Fifthwheel supports

[la_voy_scott]

What is the best tripod support for a fifthwheel hutch?

[allen8106]

I ditched mine after installing JT Strongarms. best anti-shake installation i have ever done.

[Range_Maggot_Bo]

The cheapest one you can find.

[LLeopold]

Bought one when I purchased my FW back in 2001. Used it less than 5 times and threw it as a "sweetener" in when I sold it in 2017.

As was said, the front jacks and rear stabilizing jacks extended just enough to take the weight off the tires (do not raise the tires off the ground entirely) and using wheel chocks was enough to make my FW rock-solid.

[Mont_G_J]

I have one, and I like it. Don't usually use it for one or two night stays, but really makes a difference when staying at one site for weeks at a time.
Wouldn't leave home without it.


photo from etrailer.com

[dcmac214]

We got a sorta-cheap aluminum one when we newbies got our 5er several years ago...one of several things the dealer sold us because we "HAD to have it if we had an RV". Another couple years and maybe I can start laughing about those foolish expenditures. Long story short it got damaged, never to be replaced, now we use the cap for a king pin lock.

[rhagfo]

la voy scott wrote:
What is the best tripod support for a fifthwheel hutch?

All mine is now is extra weight in the tool box!!
I installed JT’s and we are very happy!

[austinjenna]

For those that say don't bother with them, they have never had a landing leg collapse.

UGH, nice going Ernie - now I will be worried about a leg collapsing on me

[Ernie_Fergler]

Buy the cheapest one. They all do the same thing. For those that say don't bother with them, they have never had a landing leg collapse. I still use mine even though I have JT Strongarms.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Most of the weight of a trailer rests on the wheels - I.e. the flexible suspension of the axle. It is designed to allow movement while towing, and of course that allows movement when parked.

The only way to stop movement is to get weight off the wheels and transfer that weight to something that does not move. However, that only stops movement primarily of an up/ down axis.

There is also front/back movement and side to side movements which impact stability.

Tripods provide some lessening of front to back pivoting over the axles. For a tripod to add stability significant weight has to be on the tripod, and a similar weight must also be carried on some supports at or near the back of the trailer/ 5er.

Between the wheel chocks, supports under the steps, cross brace systems like JT all help.

It is a balance that each person has to achieve for their own personal taste/ comfort. How much time and money do you want to spend to achieve your personal level of comfort.

Even rigs with automatic leveling systems usually have between the wheel chocks, under the stairs support and some JT type cross bracing on the landing gear.

I see less than 1/4 of 5ers with tripods, so it appears to me that most people don’t bother with them.

Don’t spend any money on a tripod until you have camped without one. Talk to other 5er owners with and without them. Ask folks withtripods if you and walk into their rig and check the stability.

[ependydad]

Try this for info on stabilizing:
http://learntorv.com/shake-shake-shake-rv-stabilization/

Most people start with triangulation stabilizers (my preference is SteadyFast over the JT StrongArms) and between the wheel chocks. For extra stablization, they'll add support under the steps (or opt for a better stairs- the Glowstep Revolution which have positive contacts to the ground). And finally will add extra stabilizers near the axles.

[ford_truck_guy]

The best tri pod . .. . Is your neighbors ..

Had one, gave it away the following year... Get yourself a set of JT’s or similar..

[corvettekent]

I bought a tripod but after a couple years I stopped using it. We use cross bars and wheel chocks now.

[Second_Chance]

The reviews on them are mixed over on the Grand Design forum, too. Those that have had better success with them have put more weight on the tripod by lowering the front landing gear to load the tripod. I'm not willing to do that after I have the trailer level, though.

Rob

[BB_TX]

Some like them. Many sell or give them away. I used one for a year. It made some minor difference. But I did not find it worth the effort. Installed stabilizing struts on the front jacks and rear stabilizers for a much better result.