Are jacks necessary?

[Lfoxmont]

I have a 1982 13' Burro that I just bought. I've seen pictures of other units and noticed jacks set up in the rear of the unit. Should I buy jacks to use? Where does a person buy these jacks? Thanks!

[glamourpets]

It depends on how fussy you are I suppose. Its a lot more comfortable living and sleeping in a trailer that is level. I also find that I sleep better on a level bed (or possibly my your head slightly elevated). Can you do without? Yes, most definitely. Should you do without? That depends on your personal preference.

You will find there is a lot of discussion about axles on this forum. You will probably find that your trailer axle lasts longer if you take the weight off it during the off-season. You could probably use some sort of blocking arrangement, but jacks would make life easier.

My suggestion would be to do some camping without, then add them if you find there is a need for them.

Derek

[Lfoxmont]

Thanks Derek......where do you get jacks?

[rabbit]

Camco Stack Jacks, set of four 34$ and change, free shipping at Amazon Prime. Similar available Wally Mart, auto parts, farm/home stores. These are screw type jackstands; they are not jacks in the sense that they are not designed/intended to lift weight although they will function in that manner if you apply enuf leverage to the crossbar.

There are also retractable folding stabilizers (about 16$) from Scamp Trailers and other sources. Typically, two of these stabilizers are found welded or bolted to the rear bumper of small trailers, one each side. If not provided, a jackstand such as the Stack Jack is the appropriate substitute. You do need these when the tow vehicle is unhitched. 4 to 600lbs of human being in the rear dinette of a small trailer WILL cause the trailer to pivot on the wheels, possibly lifting the tongue at least momentarily. Not a pleasant sensation; even if the weight isn't sufficient to upend the trailer onto the bumper, this movement can also dislodge chocks and cause wheel movement.

The usual tongue jack which provides leveling capability does not assist with lateral stability as you enter the trailer from the side door or move about. Customarily, two additional jackstands are placed near where the sides of the A-frame tongue (if you have one, some trailers have pole tongues) meet the parallel frame under the trailer.

The most frequent and primary role of jack stands is to stabilize the trailer in a single position and attitude and limit the effect of moving wgt. (humans) inside the trailer. I think the possible uses of jackstands (in conjunction with bottle jack for actual lifting or jacking) to provide safe and secure support during tire changes and for seasonal relaxation of torsion axles can be left for another time (or another ambitious contributor).

jack

[Lfoxmont]

Jack.....thanks so much! Do the rear jacks go under the attached metal bumper thing or under the actual fiberglass back? I realize this probably sounds totally stupid but I am a true newbie.....thanks for your patience!

[rabbit]

Stay off the glass body and stay off of light gauge box frames when possible (there are exceptions and simple support on each side of the tongue is one and as jackstands when tire changing is a another). Get the trailer level fore and aft and place one each end of bumper and raise the screw only enuf to firmly support the bumper at the hgt. established by leveling the trailer. I'm not sure what the "attached metal bumper thing" is but if it turns out to be a "mechanism" attached to the underside of bumper, don't place jackstand under that either as it may well be the retractable stabilizer I spoke of. Little trick to deploying those; leave that to someone else's descriptive abilities.

jack

[rabbit]

. . . and there are no stupid questions but there are ... people who don't ask about what they're certain they SHOULD know. Better to know you don't know and confident enuf to admit it! Best of luck; it's not that steep a learning curve.

jack

[Donna D.]

A lot of times, folks mix the terms jacks when they really mean stabilizers. You can use jacks to stabilize the trailer. If you put a "jack" near the bumper area, DO NOT lift the trailer off the wheels. For the most part the frames are not built to handle the stress and it will twist. If you need to jack the trailer up to change a tire, put a jack close to the wheel... on the frame... not the axle.

The type of jacks or stabilizers used is a personal preference. Nearly any kind will work, it depends on your budget, how much time you want to futz around with them, etc., etc.

[Lfoxmont]

I looked at my printed out manual from this site and it shows jacks that can be bolted to the back bumpers.....I went out and looked......there are holes in the bumper but no jacks. I guess I'm asking about what I should use to help keep my unit level while parked. I checked with my local RV store and they carry inexpensive "jacks" that I can use under my back bumper that just slip under.......I'm not asking about anything to actually lift the camper.....God forbid I get a flat.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by rabbit

. . . there are no stupid questions but there are ... people who don't ask

Sounds better to me, hopefully others.

[Donna D.]

Linda, those are often called "stab jacks." Scamp sells them: 18 inch Rear Bumper Jack

But, IMHO... I hate those things. I owned my trailer for a year and removed them. It seemed I needed a "half-hole" or different piece of wood to make them work. Besides the fact they hung at the bottom of the bumper and were loaded with road rash. Every time I deployed those suckers my hands got so dirty, I had to scrub them before I did another thing... and that included opening the door to the Scamp. YMMV

See if the jack for your tug will work for your trailer... if you ever need to change a tire. But, find out before you need it!

AND, you don't jack up a trailer to level it. You level side to side at the wheels (either boards or lego blocks) and level front to back at the tongue jack.

The jacks you are talking about are only used to stop the wobble when moving around inside the trailer.

[Lfoxmont]

So do you use anything to balance your camper?

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Lfoxmont

So do you use anything to balance your camper?

I don't know who is "you." I use Wayne Stabilizers and a BAL leveler.

[Pam Garlow]

trailer leveling - YouTube

Here's a vid that shows the Bal leveller that Donna mentioned. I don't personally use it, I just back my trailer up onto some boards to level side to side.

[Carol H]

I use leveling blocks like these. They come in handy to put under under your jacks as well if the ground is uneven.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

..........If you need to jack the trailer up to change a tire, put a jack close to the wheel... on the frame... not the axle.
........

Donna, why is this? Is the axle tube wall thickness so thin that the jack would dent it? I've noticed that the frame adjacent to my axle is thin enough that a jack distorts it when I jack up my trailer.

[Carol H]

Thomas, I suspect your correct. Scamps have two 3" x 1 1/2" tubes running down the length of the trailer that they suggest we use for jacking up. I use them and not seen them dent. My manual reads:

"Jacking up the trailer: On the trailer there are two min beams made out of 3 inch by 1 ½ inch tubing, one on each side. Either of these can be used as a point to jack up the trailer. Jack should be placed close to the axle or toward the rear of the trailer, so that the whole weight of the trailer is not on one point. WARNING: The rear bumper jacks are not intended to be used as a jack for changing tires. A scissor jack, hydraulic jack, or a floor jack should be used. "

[rabbit]

Or a screw jack, like those usually found in cars and trucks.

Certainly don't want to attempt to place a jack under light gauge box frame member or the torsion arm to lift, and Tom is, imo&e, correct about the main axle housing being stiff enuf to be a better jack point than the adjacent frame. Carol quotes the "gospel" according to Scamp, so you can adopt that as your professed method if you own a Scamp. (The official Scamp view of dropdown stabilizers as useful for leveling might make you wonder, but that's another story.)

Sometimes, there's an alternative to either axle housing or frame. On our Burro, the vertical mounting flange (welded to frame) protrudes below the mounting flange of the axle. So, whether bolted or welded (ours is bolted), that flange is a good jack point for a small bottle jack with the "X" depression in thehead of the jack piston. 1/4" of steel may not seem to some to be solid bearing for a jack but is plenty if the base of the jack is on a firm surface (and that surface better be firm or made firm with whatever you have at hand). Some of you may never have considered what the cross-shaped depression in the jack head is for; now you know. This particular bottle jack is from a 70s Toyota truck and most jacks supplied with motor vehicles have a similar head. Once jacked up, your very useful and versatile [not] jack stands should be placed under the box frame fore and aft of the tire you're changing to add a margin of safety. Running up the screw to "snug" won't even mar the paint let along distort the tubing.

One additional piece of advice. It would never occur to you to unhitch your tow vehicle "before" changing a flat on the side of the road but it may also never occur to you just how important the hitched condition is to changing wheels or packing bearings at home. You do need the coupler end anchored in place. The tongue jack (even stabbed in the mud with the foot removed) is simply not enuf resistance to lateral movement which might drop the trailer off the jack and jack [sic] stands. And please remember to set the emergency brake in the tug.

jack

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Pam Garlow

Here's a vid that shows the Bal leveller that Donna mentioned. I don't personally use it, I just back my trailer up onto some boards to level side to side.

So that's what they are. Thanks for posting the photo, I had no clue! (Oops, did I just admit to being clueless?)

[rabbit]

First time I've seen the BAL single-piece chock. At 55 bucks the copy I'll go on kickng in plastic chocks. Come to think of it, it doesn't look like it has much bearng on tire or gound and the 'turnbuckle' adjustment down in the dirt looks over-engineered and under-useful. I can tolerate the price, weight, mess, and footprint of the BAL leveler as I find it easier to deploy than oversize LEGGOs and stacks of dimensional lumber.

jack