Correct leveling of trailer

[RnRushin]

I position one under middle of each slide on one side and by each door on the other side. I have two doors and hate the rock every time grandkids come in or out. Not knowing setup the common applications is just in front of and just behind the axle mounts. I screw them as tight as I can and then usually have to tighten up my stabilizers a little. Every day or so I try to jo around and check that every thing is still snug.

[shadows4]

I do as GXPWeasel1 above stated and have for years. My Dad too taught me this. Raise the front until a half a bubble low. Lower rear stabilizers firmly. Then Raise the front the rest of the way and lower the front stabilizers firmly. That should help your wiggle. Good luck ��.

[U.S.ArmyVeteran]

It has a lot to do with the people in the trailer.
I am 6'3 230 lbs. When I walk. The trailer barely moves.
My wife who is 5'8 and weighs.....right like I was going to say it.. . Lol Anyway when she walks across the trailer it definitely moves. Good news is she can't sneak up in me. :-)
Our Friends who also RVers are real movers and shakers.
I guess I am just sneaky. Ask everyone to learn to walk lightly make it a contest.
Have fun.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Wolf26

You will also have to come up with a good story to tell the the kids as to why the camper was bouncing around so much last night.

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

Not for nothing, but I thought about just that this weekend. There is no way we can squeeze in a good session with the kids in the trailer. We got lucky that there were mothers' day activities at the pavilion and the kids are old enough now to go on their own. Otherwise, there would not have been an opportunity for my wife and I. I don't know how families can live together in a trailer for extended periods of time and the parents still maintain active in that department.

We did a pop-up for a summer. And then we RVed in fifth wheels for 10 years (5 of which were fulltime). You make it work.

For 4 of the 5 fulltime years and still now, having an on-board clothing washer/dryer helps! We do a load of laundry every night and sometimes it shakes more vigorously than others.

[TTnewbie]

Originally Posted by ependydad

We did a pop-up for a summer. And then we RVed in fifth wheels for 10 years (5 of which were fulltime). You make it work.

For 4 of the 5 fulltime years and still now, having an on-board clothing washer/dryer helps! We do a load of laundry every night and sometimes it shakes more vigorously than others.

Nice idea. But with kids though? I guess you have more distance in a 5th wheel than a trailer so I can see that working in your favor.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

Nice idea. But with kids though? I guess you have more distance in a 5th wheel than a trailer so I can see that working in your favor.

We still did it in the pop-up too and there's not much distancing and no doors.

[Mike134]

Originally Posted by ependydad

We still did it in the pop-up too and there's not much distancing and no doors.

us too, "slow and steady"

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Mike134

us too, "slow and steady"

And, "go *with* the camper not against it".

[TTnewbie]

Originally Posted by Mike134

us too, "slow and steady"

That reminded me of my college days living in the dorms.

[KellyG]

Originally Posted by Wolf26

You will also have to come up with a good story to tell the the kids as to why the camper was bouncing around so much last night.

I suspect that this reason is age-dependent. :-/

[varhino]

We have a 2021 Wildwood 24RLXL with the strong arm extensions for the four corner stabilizers. I use a drill and set it on the highest torque setting (last one before the drill setting) and use that to run the stabilizers down on pads (either camco or wood). I use the drill a few hours later or the next morning to ensure the stabilizers are down good and tight.



My wife and I, and sometimes grand kids also, have very little flex or bounce in the trailer. However, there is some and I plan to use the approach of a set of scissor jacks under the frame just forward of the axles to give the final reduction.


Yes there will be some just because of the TT structure, but you can take a lot of it out by some simple steps. Adjust and enjoy the time! Blessings and happy trails!

[steelhorsecowboy]

The only way to stop the bounce is to remove the trailer suspension and the front jack from the equation. Your frame would have to be on blocks to have no noticeable bounce. All these devices will only ever help and how much they help is a perceived idea by the person who bought them. I use blocks under the stabilizers and tongue jack. Anderson leveler under the wheels. A trailer is always going to bounce. How much you can tolerate is up to you and your wallet.

[Rndybnntt]

Originally Posted by RnRushin

Screw jack stands such as the Camco Olympian. A bout $35 for pack of 4. My dad used them before trailers came with stabilizers. A little movement does not bother me but DW can't sleep when the grandkids are bouncing around in the bunk house. Surveyor 32 BHDS with stabilizers and 4 screw jacks there is almost no movement.

X 2 for our 30 foot TT. Place about 18” in front and back of tires on each side. Place up to I-Beam.

[GFD47]

The motion you described is not normal. While it is normal to feel the vibration of people walking around your TT while you're using the porcelain throne, it should not create enough movement to interrupt your movement.
As noted above, adding the second X-chock will likely help some, as locking the tires from rolling reduces front to back motion that corner jacks and the tongue jack do little to address. Then put some more weight on your corner jacks. Most manual-downs are similar to the scissor jacks that car manufacturers put in for changing tires, and can handle way more than just touch-down weight. You don't want to get so carried away that you'd permanently deform your trailer frame, but I'm not sure you could accidentally do that.
I use two 6 x 8 x 12 wood blocks stacked under the tongue jack to keep the post length short. After I level out the TT I then lower the corner jacks until the corner I'm working on rises slightly, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. When there is pavement under the corner jacks I rest them on it, but when there is gravel or dirt I also put one 6 x 8 x 12 wood block under each jack foot to lower the pressure on the earth so the jacks don't dig in overnight. An 8 x 12 footprint is 96 sq. in. while my electric-down jacks are about 5 x 5 or 25 sq. in. Adding the wood blocks lowers the pressure on the soil by a factor of four and does a lot to keep us steady.

[ER17453361]

Originally Posted by RnRushin

Screw jack stands such as the Camco Olympian. A bout $35 for pack of 4. My dad used them before trailers came with stabilizers. A little movement does not bother me but DW can't sleep when the grandkids are bouncing around in the bunk house. Surveyor 32 BHDS with stabilizers and 4 screw jacks there is almost no movement.

I used screw jacks since 1962 and they worked fine if properly placed. Stabilizers etc do help a tiny bit but you can't ever get it solid. The last 2 5th wheels I owned had the automatic leveling hydraulic 6 jacks. What a difference they make. I'd sure consider HD screw jacks or jacks they use in auto or truck repair shops. Make sure your under the frame.

[momraising5boyz]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

Did I do something wrong or is this just part of life when you use a trailer?

Use both xchocks. Our first trip out ours was very bouncy. At the time we didn't have xchocks but we purchased them after our first trip. The only bounce I noticed after using the xchocks was going in and out. Out TT came with the steps that fold up under the door. They hung a good 6 or 7 inches off the ground. After our last trip of the season last year I invested in the nice Lippert solid steps. Worth every penny! They adjust so that they are solidly planted on the ground. I don't notice any bounce at all now.
Butner, North Carolina
TT-2019 Rockwood Mini Lite 2511s
TV-2017 Nissan Titan*4x4 Crew Cab

"Remember, tomorrow is promised to no one"
My son, my hero - Brandon S22
E.O.W. April 25, 2009

[Bhrava]

Here's my experience, pretty much same as the OP's. Had a Coleman 274BH, used blocks under the stabs, leveled, removed pressure from the tongue jack so all 4 were solid, then returned some weight back to the jack. X chocks on both sides, snugged tight yet when the person in the top bunk moved, we felt it up front in the bed. Perfectly normal for a standard setup trailer.

One day I was outside sitting on the bench enjoying the weather and happened to be looking at the back of the trailer as my wife was moving around inside cleaning up after breakfast. The trailer wiggles side to side. No matter how much pressure you can put on those stab jacks, you cannot defeat the side movements with them, they aren't designed to do that. I had asked this same question when we got back and the answer was JT Strongarms or equivalent. So I bought a set and installed them. Two in the rear in the middle of the chassis to each jack, then 4 in the front, again in the middle to each jack and then two more along the sides to each jack.

100% improvement!!! Now the kid can flop around in the upper bunk all night and we never felt it up front. Just don't forget to unlock them before raising the jacks. The JT's attach to the frame on one end, and the very bottom of the jack on the other end, eliminating that sideways movement I saw. The fronts eliminate the sideways and fore/aft movement.

Now on our new 5th wheel, the front bedroom, even with the jacks taking up some of the weight, more than on a travel trailer, I still felt movement. Our trailer is 42' long so there is a lot of pendulum front to back. I installed the JT Strongarms for 5th wheel, but found, they aren't as effective as on a TT. Reason being is they are behind the front bedroom, not in front like on a TT. I think the only solution is one of those king pin stands, but I have a Sidewinder, so unless I bolt it on place, it would do much good.

[Joe M.]

I installed jt strong arms on my travel trailer and I love them. I also use X-chocks. Both them eliminate about 90% of the shaking in the trailer. We also installed the step-above steps they help with the bouncing when people are going in and out of the trailer. One other thing I did is I replaced the factory scissor jacks with a more heavy duty jack. The factory ones are junk.
JT strong arms
X-chocks
Step-above stairs
Heavy duty scissor jacks

[frankraney]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

I installed a Levelmate Pro in my trailer. It made leveling the trailer very easy. I backed in using the app and was able move the trailer to the area that was the most level. I then used Anderson levelers to get the trailer in the green zone. Next, I adjusted the tongue jack and got that in the green. After that was all said and done I laid out 3 leveling blocks under each scissor jack and opened them just to the point where I felt resistance in the drill I was using. Finally, I used and X chuck in between the passenger side tires. I had a second one but I did not use it on the other side.

When I was the trailer there was a lot of movement. You could feel the trailer moving as my family walked around. This was especially noticeable when it was bedtime. If my kids moved in the back bunks I could feel it on the other side. If I moved around in the bed they could feel it too. Did I do something wrong? Is the trailer supposed to move so much after it is leveled and secured with jacks? I did not put a lot of pressure on the jacks.

Did I do something wrong or is this just part of life when you use a trailer?

This is normal but can be mitagated some. It sound like you did not put enough load on your leveling jacks. Put more load on them. This means you will be raising the unit up off the wheels a little.

[Bhrava]

Originally Posted by frankraney

This is normal but can be mitagated some. It sound like you did not put enough load on your leveling jacks. Put more load on them. This means you will be raising the unit up off the wheels a little.

Just keep in mind that, as others mentioned, if you raise the front and rear, the middle will sag and things may not work right, such as the entrance door may not close without slamming it. Mine was like that, had to balance just enough weight on the jacks to put pressure for stability while making sure the door could still close. Travel Trailer jacks are not meant to fully support the weight of the trailer, and since they are located at the corners, if they did lift the trailer enough to lift the wheels, the sidewalls or roof could become damaged, they aren't meant to take that kind of weight in the middle. So be careful how much you use the jacks to raise the trailer.