Power Stabilizer Jacks - Up or Down in the Winter

[Krista Mae]

Hi all, this is our first trailer and first winterizing experience.
We have electric stabilizing jacks.
Should they be up or down for the cold, harsh winter ahead?

TIA for your replies

[asr524]

I leave mine up unless at a campsite

[ependydad]

Owner's choice. I left mine up so that I couldn't forget and try to raise the front at a later point. Plus I saw it as one less entry point for vermin.

[fonzie]

I leave mine up. They will freeze to the ground if left down as you live in Ontario.

[ezawacki]

I leave them up.

[Krista Mae]

Originally Posted by asr524

I leave mine up unless at a campsite

We're parked at a park all winter so we won't see it again until May.

[Foothills]

I always used to put mine down but don't now for the reasons already mentioned and the fact that tires lose pressure over a long period of time, resulting in some settling which may cause stress on the jacks.

[GFD47]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Owner's choice. I left mine up so that I couldn't forget and try to raise the front at a later point. Plus I saw it as one less entry point for vermin.

x2 For both reasons.
1) One month in to ownership I bent my rear electric jack arm by forgetting to raise it prior to extending the tongue jack for hooking up. (Not sure how, but when I went to pay for it my dealer had managed to get it covered as a warranty repair.)
2) I used to store TT with jacks down (even after #1 occurred.) But we had mice in the TT at home twice, and while camping we had a rat use the jack strut as a handy ramp to get into our basement. No rodents since I've been leaving the jacks up for storage. (And I plugged what was an obvious entry point for the rat...I'd carefully taped over the entire bottom prior to the rat issue, but I, and the manufacturer apparently, did not notice the 1" dia. hole in the main frame channel for a 1/4" 12V wire to pass through. Rodents could run up the jack "ramp" and down the flange of the channel to the "welcome mat" with their eyes closed.

[Nascon]

Up, one less stairway for mice.

[Mapper1]

Well, for my $0.02, we live 40miles north of Anchorage. First had a 2015 Coachmen Concord 300 TS. Sold it in 2018, flew down to Texas and bought another 2020 Coachman 300 DS and drove it back in Aug 2020. Both had Big Foot hydraulic stabilizers and I set them down for 5 winters. No mice, no getting stuck. Have boards and paving stones under the feet. I considered keeping them up if I had to move it over the winter but we can't leave the batteries in the unit due to minus 20 degree stretches. Each Spring, I have been fortunate that they work once the batteries are installed. Plus I don't have blocky tires.

[D W]

I leave them up for winter storage. No need to leave them down and risk freezing to the ground, especially during break-up when the snow melts during the day and freezes again at night. Tires sit on PSP and we routinely clear the snow away.