How to replace extender jacks in Scamp with scissor jacks

[John in Santa Cruz]

how do you get 1/3rd? only 10-15% of the Scamp weight should be sitting on the tongue, leaving 85-90% on the axles. so each wheel has like 40-45% on it ?

or are you putting 4 2000 lb stabilizers on the Scamp ?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

how do you get 1/3rd? only 10-15% of the Scamp weight should be sitting on the tongue, leaving 85-90% on the axles. so each wheel has like 40-45% on it ?

or are you putting 4 2000 lb stabilizers on the Scamp ?

I said "barely over a third". if you jack the trailer up on one side, a part of the load is shifted to the other two points of contact leaving a little over seven hundred pounds for that one jack to lift. A third of 2000 is of course about 667 pounds. You may choose to quarrel over the word barely, but that is a subjective term.
Fact is two 2000 pound jacks is considerably more than twice the capacity of the weight normally applied to the whole axle of my fully loaded trailer.
Lifting both sides off the ground results in less weight on the two jacks than on the axle at rest under its full load. Something a little over a third of the capacity of the two jacks. Some of that weight is of course shifted forward onto the tongue jack which on my trailer also has been upgraded from OEM.



At any rate the jacks have a combined capacity which is greater than twice the weight of the entire loaded trailer, certainly enough to use as a service jack for changing a tire.

[macnmore]

I agree with Jon in AZ . Frankly I never use the things . In we're in a level place , I just leave my scamp hooked to the car . I never notice any shaking about when I walk .

[crawlbug]

Hi Nanette, BAL is the way to go. I installed a pair at the rear of our 16' Scamp. Removed the original bumper jacks. The way I installed the BAL jacks was to buy the center support beam, and drill four holes in the bottom of the frame using the BAL jack support as a guide. Measured from the rear of the Scamp's rear bumper to where I wanted the jack to reside. Then using the BAL jack's mount, I just marked two points on the bottom side of each of the frames where I wanted the bolts to attach and drilled pilot holes, then drill hole sizes that are specified for the self-tapping bolts that come with the BAL jacks. Then attached the support beam between the two BAL jacks, don't drill the holes for the support beam until you mount the BAL jacks to the frame. Once the BAL jacks are attached to the frame, then you can drill the holes for the support beam. I then sprayed all the components with flat black paint, just to slow down corrosion..

Happy trails..

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Whether at home or camping, stabilizers just stabilize. My Atwoods deploy in seconds, not minutes, no tool required.

Jon, which Atwoods do you have, more info? Thanks!

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by Mike_L

A stabilizer has a lower capacity and is intended to make the trailer more stable as the suspension will flex when you walk around inside the unit. A jack serves this purpose but usually has a larger capacity so that you can also lift your unit if you wish.

Well, the stabilizer also prevents the whoop de do which happens when two people move to the stern of a single axle trailer which does not have the stabilizers down

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by floyd

Take a look at the link below. Notice that the static load capacity is listed as 2000 pounds per individual jack. When installed on a Scamp13 each jack is subjected to barely over one third of the rated load and barely less than half of the rating of the whole axle. Each jack is rated to support more than the entire weight of the loaded trailer.
This is massive overkill for a Scamp13, and way more than enough to act as a service jack in this application. Certainly NOT when installed on a forty foot fifthwheel with four slideouts. Note: one Scamp13 equals roughly one slideout!


https://www.rvupgradestore.com/BAL-2...-p/15-0308.htm

Floyd, I checked the reviews for this on Amazon. I'm shamelessly plagiarizing one of them: "The fact that both of the stabilizers legs are attached to each other across the width of the RV adds a tremendous amount of rigidity the underside of the trailer. This rigidity along the lateral axis is what provides the real stabilization for an RV while scissor jacks just rock back and forth on the lateral axis."

This one is more expensive, and may be overkill for a 13.5, but I like the sound of the additional "rigidity," even though my trailer won't be enduring any children running around.

My question is, do both sides lower with the same crank, or individually? What if the ground is lower on one side than the other?

[Jon in AZ]

What I have are swing-down stabilizers, supplied by Scamp until recently as original equipment. They're an older style. but you can still buy them. They come in different lengths; my Scamp uses the shorter ones. I like them because no tools are required. To deploy (after leveling the trailer), drop the tongue about 6 turns, pull and swing the stabilizers down until they lock, push the lever to release each leg and let it drop onto the ground or pad, then raise the tongue back up 6 turns to level.


Most small trailers today (including new Scamps) now use BAL stabilizers. Again, after leveling the trailer, you crank down the stabilizers (each side separately, even if they're on a common beam) using a manual tool that comes with the jack or (as many do) a cordless drill with a socket that fits the jack. You can add a flat foot to the bottom, not shown in this photo, and a pad underneath is always a good idea.


In my mind, cranking the tongue is easier than digging out a tool or drill to lower the BALs (and 6 turns does both sides at once), but that's just my preference. It does take a little strength to pull against the internal springs to release the jacks from the locked position, so folks with arthritis or other limitations might prefer the BALs.

Another advantage of the BALs is they don't require any minimum clearance to deploy. If the terrain rises under the back of the trailer, it's possible there might not be enough clearance to swing down the old-style jacks. It's never happened to me, but it could.

Both do a good job, and both require occasional cleaning and lubrication to keep them working properly. Most of the complaints about swing-down jacks I've heard can be attributed to a failure to maintain them.

Whichever style you decide on, you need to know the height of your frame mounting points on level ground to get the right length. If you decide on the single-beam BALs, you also need to know the width between your frame rails.

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

What I have are swing-down stabilizers, supplied by Scamp as original equipment. They're an older style. but you can still buy them. They come in different lengths; my Scamp uses the shorter ones. I like them because no tools are required. To deploy (after leveling the trailer), drop the tongue about 6 turns, pull and swing the stabilizers down until they lock, push the tab to release the leg and let it drop onto the ground or pad, then raise the tongue back up 6 turns to level.
...
In my mind, cranking the tongue is easier than digging out the tool or drill to lower the BALs ....

One advantage of the BALs is they don't require any minimum clearance. If the terrain rises under the back of the trailer, it's possible there might not be enough clearance to swing down the old-style jacks. It's never happened to me, but it could.

HMMM! I really like the plot of not needing a TOOL! I doubt that I'd ever have a clearance problem... but it could happen. NO TOOLS

Actuallly, if it's just me in the thing and I'm not running around or jumping, I can see feeling reasonably secure overnight with just one stabilizer down, is that ever done?

[Jon in AZ]

I'm sure one would be fine, but it only takes an extra 10 seconds to swing down the other stabilizer, and my inner Monk likes symmetry...

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

I'm sure one would be fine, but it only takes an extra 10 seconds to swing down the other stabilizer, and my inner Monk likes symmetry...

I'm totally Monk... I just mean in the locations where the other one wouldn't swing

I just finished hitching up

Am making my list and heading to trailer place to get some meaningful tweaks and facelifts... MaxxAir fan being #1

I think I'm convinced about the swing down stabilizers too. Thanks for the advice!

[John in Santa Cruz]

not a fan of those friction stabilizers, I had them on my old tent trailer, as well as our Casita.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by EllPea in CA

HMMM! I really like the plot of not needing a TOOL! I doubt that I'd ever have a clearance problem... but it could happen. NO TOOLS

A tool is just a device to make a job easier.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

A tool is just a device to make a job easier.

Of course, but with the swing-down stabilizers, the tool required is permanently mounted on the tongue and serves multiple purposes.

I do carry a bag of tools with me, and I’m not afraid to use them. But with limited space and recharging opportunities, I’m not inclined to carry my cordless power tools when camping. Manually cranking the BALs is definitely more work than turning the tongue jack a few times (and closer to the ground, which seems to get farther away the older I get).

I get the BALs have a number of advantages, and many prefer them. YMMV

[redbarron55]

I installed four of the "jacks" rated 2000 lbs on my Scamp16. Two along with a cross beam behind the wheels and tow up front to stabilize fore and aft and sideways wiggle.
By the way, being over zealous, I tried to "Jack" up the low side and found that although the load was quite a bit less than 2000 lbs, will bend at the point there the link attaches to the swing arm.
They work great for stabilizing and I use a cordless drill to run them up and down quickly.
Easiest way to do this is when you unhitch lower the tongue and level and stabilize the rear and then raise the front and deploy the front jacks.
My mistake on the jacking and bending the left rear jack, but I had gotten away with it a few times so...