Sunday, July 28, 2019

Travel Trailer Stabilizer Jacks Are Necessary When Camping

By Mark Phillips


People who travel often in RVs and trailers know that it is necessary to make sure they have the right equipment to keep their vehicle level and stable. Walking from one end to the next can easily cause it to rock back and forth. Having travel trailer stabilizer jacks helps prevent this from happening. Not having these in place could potentially cause damage to the vehicle.

The reason for having these in place is to keep things still. Larger RVs have at least four wheels and are able to stay pretty stable on their own, though they also come with these devices. For two-wheeled trailers, having one at each of the four corners is absolutely necessary for the stabilization.

There are several types available. There are manual ones that use a hand crank to raise them to the base of the vehicle. The hydraulic ones are a bit easier to use and can be a bit stronger using the liquid pressure to keep them in place. There are also motorized versions that are really easy to use. These often are permanently attached to the four corners and hitting a single button lowers them into place. They need to be on all four corners in order to properly stabilize the vehicle.

Park on level ground. If you can't find perfectly level ground, get as close as possible. You can you the front hitch on two-wheeled vehicles to provide the leveling. The RV has a system installed to do this for you.

Chocks and blocks need to be used to prevent the vehicle from rolling. The chocks should be put in place and hammered in with a rubber mallet. One in front and behind a wheel should do the job. This keeps it from shifting as it is being raised. The stands need to be placed on blocks of wood. This will prevent them from sinking into the dirt at the campsite. Sinking will cause it to become unstable again, so be sure to have sturdy, thick blocks to place the stands on because they will be holding a lot of weight.

Install or lower the jacks. If they are removable, pull them out of storage and set one on each block of wood. Raise them, or lower them if they are attached to the RV until the vehicle is held in place. They should be nice and tight and pushing up pretty hard in order to keep things from moving around when you're inside the vehicle.

When you are ready to go, just reverse the process. Take down the stands and put the blocks away. Be sure the emergency brake is on before doing so to make sure it doesn't roll when you pull the chocks out. A slight movement isn't too big of a deal. Before removing the shocks, hook the hitch up to the tow vehicle.

For safe camping, it is important to have jack stands that are meant for the particular vehicle you have. Using the wrong ones can cause damage because they will not fit right and might bend part of the vehicle corners. Once they are in place, you'll easily notice that moving around and entering or leaving the vehicle will not have any impact on it at all.




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