) runs.

* There are always strong T-storms whenever I camp, no exception. My trailer is heavily-built enough to never move or shudder even in high winds (can't say the same about my canopy or porta-potty tent), but on my last trip, even with the trailer set firmly on the two stabilizers, scissor jack, and chocked on both wheels, there was a gust of wind about 1:30 one night, that moved my trailer just a little (and nearly wrecked my canopy and tent).

* My campsite was the most exposed on a point on a larger lake, unseasonably cold and windy (my site and a couple of others were called the "wind tunnel"), and every body stayed away. 100 yards away, underneath the trees, other campsites were much warmer and radically less windy. If I ever camp there again, I'll know to avoid the "wind tunnel", and if I can't, I'll leave my heavy trailer (2220+ lbs) hooked to my even heavier truck (7500+ lbs?).

[Modstock]

Mine are inline with the frame.
Haven't had any problems with them staying put. Most people don't know how to use them properly.

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