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03-21-2016, 03:27 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 7
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Another Newbie Mistake...ugh!
Hello Good People,
I managed to damage one of my rear stabilizer arms yesterday as I was leaving Spirit of Suwanee in FL. I raised my tongue jack trying to hitch the trailer and forgot to raise my rear stabilizer arms. DOH! I was able to bungee them to frame so I could get home last night.
The camper is in the shop now but they may not be able to fix it by the time we leave next weekend for another trip. Can I use a couple of scissor jacks in the rear (without bolting or welding to the frame) as a temporary fix for stabilization next weekend? If so, any suggestions, tips, etc...
I know that I shouldn't use the jacks to level the camper (I will use leveling blocks if needed). Thanks in advance for any help!
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03-21-2016, 03:40 PM
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#2
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Pickin', Campin', Mason
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: South Western PA
Posts: 19,142
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Sorry to hear of your woes.
As you found out... they are truly stabilizers, not jacks and won't withstand much lifting pressure.
There would be no reason you couldn't use some stand alone jacks or scissor jacks for temporary stabilization. Just find a convenient spot on the rear of the frame and snug them up.
__________________
2022 Cedar Creek 345IK 5th Wheel•Solar & Inverter•2024 Ford F-Series SCREW•7.3L•4x4•Factory Puck•B&W Companion•TST Tire Monitor w/Repeater•Sinemate 3500w Gen.
F&AM Lodge 358 Somerset, PA - JAFFA Shrine - Altoona, PA
Days Camped ☼ '19=118 ☼ '20=116 ☼ '21=123 ☼ '22=134 ☼ '23=118☼ '24=90
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03-21-2016, 03:43 PM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 7
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Thanks 5picker! That's what I figured but wanted to make sure. Speaking of pickin'...I just saw 4 days worth of pickin' at Springfest in FL. Talking about some great music! Some of those bands were amazing!
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03-21-2016, 03:47 PM
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#4
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Pickin', Campin', Mason
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: South Western PA
Posts: 19,142
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You are welcome.
Played there a few times when they had a more traditional bluegrass festival.
Beautiful park and Live Oak is a really nice area.
__________________
2022 Cedar Creek 345IK 5th Wheel•Solar & Inverter•2024 Ford F-Series SCREW•7.3L•4x4•Factory Puck•B&W Companion•TST Tire Monitor w/Repeater•Sinemate 3500w Gen.
F&AM Lodge 358 Somerset, PA - JAFFA Shrine - Altoona, PA
Days Camped ☼ '19=118 ☼ '20=116 ☼ '21=123 ☼ '22=134 ☼ '23=118☼ '24=90
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03-21-2016, 03:49 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 939
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Yea, I've done it also but caught myself before any damage. The Manuel warns against frame damage. The frames are very light.
__________________
Rockwood 2104S, 2014 Ram 2500 Diesel.
USMC 68 -70
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03-21-2016, 04:07 PM
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#6
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Always Learning
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Four Corners, FL
Posts: 21,891
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WSMFP
The camper is in the shop now but they may not be able to fix it by the time we leave next weekend for another trip. Can I use a couple of scissor jacks in the rear (without bolting or welding to the frame) as a temporary fix for stabilization next weekend? If so, any suggestions, tips, etc...
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I mashed the snot out of my electric stabilizers coming out of a parking lot. I now have 2 manual scissor jacks, a cordless drill, and a bit to raise/lower them. 
That said, if you didn't do major damage- bring in a welder/fabricator and he can rebuild these for a fraction of the price of buying new. I gave these stabilizers to a forum member and another, OldCoot, literally rebuilt them better than they ever were. It was amazing to see the twisted mess of metal turn back into bigger stronger stabilizers. 
__________________
Officially a SOB with a 2022 Jayco Precept 36C
Checkout my site for RVing tips, tricks, and info | Was a Fulltime Family for 5 years, now we're part-timing on long trips
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03-21-2016, 06:18 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 13,732
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Just consider it a 'learning experience'.
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03-21-2016, 08:52 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 116
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A cheaper idea, if clearance allows, you could use a 4x4 spanning from frame rail to frame rail and use a floor jack in the middle. Like you said, it's only to stabilize, so you shouldn't have to lift you camper.
Flagstaff FS26
2007 Dodge Cummins
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03-21-2016, 09:03 PM
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#9
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Mod free 5er
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 24,702
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WSMFP
I managed to damage one of my rear stabilizer arms yesterday as I was leaving Spirit of Suwanee in FL. I raised my tongue jack trying to hitch the trailer and forgot to raise my rear stabilizer arms. DOH! I was able to bungee them to frame so I could get home last night.
The camper is in the shop now but they may not be able to fix it by the time we leave next weekend for another trip. Can I use a couple of scissor jacks in the rear (without bolting or welding to the frame) as a temporary fix for stabilization next weekend? If so, any suggestions, tips, etc...
I know that I shouldn't use the jacks to level the camper (I will use leveling blocks if needed). Thanks in advance for any help!
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They can be re-built with a little ingenuity by a competent welding shop. I would reinforce the legs while I had them off.
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03-21-2016, 09:53 PM
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#10
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Always Learning
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Four Corners, FL
Posts: 21,891
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OldCoot
They can be re-built with a little ingenuity by a competent welding shop. I would reinforce the legs while I had them off.
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You really need to show before and after pictures of my mangled mess to show what a competent shop can do.
__________________
Officially a SOB with a 2022 Jayco Precept 36C
Checkout my site for RVing tips, tricks, and info | Was a Fulltime Family for 5 years, now we're part-timing on long trips
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03-22-2016, 12:07 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 939
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Not sure what you have but if this is similar, just replace yourself. No welding necessary.
http://www.rvpartsnation.com/rv-towi...HOMaAkcM8P8HAQ
__________________
Rockwood 2104S, 2014 Ram 2500 Diesel.
USMC 68 -70
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03-22-2016, 03:21 PM
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#12
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 7
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Great suggestions everybody! I'm still waiting to hear from the shop on how much damage I did to the stabilizer. It was only one side that was damaged but I could see the stabilizer was bent (along with the side brackets) and it looked like the cross bar that guides the roller was bent also. So, I'm guessing they will have to replace the entire mechanism. I really don't have a lot of tools or knowledge to rebuild this thing myself and since it's a new camper, I think I will fork out the dough to get it fixed by the RV shop. Ughh... I think for a temporary fix (provided they can't fix it in time), I will use the scissor jacks to keep the rear stabilized on our next trip. Any recommendations for brand without breaking the bank too bad? Thanks again for the replies! This is great resource to lean on for someone who is new to this experience.
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03-22-2016, 03:31 PM
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#13
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 75
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johngoat2002
A cheaper idea, if clearance allows, you could use a 4x4 spanning from frame rail to frame rail and use a floor jack in the middle. Like you said, it's only to stabilize, so you shouldn't have to lift you camper.
Flagstaff FS26
2007 Dodge Cummins
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I don't see that stabilizing side to side movement. The floor jack would act as teeter totter.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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03-22-2016, 08:37 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 116
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Another Newbie Mistake...ugh!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tjm
I don't see that stabilizing side to side movement. The floor jack would act as teeter totter.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Good point. You could use two.
Flagstaff FS26
2007 Dodge Cummins
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03-22-2016, 08:57 PM
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#15
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Mod free 5er
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 24,702
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ependydad
You really need to show before and after pictures of my mangled mess to show what a competent shop can do.
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Don't know about the competent shop part, but here are the before and after pics.
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03-22-2016, 09:14 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,177
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There is some real skill , to take that piece of scrap back to whats shown in the fifth pic, hats off to you!!!
__________________
2014 Forester 3051s
2016 Nissan Pathfinder SL
2012 Sonic toad
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03-22-2016, 09:19 PM
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#17
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Mod free 5er
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 24,702
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wana65stang
There is some real skill , to take that piece of scrap back to whats shown in the third pic, hats off to you!!!
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Thanks for the kind words.
The 3rd pic is what it looked like before and the 5th picture is the way it is now, waiting to be mounted on OCW's trailer.
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03-22-2016, 09:27 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,177
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OldCoot
Thanks for the kind words.
The 3rd pic is what it looked like before and the 5th picture is the way it is now, waiting to be mounted on OCW's trailer.
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Yes fifth pic 
__________________
2014 Forester 3051s
2016 Nissan Pathfinder SL
2012 Sonic toad
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