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Old 10-28-2007, 07:45 PM   #1
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Tony Nowak's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2017 Escape 17
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
Posts: 358
Fiberglass friends,
We won't be using our new-to-us BF until Spring 2009 and have a couple of questions. The supplied info suggests jackstands. I assume these should be on the frame,behind the axle? The local dealer says not to bother,but I'm thinking it would help the tires as much as the suspension (springs only,I believe).
The other question is the AC. Is it desirable to run it every once in a while? The trailer is in a shed, off site,and power source is not handy.
P.S. The info also says to leave tire pressure at cold inflation. I,m used to dropping the pressure by ten or so pounds when I store the Scamp (with some of the weight on stands).
Thanks for your thoughts
Tony and Darlene (mt_horebites)
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Old 10-28-2007, 08:23 PM   #2
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Trailer: Bigfoot 25 ft / Dodge 3500HD 4X4 Jake Brake
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Hi Tony,

A couple of thoughts. Jack Stands under the frame is good. Lifting the trailer will help the springs. Spin the tires from time to time so the barrings don’t get moisture and begin to rust.
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Old 10-31-2007, 05:01 PM   #3
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Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
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I can see spinning the bearings occasionally as being good for them (perhaps only for lubrication), and I can believe it would be good for the tires to not sit on the same spot for the whole time, but I don't see any significant benefit to the springs of relieving the weight.

The springs would still be holding the trailer weight for the whole time anyway if it were in use (rather than storage). While being stored they will not be subject to movement, and thus not subject to stress cycles or extremes, which are more important to steel fatigue than constant stress. I am assuming that this Bigfoot has steel leaf springs, as is standard for every Bigfoot I've seen, and in particular the 1500 (including 15B17C and 2500 series.

I'm not at all sure about the tire deflation plan: it seems to me that lower pressure might be worse than leaving them fully inflated, due to the additional sidewall deflection. I suppose lower pressure in proportion to the reduction in load makes some sense... in the case of getting the tires entirely off the ground, any pressure which keeps the tires on the rims would then be okay, and there would be no sidewall deflection. Where's Steve-the-tire-guy on this one?

My Boler has a similar frame and suspension configuration. If putting the trailer up for storage I would put the jackstands under the frame immediately behind the rear spring mounts.
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Old 11-01-2007, 10:53 AM   #4
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Trailer: 2006 Escape
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Interesting. When we put our Escape into storage we put the jack stands right on the axle just inside of the wheels. I was under the impression that the use of jack stands was to relieve the pressure on the tires, not the springs. If we raised the trailer frame high enough to have the tires clear the ground, we would need some pretty tall jack stands. I'd be interested in hearing which is the most preferred method and why.

Doug
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Old 11-01-2007, 12:00 PM   #5
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Trailer: 2017 Escape 17
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
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Fiberglass friends,
I called three Bigfoot dealers and they all recommended no jack stands and boards under the tires.One commented he would worry about racking the frame with uneven jacking.So that will be our plan for now.
The thougth on the AC was not to worry about it over the Winter and try to run it ocassionally the rest of the year.
Tony and Darlene (mt_horebites)
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Old 11-01-2007, 01:17 PM   #6
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Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
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Quote:
If we raised the trailer frame high enough to have the tires clear the ground, we would need some pretty tall jack stands.
Typical trailer suspensions (rubber or leaf spring) only have a travel from hanging freely to fully compressed of about three inches. The tires squish down a bit, too, but I would be really surprised if the frame would need to be raised even 4" to get the tires off the ground. The bottom of my Boler's frame is 12" from the ground (tall compared to many eggs), so my jackstands would need to be about 16" tall, which means that any of the jackstands in my garage would work.

I have raised my Boler up on jackstands to work underneath, usually higher than needed to just clear the tires. I have not done this for storage.
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Old 11-02-2007, 04:07 PM   #7
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Trailer: 84 16 ft Scamp
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If you put a jack stand under the frame right near where the axle hangers are installed on each side and a raise the front jack so the trailer is about level, there will be no frame racking.

This will take the weight off the wheels and tires. Therefore you can reduce tire pressure without causing and additional tire deflection. This also takes weight off the bearings resulting in the one little steel ball that takes the load at any instant is taking only the weight of the wheel/tire, rather than the weight of the trailer.
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