Boler Jacks

[John Jesse]

I have a 74' Boler and I find it to be a huge pain to level up the trailer with the 4 screw type jacks that I have. I would really like something that is easy to deploy and level and is quite sturdy. I thought about ordering two of the rear jacks from Scamp but I am not really sure how they work and if they will fit on the Boler. The rear bumper part of the frame is only 6 to 8 inches above the road with the trailer level.

Any Ideas?

[Roy in TO]

A BAL leveler will quickly level you from side to side. You then drop the nose using the tongue jack, place your 2 jacks under the rear so they are snug. Then you raise the nose using the tongue jack to level and place your front jacks snugging them up.
From there I decide how much stability I have, that is how much spring of the axle is affecting the body and will crack up each jack 1/2 to a full turn each.

It sounds like your frame is a little low though.

[Des Nolan]

Originally Posted by John Jesse

I have a 74' Boler and I find it to be a huge pain to level up the trailer with the 4 screw type jacks that I have. I would really like something that is easy to deploy and level and is quite sturdy. I thought about ordering two of the rear jacks from Scamp but I am not really sure how they work and if they will fit on the Boler. The rear bumper part of the frame is only 6 to 8 inches above the road with the trailer level.

Any Ideas?

Although hard to find, probably antiques by now, I use an old Volkswagen jack (originally inserted in a side-slot to tip up the whole Beetle) under each rear corner of my '77 boler bumper, and a scissor-jack at the tongue.

This set-up is small, light and and microscopically adjustable.

Des

[Donna D.]

Are you really attempting to jack the trailer in the corners to level it? Side-to-side leveling is done at the tires, front-to-back leveling is done at the tongue jack. To level completely, all you really need is something to lift one wheel so it's level side-to-side, and use the tongue jack up or down to level front to back.

Like Roy I use a BAL leveler for the tire and I also use a plain ole tongue jack. To get perfectly level takes about 5 minutes. Others prefer to pull up onto chunks of wood, or blocks.

YMMV

[DonDeutsch]

HI Donna, I level the way you do, but I still use rear corner jacks. These are really to stabilze front to rear, so we can walk around without tiping for and aft. Don't you have this problem?

[Rick G]

Originally Posted by John Jesse

I have a 74' Boler and I find it to be a huge pain to level up the trailer with the 4 screw type jacks that I have. I would really like something that is easy to deploy and level and is quite sturdy. I thought about ordering two of the rear jacks from Scamp but I am not really sure how they work and if they will fit on the Boler. The rear bumper part of the frame is only 6 to 8 inches above the road with the trailer level.

Any Ideas?

I used small automobile jack stands at the rear corners of our Boler. If the site was moderately level side to side, I would lower the front using the tongue jack so that the rear end was sticking up a couple of inches. Insert the jack stands in the rear corners and raise them to just under the bumper. Raise the front tongue jack to level (front to back) and you are done. The jack stands take some of the weight off the wheels to stabilize the trailer, but leave much of the weight still on the wheels so you have more support and don’t deform the frame. I usually put a couple of small squares of plywood under the jackstands so they would not sink into the turf. This procedure mostly levelled the trailer side to side as well, more or less, and I never felt that the floor was tilted even though not much attention was paid to it. It would not work on a horribly tilted site, though.

For me, I always then set a wooden crib at the front instead of the tongue jack for stability, but I have seen lots of others just stay with the tongue jack. My method gives me three stable support points, plus the wheels holding the bulk of the weight. Although the jack stands are not microscopically adjustable, I never ran into a situation where I needed more adjustment than was available on the jack stands. The stands were cheap and easy, so that I could do the whole levelling procedure in under 5 minutes by myself. The stands would just pull up to the right height, and they had a lever I could pull on to release the ratchet when I wanted to disaassemble. Disassembly was even quicker than assembly.

Rick G in Edmonton

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by DonDeutsch

HI Donna, I level the way you do, but I still use rear corner jacks. These are really to stabilze front to rear, so we can walk around without tiping for and aft. Don't you have this problem?

I don't use jacks, I use Wayne's Stabilizers. But, if I was to spend the money again, I'd get BAL Stabilizers and use a battery operated screwdriver to run them up and down.

[RussL]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

if I was to spend the money again, I'd get BAL Stabilizers and use a battery operated screwdriver to run them up and down.

I added the BAL stabilizers when I had the frame out from under my Boler and they've been great. The hand crank that comes with them works so quickly and easily that I don't even find the need to use a power driver with them.

Russ

[Des Nolan]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Are you really attempting to jack the trailer in the corners to level it? Side-to-side leveling is done at the tires, front-to-back leveling is done at the tongue jack. To level completely, all you really need is something to lift one wheel so it's level side-to-side, and use the tongue jack up or down to level front to back.

Like Roy I use a BAL leveler for the tire and I also use a plain ole tongue jack. To get perfectly level takes about 5 minutes. Others prefer to pull up onto chunks of wood, or blocks.

YMMV

Sorry Folks (and thanks, Donna, for pointing it out). A Seniors' Moment had hit me. I confused leveling with stabilizing. My volkswagen jacks are used for stabilizing. For leveling I still use the old drive-onto-different-thickness-boards system. I'm now quite good at estimating what sized board to use, depending on the position of the bubble in the leveler.

Des

[james kent]

I made these from some 2x6 material and they have done well for about 8-9 years now. The locking strip keeps them from flipping up if I happen to over shoot.They are getting pretty worn and I'm thinking of replaceing them and making the cross/locking strip a full 1x2. When not needed to level the trailer they can act as a support under the jacks used to stabilize the unit.

[John Jesse]

Thanks for the input everybody. I almost always camp in places that it is impossible to back the trailer into so I end up pushing the thing into the final spot. Pulling the thing up onto boards would be a huge pain. I like the idea of the tire leveler but the price is too high on the BAL unit. I think I will build my own tire leveler. Will the rear jacks (18" model) available from scamp work well for stabilizing purposes once I have leveled the trailer?

Roy, my frame is most definitely too low. I am trying to work though the design for a new axle as you did in your writeup and install that this coming spring.

[pindraak]

Seems to me, if you have clearance issues and want to be able to level it with the jacks in 2 planes, a set of 4 scissor jacks would do the trick.

[Matt in SV]

BAL leveler works great and IMHO is worth every penny. The only downside for me is its size, but I'll take that tradeoff for the flexibility of being able to set up in just a couple minutes with zero guesswork. If you shop around you can find a good price. Adventure RV has them for $65 plus shipping.

Regards,

Matt

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I don't use jacks, I use Wayne's Stabilizers. But, if I was to spend the money again, I'd get BAL Stabilizers and use a battery operated screwdriver to run them up and down.

That reminds me, I have some Wayne's Stabilizers sitting in my shed. I got a good deal on them a while back so I bought a bunch. Maybe someone would like them. I'll post an ad.

[Libby F.]

Originally Posted by John Jesse

Thanks for the input everybody. I almost always camp in places that it is impossible to back the trailer into so I end up pushing the thing into the final spot. Pulling the thing up onto boards would be a huge pain. I like the idea of the tire leveler but the price is too high on the BAL unit. I think I will build my own tire leveler. Will the rear jacks (18" model) available from scamp work well for stabilizing purposes once I have leveled the trailer?

Roy, my frame is most definitely too low. I am trying to work though the design for a new axle as you did in your writeup and install that this coming spring.

I found these at Grizzly Tolls. I bought 4 of them & had a piece of channel iron welded on top of them so that they would fit onto the frame. When I get to the campsite, I park the camper, get the 4 jacks out, put them at the 4 corners & level it up. Couldn't beat the price.
Grizzly.com® -- Search Results

Hope this helps.

Libby

[james kent]

Now stick that hooked piece into a cordless drill and presto, you have power jacks.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Libby F.

When I get to the campsite, I park the camper, get the 4 jacks out, put them at the 4 corners & level it up. Couldn't beat the price.
Grizzly.com® -- Search Results

Hope this helps.

Libby

Libby, careful. You shouldn't use these on the four corners of the frame to level. Use them to stabilize the trailer only. You may tweak the frame out of shape, or cause some hairline cracks. Leveling is done side-to-side at the wheels, and front to back with the tongue jack. Once level, the Grizzly jacks look like they'd work well for stabilizing.... only.

Safe travels

[Andrew GPSMapNut]

I am new to North American FGRVs but not that new to light trailers with noodle like frames... Personally, I like scissor jacks. Easy to use, (with extension) they are easy to crank up and adjust and relatively sturdy. Grizzly may be low but after factoring in the shipping, it may be cheaper to stop by a car scrap yard where similar jacks are a dime a dozen.
Donna is right - AFAIK most eggs have rather flimsy frames so, lifting fully up on the corners can put a considerable stress on the frame. By the same token, you put extra stress on it when you use the tongue support jack and two at the back of the frame. If you lift it off the wheels, the middle will sag = stress. If you leave most of the weight on the wheels and use tongue / rear jacks just to stabilize, two people are the front of the trailer, it starts to sag (less but noticeably) between the tongue and the wheels. The rear jacks may even come (almost) loose and the trailer may start to wiggle... well, depending at what the two are doing at the front Not that good. It's a fine balancing act. IMHO, the best is to distribute the weight between the middle (by the axle) and corners of the frame. Easily done with 6 scissor jacks but requires some crawling on your knees. Worth it for a longer stay. Start with levelling front / back with the tongue jack wheel. Next, put two jacks under the axle (or frame right by the axle) and it doesn't matter much if one of the wheels goes fully up. Than, level front to back again with the tongue. Next, snug up 2 jacks under the from corners of the frame. next, release some pressure from the tongue wheel / jack. Lastly, snug up two jacks under the rear corners of the frame. Wipe the sweat and have some wine or beer or better yet Canadian whiskey. Your trailer is sturdy as a rock and any stresses are well distributed between 6 jacks and whatever is in the glass Oh, set the jacks so the middle is along the length of the trailer and front and back are along the with. Kind of like |=| Alternately, if you hate crawling on your knees as much as I do, put the ones under the axles on 45 deg to the axle < and same for the front / back. Kind of <>< The reason for this is; scissor jacks are sturdy along the axle bot bendy side to side. The above arrangement minimizes the swing of the trailer when on the jacks.
Hopefully, even with my much less than perfect English, you get the picture of what am I trying to say and that helps somebody.
YMMV
Andrew

BTW. Forgot to ad at first; most car scissor jacks extend to less than 12" and have rather small bases. Just get a bunch of 1' square 3/4" plywood pieces to put / stack up under the jacks. Shellack them well and they will last forever and will support your egg even on a soft sand.

[Andrew GPSMapNut]

A morning correction -I guess, because of my flue, I wasn't thinking right. In the last post I wrote "put two jacks under the axle (or frame right by the axle)" NO, don't put theme there on the frame. I was thinking about a trailer with swing arm suspension like my Cadet was - there the middle set of jacks went on the ends of the arms, right by the wheels. The middle has to be supported by the trailers suspension so front and rear jacks wouldn't come loose. Oh and obviously, if where you put the trailer is level side to side to start with, there is no need to use the middle set of jacks at all.