Why does my rig jiggle?

[jstaffon]

I have a Rockwood 8299BS 5th wheel. It has the heavy duty jacks (yellow support braces) in the rear of the trailer. After leveling my trailer and setting the rear jacks, my camper jiggles and moves when walking around inside. I'm not sure what else to do to keep the camper steady. I have a tri-pod to attach to the hitch but I can't imagine it will make that much difference in side-to-side movement. Any tips or tricks?

[AquaMan]

Jt Strongarms or something similar. Diagonal bracing is about the only way to reduce movement. If you're on a seasonal site, you can add some screw jacks under the frame in front and behind the tires.

[jstaffon]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

Jt Strongarms or something similar. Diagonal bracing is about the only way to reduce movement. If you're on a seasonal site, you can add some screw jacks under the frame in front and behind the tires.

I've seen the JT Strongarms before. Are they something I can install myself or do you recommend having a service shop do the installation? I'm somewhat handy with tools.

[rcrupper]

Originally Posted by jstaffon

I've seen the JT Strongarms before. Are they something I can install myself or do you recommend having a service shop do the installation? I'm somewhat handy with tools.

they are not bad to install. you can do it yourself in a few hours at most. mine definitely helped the movement inside..

rob

[Restcure]

We may well go that route, but we are going to try the Valterra RV stabilizers first.

[NMWildcat]

There are tons of devices out there for RV stabilization. Most work to a degree, some are just gimmicks. Probably best bang for your buck in the long run are SteadyFast or strongarms. Or you can go the cheaper route of the same principal with the ratchet strap frame stabilizers. They are just a pain to setup depending how often you move.

Just know that no amount of devices will eliminate 100% of the movement. Hope all your 'jiggles' are small ones

[TURBS]

Jt strong arms !
Loose the tripod, bulky, heavy, and hard to store.


2015 Columbus 320RS
2008 2500HD Duramax
2015 nights camped "34"
2016 nights camped "25"

[5picker]

jstaffon,
As I've pointed out to you before, we have the sister Flagstaff 8529IKBS.

There are several trains of thought to help with this and most have been mentioned.

1.
A. X-Chocks between the wheels & tires.
Get the narrow, not the extended version and you'll still need to crank them tight together to get them between the tires. Then, once inserted, tighten between the tires to stop the 'rolling' movement

B. When leveling, leave the front just ever so slightly low and then run down your rear stabs. Once they are down, raise the front end back to level with the front jacks.
This will allow you to put just slightly more pressure on the rear stab than what you are able to do normally.

C. Obtain two scissor type jacks and use under the axles on each side to reduce the bounce in the center. Because of the design of the torsion axle suspension and the lengthy distance from the front to rear stabs, you really need something there for support. Harbor Freight has them very reasonable.

2.
JT's Strong Arms or SteadyFast systems.

Either of the methods above will remove about 90 some percent of your jiggle.

Then there is # 3.
Combination of both.
Rock Solid!

It just depends how susceptible you are to movement and how much you want to do during set-up.

[larryo]

Originally Posted by JD and Beastlet

We may well go that route, but we are going to try the Valterra RV stabilizers first.

Let us know how they work out. I'm interested

[B and B]

X345

[5picker]

Originally Posted by larryo

Let us know how they work out. I'm interested

I had a set and gave them away after two uses.
There are better ways to throw your money away.

[bob caldwell]

OC modified and we installed another electric stabilizer in front of front axle..Now with JT Strongarms, and bal-locks, it doesn't move....

[5picker]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

OC modified and we installed another electric stabilizer in front of front axle..Now with JT Strongarms, and bal-locks, it doesn't move....

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by larryo

Let us know how they work out. I'm interested

I have used the ratchet strap frame stabilizers for several years on 3 different 5vers and they worked very well. Probably took out 80-90% of the wiggle. I had 3, one in front and back, one lengthwise. I bought them from the original designer before they were bought out and the price more than doubled.

They can be a pain to setup and take down. You have to have access and room on the frame to setup them up on. Rear bumper where it is welded to the frame a good one. Anywhere you have access to about 2' of frame on the sides for lengthwise. The hard one is finding a sturdy point for the front. Two trailers had a good solid support under the garage and between the frame rails to use, one I had to weld some channel iron to use. I put the bottom feet of the stablizers on lynx pads to allow them to slide easily when you ratchet them tight. You also have to have the strength to really pull those straps tight as possible.

Over the last 5 RVs I think we've tried most of the stabilizers out there. The ratcheting strap frame stabilizers seemed to work the best for us as far as non-permanently mounted stabilizing systems go.

I finally grew tired of crawling around in the dirt setting them up and I am in the process of installing SteadyFast. I chose them over strongarms due to less mount points and bars, and no t-handle tightener to lose.

Good Luck!

[bob caldwell]

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[Scotsman]

We have a Rockwood 8285 5th and have been trying to minimize the movement in the trailer since we bought it in 2015. We have chocks between the wheels and a tripod up front but I liked the idea of putting jacks under the frame. I placed 4 tripod jack stands under the trailer frame right near the axles. I was just trying it out to see how affective it would be and I didn't have the wheel chocks or front tripod installed. I was amazed at the difference that it made and as I said I did not have all the other aids attached. The true test will have to wait until we get down south in the fall. I never realized how much bounce we were getting from the trailer bouncing up and down on the tires themselves or suspension. A set of 4 tripod stands is not that much compared to the more expensive systems that you can buy and for me they made a big difference. Good luck and let everyone know what you do and how well it works for you. Cheers!

[spudston]

I have the Valterra stabilizers and can hardly notice any improvement over the four electric stabilizers alone. Not worth it in my opinion.

[asquared]

X whatever for Jt strong arms and x chockshelp a lot.

[jstaffon]

All,
I'm considering the set of 2 or 4 jacks under the frame near the axles. I will let everyone know what I do and how it worked. I'll be heading south right after Christmas for 3 months. If I test something before we leave I'll let you all know. Thanks so much for your help!

[jstaffon]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Attachment 117015

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Nice!!

Where did you get it? What's the brand name, model, etc?