Best stabilization upgrade(s)?

[TFin04]

We have a 31ft TT and when fully set up, still get some trailer rocking when someone is walking through the trailer.

I know we won't ever make it 100% solid, but I'm wondering what you found the best stabilization upgrades to be.

We have manual stabilization jacks and I know they sell larger versions.

I've also seen that a simple "X Chock" between the two tires can make a big difference.

I'm just wondering if you guys have used one or both of these, and which you think is the best value for performance.

Thanks!

[Gdetrailer]

Yosemite Sam1 wrote:

GrandpaKip wrote:

This is not a good idea for most trailers. They are not designed to be lifted from the ends. Those are not jacks, they are stabilizers. Even though my BAL stabilizers are rated for 6k pounds each, I certainly wouldn’t try to raise the tires with them. Real danger of doing the frame serious harm.

So why did the manufacturers themselves locate their stabilizers at both ends (mine does and motorized).

It's not meant to lift the tires as it also serves as support to the trailer.

Can the jacks do more harm on the farm than the pounding it is getting once you travel on those weather-beaten national park roads?:B

Stabilizers are meant to , well, stabilize.

The idea is to stop downward movement, not suspend in mid air.

Takes much less beefy material to just stop downward flex movement than it does for lifting and supporting dead weight.

So most items sold or marketed as "stabilizers" simply do not have heavy enough materials to safely lift and fully support 2K lbs- 3K lbs at each corner.

As far as bending the frame, the longer the frame the more bend or sag there will be when unsupported in the middle. If you are using the stabilizers correctly there is a considerable amount of weight still resting on the axles, so the axles are contributing to keeping the frame from over flexing.

The main take away is to reduce movement you need something solid under the frame. The longer the trailer is the chances of needing to add an additional support in between the stabilizers will increase.

Adding a jack of some sort halfway between the stabilizers will reduce the unsupported span distance and will restrict or reduce downward movement of the axle suspension.

This is a similar problem that you may find in a home where the floor joists/beams may be slightly undersized or span between is greater than recommended. Often in many cases with homes you can sister up and add extra material to joists or beams to reduce the floor flex.. Or if in the case of a basement or crawl space you can add in an extra support column to reduce the unsupported span.

Some bounce movement is good as it cushions your feet and legs when walking but sometimes it may be too much or some folks may not get used to it or are more sensitive to the movement and bounce.

You only need to stop the downward movement from the suspension not lift the tires off the ground.

[djtkach]

As already noted, add jacks about mid-way down the frame to take out some of the flex. Also add some side-to-side support. JT Strongarm seems to be a great recommendation but here's a cheaper fix for a DIY:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXjLHfDYtdU

Note you don't need to prop the steps like he did if you add jacks mid-frame.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

GrandpaKip wrote:

This is not a good idea for most trailers. They are not designed to be lifted from the ends. Those are not jacks, they are stabilizers. Even though my BAL stabilizers are rated for 6k pounds each, I certainly wouldn’t try to raise the tires with them. Real danger of doing the frame serious harm.

So why did the manufacturers themselves locate their stabilizers at both ends (mine does and motorized).

It's not meant to lift the tires as it also serves as support to the trailer.

Can the jacks do more harm on the farm than the pounding it is getting once you travel on those weather-beaten national park roads?:B

[GrandpaKip]

Yosemite Sam1 wrote:

the e-man wrote:


Here is what we have tested so far.

Hush Pad under jack stand. It's a nice thick pad. But it didn't decrease motion significantly.

Stabilizer jack pads. These are nice. Provide some protection for the scissor jacks from the ground. But they didn't decrease motion significantly.

New chocks. Ours were old. Trying a new set. They are plastic but don't interlock with the leveling blocks. Motion increased as it is hard to secure these on the side where blocks are in place.

Super Grip Chock. These are placed between the wheels similar to an X Chock. This did reduce some of the motion and we are happy with the improvement. As others have mentioned, we use these in conjunction with regular chocks.

To prevent bouncing motion, you have to put enough tension buy raising the trailer on the jacks to the point that it is not resting totally on the tires.

This is not a good idea for most trailers. They are not designed to be lifted from the ends. Those are not jacks, they are stabilizers. Even though my BAL stabilizers are rated for 6k pounds each, I certainly wouldn’t try to raise the tires with them. Real danger of doing the frame serious harm.

[TFin04]

Thanks guys, I think I will try a couple of the aluminum jack stands in the center of the trailer and see how that does. I know it's never going to be perfect, just looking for a bit of improvement. That seems the like easiest and cheapest place to start.

Thanks!

[Gdetrailer]

the e-man wrote:
We are working through the same issue. Too much movement in a longer travel trailer. Thanks for the suggestions so far - looks like I have a few more things to try.

Here is what we have tested so far.

Hush Pad under jack stand. It's a nice thick pad. But it didn't decrease motion significantly.

Stabilizer jack pads. These are nice. Provide some protection for the scissor jacks from the ground. But they didn't decrease motion significantly.

New chocks. Ours were old. Trying a new set. They are plastic but don't interlock with the leveling blocks. Motion increased as it is hard to secure these on the side where blocks are in place.

Super Grip Chock. These are placed between the wheels similar to an X Chock. This did reduce some of the motion and we are happy with the improvement. As others have mentioned, we use these in conjunction with regular chocks.

Your wasting a lot of money and time.

Instead of buying bunches of gimmicks, try a cheap set of car jacks (hydraulic or scissor) located near the center point of your trailer as a test. For testing purposes, you do not need matching jacks, you can use what you have. Once you put jacks under the center point, you want to adjust them tight enough to take some of the downward movement when walking or moving around in the trailer. You do not need to lift the trailer off the wheels.

If this helps, buy a couple of low cost $20 auto scissor jacks for the center support. You want to use the screw type scissor jacks, not hydraulic since hydraulic jacks often will creep down over time.

31 feet is a lot of space to not have "supported" by something solid and what is happening is the tires and springs are, well springing as they were designed.

In essence the frame is flexing or bending and that sends waves of movement all through the trailer. Tires and springs are not solid, they are designed to flex and the longer the trailer you have the more flex you will get unless you put something solid in place to reduce the weight on the tires and springs.

To reduce (you cannot fully eliminate) the flex you must have something solid between the other end supports.

Instead of having 30 ft between the stabilizers you cut that to 15 ft, now you only have 15ft of span that can flex or bounce which will reduce bounce and movement to a tolerable level.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

the e-man wrote:


Here is what we have tested so far.

Hush Pad under jack stand. It's a nice thick pad. But it didn't decrease motion significantly.

Stabilizer jack pads. These are nice. Provide some protection for the scissor jacks from the ground. But they didn't decrease motion significantly.

New chocks. Ours were old. Trying a new set. They are plastic but don't interlock with the leveling blocks. Motion increased as it is hard to secure these on the side where blocks are in place.

Super Grip Chock. These are placed between the wheels similar to an X Chock. This did reduce some of the motion and we are happy with the improvement. As others have mentioned, we use these in conjunction with regular chocks.

To prevent bouncing motion, you have to put enough tension buy raising the trailer on the jacks to the point that it is not resting totally on the tires.

[the_e-man]

We are working through the same issue. Too much movement in a longer travel trailer. Thanks for the suggestions so far - looks like I have a few more things to try.

Here is what we have tested so far.

Hush Pad under jack stand. It's a nice thick pad. But it didn't decrease motion significantly.

Stabilizer jack pads. These are nice. Provide some protection for the scissor jacks from the ground. But they didn't decrease motion significantly.

New chocks. Ours were old. Trying a new set. They are plastic but don't interlock with the leveling blocks. Motion increased as it is hard to secure these on the side where blocks are in place.

Super Grip Chock. These are placed between the wheels similar to an X Chock. This did reduce some of the motion and we are happy with the improvement. As others have mentioned, we use these in conjunction with regular chocks.

[msmith1_wa]

Gdetrailer wrote:
With a 31ft trailer, add a set of jacks near the center of the trailer which will be in front of the axles.

That cuts the unsupported span in half and will go a long ways to reducing the shake, rattle and roll.

Not to mention cheap fix.

Do this, I put a set of scissor jacks behind the axle, because I don't have room in the front. They made a huge difference in the stability.

[Draggo]

Another vote for the JT Strongarm system. I added it a couple of years ago and it made a big difference.

[Gdetrailer]

With a 31ft trailer, add a set of jacks near the center of the trailer which will be in front of the axles.

That cuts the unsupported span in half and will go a long ways to reducing the shake, rattle and roll.

Not to mention cheap fix.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

Cheap aluminums stack staabillier worked for me. But I have to use my SUV hydraulic jack to raise it up a little first so that the RV will firmly resting on it.

I saw scissor jacks in all four corners of RVs. I think this will work very well too.

[BarneyS]

Unless you place the trailer on concrete blocks you will almost always get a bit of movement or shaking in the trailer. It sits on tires and a suspension so you cannot get all movement out but the use of the JT Strongarm stabilizer kit will stop most of it. Also use a good set of tire chocks (I use RotoChocks but they are not available anymore). There are other brands similar to the RotoChocks.

I also, when staying in one place for a long time, like snowbirding in the winter, will put another set of support stands under the frame just in front of the axles.(Aluminum Jack supports)

We have found that the use of the chocks, built in four corner stabilizers, and the additional jack stand supports makes our 30 foot long trailer quite solid except for the occasional shake when someone starts dancing in the living room. 😉

[valhalla360]

JT strongarm (or similar) do make a huge difference.

Particularly on longer trailers, you may actually get a little flex in the middle, We've had good luck with the simple aluminum stands right next to the axles (on the frame not the axles which wouldn't eliminate spring movement). When I get around to it, I'll probably add a set of installed stabilizers right behind the axles.

[spoon059]

Locking chocks will help reduce the rolling of the tires. There are two main versions, the X-chock which you tighten between the tires and the Onestep chock which places opposing chocks on the ground between the tires.

I prefer the Onestep, because its an actual chock and prevents rolling. The X-chock isn't really a tire chock, you still need to block your tires. I think they both work reasonably well, its just personal preference.

The next thing that you can add on is the JT's Strongarm system (not sure if there are other brands of this or not). They are triangular braces that attach to your frame and then come down to your stab jack and help reduce the motion that way. I haven't used these, but I've heard lots of good things about them.

If you find you get a lot of up and down movement from your suspension, perhaps adding another set of jacks just ahead of your axle will help with that.

The last suggestion is just to walk more gently. My kids and wife like to stomp when they walk. You can clearly feel more shaking and swaying when they walk. I've got friends that are heavier but walk more gently and the motion is quite reduced just from that.