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Old 04-02-2006, 01:31 PM   #1
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While perusing the forums, I noted someone cautioning against supporting the trailer with jackstands under the rear bumper, and I realized that I was clueless when it comes to the art of setting up the trailer. Situation 1 - still hooked up to the tug - quick overnight stop: Do you need to support the back of the trailer with jackstands? Situation 2 - full stop setup. Should the weight remain on the wheels, with the jackstands just levelling things up? Should the jackstands be setup on the rear bumper or under the fore/aft trailer beams? Setup procedure - should you lower the front after disconnecting from the tug, set up the rear jackstands, then use the front jack to raise the front, then support with jackstands -- esentially taking the weight off of the wheels? I would very much appreciate some opinions/procedures from the experienced members.
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Old 04-02-2006, 01:47 PM   #2
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The jack stands are just ot take out the jiggle wiggle when you are in the trailer-I store mine for long periods when at home on the stands (partially) to help save the torsion rubber life.
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Old 04-02-2006, 02:16 PM   #3
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Jacks are not for leveling. They are for stabilizing only.

Situation TWO: To level, side to side, get some leveling blocks and drive onto them. Linx Levelers are cheap and work well. To level front to back, use the tongue jack.

THEN put your stabilizing jacks under the frame, preferably under to body of the trailer to keep from as Shirely says "Wiggle".

trying to jack up on the corners tweaks the frame.

If I HAVE to jack to level side to side, I put the jack under the axle, or, worst case, at the frame right in front of the axle.

Situation ONE. Just put the stablizers as in situation two.
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Old 04-02-2006, 05:53 PM   #4
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Never ever put the jack under the AXLE. Under the frame only. TOM
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Old 04-02-2006, 06:04 PM   #5
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Thats is what I meant, sorry. At the spot on the frame at the axle.

Sometimes that is hard to get to based on where your are sitting.
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Old 04-03-2006, 07:38 AM   #6
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if you put a jack under the axle, you can bend it or what? Thanks
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Old 04-03-2006, 08:29 AM   #7
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Yes.

I don't imagine it's real stable if you do it there either. Not much surface area there to bite into, and MY axle is round.. most jacks area flat on top.

If you jack on the frame right at the axle, it is a center point and the tweaking aspect is eliminated, or at least minimized.
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Old 04-03-2006, 09:56 AM   #8
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I always disconnect the trailer if in a campground after I more or less set it level left to right by bubble level on the floor and using ass`t boards that I carry or you can use those fancy adjustable things under the tires.....I then disconnect the tow vehicle and crank the front so that the trailer is level and then back it off a few turns, go to the back and set my stands, either with the screws or more ass`t pieces of wood and usually I use the stands without the screws and find it just as easy to use the wood pieces, and set it so all is snug or with as little free play as possible under the bumper ......then go to the front and lift the front with the jack until the trailer is level on the front/back bubble, and, voila, it`s done.....I level all the time because of my fridge and also hate to sleep if my bed isn`t level.....and also there is no trailer jiggling every time you move as someone else mentioned earlier.....set-up takes about 3-5 minutes I guess, never timed it, so for us it`s worth doing it......I`ve also used the boards under the tires and the front jack only, to level, when parking on some streets while doing some sightseeing/ walking around......with the 13' I can usually get into two consecutive, car parking spots on the street and plug both meters and then walk around a bit,(two dollar tour), LOL......there has also been times that I`ve had to use boards under the rear wheels of my truck to help level the trailer on the street or sloped parking lot.....Benny
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Old 04-03-2006, 12:16 PM   #9
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Jacks are not for leveling. They are for stabilizing only.
Oh, really? I've been using the rear-bumper mounted jacks to level for two years and 20,000 miles now with zero problems or visible impact on the UHaul.

I have a big bubble level on the front window stone guard that I can see in the TV rearview mirror, which helps me position the egg for best natural side-to-side level. Then I unhook, drop the tongue down, set the rear jacks to compensate for any side-to-side variance and crank the tongue back to level again. Easy, works great, all good and stable.

I wouldn't use the rear jacks to level on a sidehill, or anywhere a tire had to be lifted. But as long as most of the trailer weight is on the tires, I see no reason not to use them to level the rig.
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Old 04-04-2006, 08:08 AM   #10
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Oh, really? I've been using the rear-bumper mounted jacks to level for two years and 20,000 miles now with zero problems or visible impact on the UHaul.
Well Jack, you have a U-Haul with the super-duper frame, afterall they were built to be used as rentals and to take more than average abuse. Looking at the Scamp, I certainly wouldn't use the bumper to level the trailer Why invite trouble when it's not necessary.
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Old 04-04-2006, 09:06 AM   #11
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Well Jack, you have a U-Haul [b]with the super-duper frame, afterall they were built to be used as rentals and to take more than average abuse.
I agree. That is a feature that separates the U-Hauls from the rest of us. My Fiber Stream's frame is only 1" x 2" rectangular channel tube, half the size of your average Casita's frame. And it is tweaked.
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Old 04-04-2006, 10:42 AM   #12
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My Boler B1700 has a 2"x4" box steel frame. I'm not worried about it failing if supported at one corner, but it noticeably twists (to the point of stressing the body) if that is tried. Small adjustments to level with jacks under the back end of the frame rails seems to be okay, but not supporting anything like the whole weight.

In his site for the B1700 which he used to own - "Our Boler" - Peter Epel shows a couple of images of cracking in fiberglass around the notches in the lower body skirt around the frame rails; when the frame twists enough, the body hits at these points (front or back) and bad things can happen.

A body-on-frame car or truck is in a similar situation, with one important difference:
most automotive bodies are mounted on a relatively small number of cushioned mounts, allowing some frame flex without excesive body stress, while egg shells ride directly on the frame all over the place. Even with the mounts, the doors on some older cars will not operate properly while the car is jacked up to change one tire.

The U-Haul frame - which I have seen only through discussion and photos in this forum - is an interesting design. As I recall and earlier discussion, it appears to have tubular through-rail crossmembers, which is certainly not the case in other designs, is the current state of the art for pickup trucks, and which significantly improves resistance to twisting ("torsional stiffness", in technical terms).
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Old 04-04-2006, 11:14 AM   #13
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My Burro has a 2x4 inch box steel frame, but it also is not immune to slight twisting. I happened to crank the left-front corner a bit too much with the jackstand and the door started scraping slightly in its frame. True, the door tolerance to the frame was almost nothing, but as soon as I released some of the force it freed right up.

I would be interested in knowing if the manufacturers have tested torsional stiffness and calculated what is the best amount to preserve the fiberglass shell. A guess is that a perfectly stiff frame would be preferable, but I'm open to arguments against that. Maybe some elasticity is preferable. Certainly car makers tout increased torsional stiffness as a plus (allows the suspension to be designed to do its job better too).
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Old 04-04-2006, 07:35 PM   #14
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"Nothing handles like a Rental"

I am thinking since everyone I know that tows has told me to never jack the trailer up by the rear jacks for all the reasons mentioned, I am not going to do it.

I have heard the frame/body creak pretty bad with even just a normal cinching to stablize.

As Donna says, why tempt it? A bottle jack properly placed takes just a minute longer, and the bottle jacks these days are a pitance to buy. (Under 20 bones)

Jack if needed and put stabilizers down, cinch and put jack stands on front corners, cinch, ez pz.
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Old 04-26-2006, 03:50 PM   #15
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At a campground last year, I had parked my camper so it faced the river. Well, the owner of the campground didn't allow anyone to park other than front side forward. He and I were talking and he offered to move the camper. As I am backup challenged, I let him. He helped unhook the camper, nice man that he was. All was well until I wanted to leave. He'd parked the camper so that I couldn't get the jack swung into position! As he was brawyn sort of fellow, when he unhooked the camper for me, he must have lifter the camper to get the jack up! Fortunately, a kind neighbor at the campsite saw my dilemma and offered assistance.

You shouldn't ever leave home without a small, portable jack. Had I had one, this would have been a breeze. I immediately purchased one and did use it a few times after this first incident. They are inexpensive and very easy to use.
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Old 04-26-2006, 06:03 PM   #16
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...You shouldn't ever leave home without a small, portable jack...
That's a good point. It may also be helpful to note that you may have more equipment than you know - the typical tire-changing jack hiding somewhere in the back of the tow vehicle can lift far more than the tongue weight of the trailer, and may (depending on height range, shape of the jack top, etc) be useful in roles other than that which the tug maker intended for it. In a pinch, interesting things can be made to work for temporary use, especially if one is careful to stay out from under (or beside) questionably supported stuff.
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Old 04-26-2006, 06:13 PM   #17
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The only time I've had a brush with danger while hooking up my 13 footer is when I took out the wheel chocks too soon. I was rolling it to get closer to the hitch and it lurched forward off the leveling block and damn near mashed my hand between the coupler and the bumper.
The best way, if you're on level ground, is to keep the TV four feet away, pull the trailer off the block and let roll a few feet, then roll it to the hitch.
If not on the level, you have to jockey the TV ball under the hitch like the big boys have to do. Not easy if you're alone.
Watch those fingers!
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