why would i need slide out jacks

[amx1397]

I have a 39pqb F R , 42 ft. destination trailer with 4 slide outs. I have 3 on one side and 1 on the other side. it is parked permanent but only used a few months a year.so do i need jacks or stabilizers for my slide outs. oh it is parked
on packed dirt/with some gravel jim

 

[bikendan]

Moved thread from the Tips and Tricks sub-forum to the Tech and Repair section's Slideouts sub-forum since the OP's questions are specific to Slideouts.

amx, it also helps if you posted the year and brand of your trailer. There around 4 or 5 FR brands that make destination trailers.

 

[amx1397]

sorry it is a 2019 Forest River 39 pqb

 

[Oaklevel]

Forest River makes several destination trailer makes Salem, Wildwood, Puma, and others. Saying it is a Forest River is like saying its a Ford.

Is it a Puma?

Anyway, no you do not want stabilizers under the slides if the trailer is on tires. And no you do not want stabilizers under the slides at all. It is a recipe for disaster.

 

[amx1397]

Puma it is thank you all for helping ,,i have been on here for a few years, as u can c i am still learning thanks jim
oh!! no it is not on tires it is blocked up and on Ga clay

 

[NXR]

You never need slide out jacks. In fact, they can cause damage if the RV shifts position and the jacks keep the slides from moving with the RV.

Ray

 

[bikendan]

Puma it is thank you all for helping ,,i have been on here for a few years, as u can c i am still learning thanks jim
oh!! no it is not on tires it is blocked up and on Ga clay

Thanx for clarifying that. Forest River is the corporate name and they have around 100 different brands. So brand name is as important as year and model number. Some brands share the same model number.

 

[Semperfi24]

I agree with what the others have said. If it were me, I would not put supports under the slide outs. If the trailer settles at a rate different from the slides, the supports would push the slides out of alignment with the trailer and then you may not be able to get them in when the time comes that you may need to retract them.

 

[Willhound]

My comments reflect your situation on a permanent site. If travelling I wouldn't brace them. In your current situation do you need to support your slides? No. But could you? Certainly, particularly if the months you use it are continuous. I've never bought the argument that slides shouldn't be supported because a sudden shift or settle will cause Armageddon. If that happens, you did a crappy job blocking the unit on a permanent site. Our Cherokee 39RL is about the same frame and size and weight as your Puma with 3 slides, the shortest 5 1/2 feet, one just over 12 feet and the longest 14 and a half. We use it full time in summer and also visit a few times a week in winter and we support our slides which are left out permanently. In fact, each slide has a set of adjustable bolts for snugging up against a block/jack. The trailer is blocked on 6 piers consisting of a gravel/limestone base, extra thick patio stone, a cinder block placed the proper way up and wooden blocks at the frame.
We find supporting the slides greatly decreases the amount of movement and shake in the unit when walking around and gives me peace of mind that there is less stress on the slides long term. Are they designed to support themselves? Yes. But I've seen too many older units with saggy slides.

 

[Larry-NC]

Same for ours

My comments reflect your situation on a permanent site. If travelling I wouldn't brace them. In your current situation do you need to support your slides? No. But could you? Certainly, particularly if the months you use it are continuous. I've never bought the argument that slides shouldn't be supported because a sudden shift or settle will cause Armageddon. If that happens, you did a crappy job blocking the unit on a permanent site. Our Cherokee 39RL is about the same frame and size and weight as your Puma with 3 slides, the shortest 5 1/2 feet, one just over 12 feet and the longest 14 and a half. We use it full time in summer and also visit a few times a week in winter and we support our slides which are left out permanently. In fact, each slide has a set of adjustable bolts for snugging up against a block/jack. The trailer is blocked on 6 piers consisting of a gravel/limestone base, extra thick patio stone, a cinder block placed the proper way up and wooden blocks at the frame.
We find supporting the slides greatly decreases the amount of movement and shake in the unit when walking around and gives me peace of mind that there is less stress on the slides long term. Are they designed to support themselves? Yes. But I've seen too many older units with saggy slides.

We manage our Forest River Cherokee 38P destination trailer the same way.

 

[5picker]

I agree, on a permanent site with proper blocking with piers to the frame rail, slide stabilizers are perfectly fine and I see many do it without the sky falling.

Some folks are susceptible to movement and the slide jacks/stabilizers help with that tremendously since the slides are a long lever from the frame. Certain slide types are also more suseptible to movement because of how they are built/operate.

Without supporting the frame, I would suggest against it.

 

[jimmoore13]

Auxiliary slide jacks are a bad idea for a long-term setup, especially when the surface is not paved.

Several things can happen:

• The tires sink into the surface leaving the aux jacks under the slides to lift and torque the slides...perhaps causing damage and leaks.
• Similarly, if one or more tires lose pressure, the aux jacks under the slides will distort the slides.

I have an unusual rig...a Jayco Jay Feather X-213. It has a very long rear slide that isn't very tall...the rear king bed. I weigh 250# and my wife weighs what she weighs. Given how far out the slide projects, we use slide jacks for short stays to reinforce the bed slide against "transient loads." But I'd never leave them setup when we aren't there. And with a more typical slide...that extends half as far and is full height, I wouldn't use them at all.

When I use my slide jacks, I snug them only enough so that they won't fall over. NO LIFT WHATSOEVER. I use my drill to extend the jacks, but the last bit of adjustment is done by hand...again just tight enough so they won't slip and drop to the ground. The extended and snug stab jacks (on broad pads) under the rig will keep the rig from sinking overnight, but I check the tension on the slide jacks daily to ensure the rig itself is not sinking.

 

[amx1397]

from the replies, i received from the best source I know, i am going to try the slide out jacks , my slides are out for a month in March,,, another month in Aug. and sometime another month around Christmas when the washing machine runs we shake, and i think that vibration can cause some damage over time of course jim
thank you all.

 

[Joe M.]

No no no. Do not use slide out jacks. They will cause damage. If you lose any amount of tire pressure it will put the slides on a bind. So once again. No no no, DO NOT USE THEM.

 

[XenoRev]

I believe a major factor in jacks/no jacks is the style of slide mechanism. The rack and pinion style is fairly robust and forgiving. It's what I have on a Salem 27DBK, and I do use lightly set jacks when parked on short trips. My son is a big boy (6' 2' 230) and when he "sits" in the dinette or the couch of the super slide, it rocks the entire camper without support.
Cable or other slide mechanisms are not as forgiving. With those I would not even consider jacks.
Keeping in mind, the jacks are only there to stabilize, not support. Just enough pressure to maintain contact, no lift. And checked daily as the trailer settles. That's my nickel based on 7 years with this unit.

 

[VKSheridan]

If I read this right, Jim’s RV is on blocks and is rigged to be permanently stationary.

That being the case, it’s perfectly fine to support the slides.

Think of a mobile home in a park with a pop-out. Who in their right mind would recommend letting the pop-out dangle for fear of settling? If the blocks under the coach sink, the blocks under the slide out will sink too. Sure, some adjustment would be prudent from time to time just like a mobile home but adjustment beats sag any day.

For temporary extension of the slides or uncribbed, no way.

There’s zero advantage supporting slides if there is even the slightest of chance for the rig to rock. Gradual sinking isn’t your enemy, having the coach rock while preventing the slides to rock with it is the real killer.

 

[jimmoore13]

No no no. Do not use slide out jacks. They will cause damage. If you lose any amount of tire pressure it will put the slides on a bind. So once again. No no no, DO NOT USE THEM.

While I agree that they should not be used long term or unsupervised, the fact is that the stab jacks are a solid point to the ground at all 4 corners of the rig. A tire losing a bit of air pressure will transfer more load to the stab jacks, but unless the stab jack pads sink, the trailer will NOT sink simply from a loss of tire pressure in one tire.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm saying it's not as black and white as you suggest. In a deluge where the entire parking spot might get soft and "swampy"? Remove the slide jacks. OTOH, if you're parked on a somewhat solid surface, there should be no problem over the course of a one or two weeks stay.

But for rigs that have hydraulic leveling jacks and NO truly solid jack points to the ground, I'd be very reluctant to use slide jacks. Hydraulics tend to sag over time, especially if there is any leak.

The advisability of using slide jacks is situational.

 

[amx1397]

If I read this right, Jim’s RV is on blocks and is rigged to be permanently stationary.

That being the case, it’s perfectly fine to support the slides.

Think of a mobile home in a park with a pop-out. Who in their right mind would recommend letting the pop-out dangle for fear of settling? If the blocks under the coach sink, the blocks under the slide out will sink too. Sure, some adjustment would be prudent from time to time just like a mobile home but adjustment beats sag any day.

For temporary extension of the slides or uncribbed, no way.

There’s zero advantage supporting slides if there is even the slightest of chance for the rig to rock. Gradual sinking isn’t your enemy, having the coach rock while preventing the slides to rock with it is the real killer.

yes my FR puma 39pqb is blocked,,blocked by a crew from a big trailer resort in NE Ga. it is blocked up by 8 stacks of blocks and wood on each side and the 4 scissor jacks on the ends,, no tires or wheels, then covered with a 44' x 22' pole barn, it is so big it sometimes rocks when some one sits in the recliners / dinning room slide,, it also shakes when the washing machine is on. being this thing weighs 43000 lbs i was thinking slide out jacks for the slides, i bought this camper new and we stay in it maybe 3 weeks at a time maybe 3 times a year.when the grand kids were here for spring break i
noticed it the most thanks for your answers jim