Is it safe to go inside while it is on jacks?

[Rzrbrn]

Bingo Glenn. Replacement of the Torsion axles on vintage Foretravel motorhomes supports your comment. If anyone doubts this go over to the Foretravel Forum.

[Tom 72]

Fully agree, everyone should raise up their torsion bar trailers on jacks, and I should be 2 inches taller. Both are about as likely.

[WizWid]

Originally Posted by Scamper881

Any and all units that have torsion bar suspension should be suspended if they are going to sit for a long while. You want the tires to be off the ground. If you fail to do this, over time the torsion bars will compress permanently, and then you functionally have no suspension (no "bounce" so to speak) except for the flexing of your tire walls. (Think of this as being like replacing struts and leaf springs with solid steal bars.) This can lead to tire failure, not to mention that it severely vibrates everything inside the unit, and potentially could result in structural failure where the axle assembly attaches to the unit.

How much does this really "add" to the life of the axle?
What if your trailer doesn't sit for a "long while" because it is used year-round?
Will the sky fall?

[amy in maine]

Well...it's no bother to me so I'm guessing it won't hurt if I do jack it up no?
I mean I'm going to put her through snow storms and freezing cold out there it's the least I can do for her!

I'm not saying EVERYBODY has to do it, I'M just going to and just wanted to make sure it'll be ok to go in and fix things up in there while on the jacks! Haha!

[steve dunham]

The axle on my 1999 Scamp 16 ft failed after only 13 years .
Was it because the PO left the weight on the axle all winter , I don’t know
I drove to Backus Mn and had the axle replace ,cost was around $500

[Jon in AZ]

Curious, Steve... What was the failure mode? Hardened? Rubbing? Splayed arms & inside tire wear? Also, what was the rating?

I suspect most axles are showing some ride degradation by then. But a failure is rare.

[Scamper881]

Originally Posted by widgetwizard

How much does this really "add" to the life of the axle?
What if your trailer doesn't sit for a "long while" because it is used year-round?
Will the sky fall?

The sky will not fall as far as I know, but I'm sure you will have to replace the axle sooner. Just when is likely to be quite variable. I don't know how you test to determine that a replacement is needed, and would welcome feedback on that.

[mary and bob]

Light powdery snow comes off good with a leaf blower

[Rzrbrn]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The axle on my 1999 Scamp 16 ft failed after only 13 years .
Was it because the PO left the weight on the axle all winter , I don’t know
I drove to Backus Mn and had the axle replace ,cost was around $500

Previous Owner (PO): Could be the PO or a tire service jacked the trailer up by putting the jack directly on the axle, resulting in a bent axle. May not have had anything to do with the torsion arm.

A tire service told me this is standard practice when I asked specifically that they not do this.