# Stop The Rock And Roll!



## dherndonnc (Nov 11, 2008)

Ok, first thing i've got to do with the new camper is to stop the jiggling (as much as possible). My 6 year old is big for his age and when he moves around the camper (300BH) he MOVES the camper.

I've chocked on one side, have one of those BAL locks between the tires on the other.

Of course i'm using the stabilizer jacks, and know you aren't supposed to crank them down much beyond contact, right?

I've found the "JT" solution out there ....stabilizer arms back up from bottom of the (scissor) jacks to the frame....but they are a bit pricey.

Camping World is selling a set of two arms that are similar (made by BAL) for 59.99 ..... might be heading there tomorrow ;-)

Anyone used these? The picture on the web sites only show an arm going up from the jack base PARALLEL with the length of the trailer. Seems you'd want to stabilize both directions? I think mine is side to side mostly anyway......

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/...izing-bar/37028

Any ideas for me to try this week while i'm camping?


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

What about a second set of the BAL chocks for the other side? i certainly notice a difference when i only use one set on our 32BHDS.


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## dherndonnc (Nov 11, 2008)

Sayonara said:


> What about a second set of the BAL chocks for the other side? i certainly notice a difference when i only use one set on our 32BHDS.


Yeah, I'm gonna do that most likely. That little device works great.

However, I think most of the rocking is coming from side-to-side motion. I walked around the camper just a few minutes ago and jiggled it....definately more in the rear, and definately more side to side.

Just noticed too, my scissor jacks are installed at an angle.....or not 90 degree angle to the chassis beams, more like 45, angled towards the center of the camper. Wonder why they did that? Might impede my use of these devices if I go down that route.....

Dave.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

dherndonnc said:


> Of course i'm using the stabilizer jacks, and know you aren't supposed to crank them down much beyond contact, right?


While you're not suppose to "lift" with them, I give them a pretty firm turn to get them tight. Do you use some wood to distribute the weight even more than the simple foot on the scissor jacks?


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Try a set of four of the cheap aluminum stacking screw jacks and put them in front of and behind the axles.

It worked great for me when I had our 28BHS.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Of course i'm using the stabilizer jacks, and know you aren't supposed to crank them down much beyond contact, right?


While you're not suppose to "lift" with them, I give them a pretty firm turn to get them tight. Do you use some wood to distribute the weight even more than the simple foot on the scissor jacks?
[/quote]

X2. I use short pieces of 2 X 6 boards beneath the stab-jacks. And I made a turning tool for my cordless drill/driver and adjust the torque setting to get the same torque on each jack. And I, too, tension them a bit to improve the "rock-n-roll" effect. I also use the BAL chocks on both sides. We notice some jiggling, which will never be completely eliminated, but it isn't too bad. The longer the trailer, the harder it will be to eliminate the movement.

One tip I can give you though, is that you can tension the stab-jacks somewhat to help the situation. But if you have trouble with doors closing/latching, you have too much tension on the jacks and the frame is flexing too much.

Hope this helps.

Mike


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

I've tried and tried....then tried some more. We have the BAL locking chocks on both sides, scissor jacks on the corners, and I've also used the stacking jacks with minimal success. It seems a lot of the motion is coming from slack in the leaf springs, so I try to crank the scissor jacks a little more than I probably should. I'd be interested to see if the BAL locking bars actually work like the reviews say they do. Laying in bed with two or four little girlies running around the 28 RSDS makes it feel like you're on a boat!


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## ROB & JUDY OUTBACKERS (Mar 9, 2007)

You may want to try to put some 8"X8" (3 or 4 pieces) plywood squares under your jacks, so that your jacks do not have to extend out so far. The farther the jacks are extended the more jiggle you get. I put those orange squares under mine and I have no jiggle.


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## dherndonnc (Nov 11, 2008)

ROB & JUDY OUTBACKERS said:


> You may want to try to put some 8"X8" (3 or 4 pieces) plywood squares under your jacks, so that your jacks do not have to extend out so far. The farther the jacks are extended the more jiggle you get. I put those orange squares under mine and I have no jiggle.


thanks everyone for great ideas. I went to walmart yesterday and bought some stack-jacks, but (duh) got back and realized they are too short to reach the bottom of the frame. So I need some blocks (or plywood pieces) ..... will have to regroup and plan the attack for the next trip! ;-)

I may ride over to CW in Myrtle Beach today and take a look at the BAL support struts......I think that is truly the ultimate solution to stop this problem (that design, not that particular product necessarily). I don't have the tools I need to put them on for this trip....but we'll see for the future.

Dave.


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## Scottyfish (Mar 7, 2009)

Apparently, my CW order arrived today including the set of 6 sabilizer bars. The kit was on sale last weekend and with a coupon, I picked them up for $200 with free shipping. We are gearing up for the PNW rally, so the trailer will be at home this weekend for the packing session along with a couple of upgrades (including the stabilizers). Following our trip, or maybe during, I will let you know how they work out. Of couse, I will test them out in the driveway as well. Perhaps I will have some positive news then.


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

I added the Bal locking arms to our 25rss. They have taken 90% of the movement out of the TT. Our TT is an 03 so it came with the stab jacks and they were replaced with 5000lb scissor jacks. I also use locking chocks on both sides of the TT. James


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## dherndonnc (Nov 11, 2008)

GarethsDad said:


> I added the Bal locking arms to our 25rss. They have taken 90% of the movement out of the TT. Our TT is an 03 so it came with the stab jacks and they were replaced with 5000lb scissor jacks. I also use locking chocks on both sides of the TT. James


One thing I notice about your scissor-jacks (thanks for posting the pic, BTW). You installed yours perpendicular to the frame. Mine came installed at an angle....front and back. I'm wondering if this could be part of my problem? Seems the scissors would provide maximum stability in the direction of the crank-shaft. With them facing 10 and 4 oclock instead of 9 and 3, wondering if that's best?

Ok, I see that CW sells the BAL devices as well as these:

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/...tabilizer/34337

and

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/...-6-struts/35782

Still rocking in Myrtle Beach!

Dave.


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

Yes I installed the new jacks perpendicular to the frame so I could use the BAL lock arms. I believe that the newer TT have the jacks installed 45* to the frame to lessen the lateral movment of the TT. I'll try to explain. If you were to draw a rectangle representing the TT and draw in the jacks on a 45* angle. Now the lateral motion would run from one jack to the opposite jack runnung on a diagonal line. It's hard to walk diagonally in the TT. Now there may be some (play) in the jack along its long side and none on its short side. I would move the front jacks (watch out for the gas line) and add the locking arms and then you should have better stability and less movement. James


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

This is where I bought mine from. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BAL-Lock-Ar...sspagenameZWDVW . James


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

GarethsDad said:


> Yes I installed the new jacks perpendicular to the frame so I could use the BAL lock arms. I believe that the newer TT have the jacks installed 45* to the frame to lessen the lateral movment of the TT. I'll try to explain. If you were to draw a rectangle representing the TT and draw in the jacks on a 45* angle. Now the lateral motion would run from one jack to the opposite jack runnung on a diagonal line. It's hard to walk diagonally in the TT. Now there may be some (play) in the jack along its long side and none on its short side. I would move the front jacks (watch out for the gas line) and add the locking arms and then you should have better stability and less movement. James


This is correct angled for less movement.


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## dherndonnc (Nov 11, 2008)

CamperAndy said:


> Yes I installed the new jacks perpendicular to the frame so I could use the BAL lock arms. I believe that the newer TT have the jacks installed 45* to the frame to lessen the lateral movment of the TT. I'll try to explain. If you were to draw a rectangle representing the TT and draw in the jacks on a 45* angle. Now the lateral motion would run from one jack to the opposite jack runnung on a diagonal line. It's hard to walk diagonally in the TT. Now there may be some (play) in the jack along its long side and none on its short side. I would move the front jacks (watch out for the gas line) and add the locking arms and then you should have better stability and less movement. James


This is correct angled for less movement.
[/quote]

Ok, i hate to beat this to death, but why wouldn't I move all four jacks to be perpendicular? Should be easy enough to do.....if the Tornado Flush install didn't kill my neck/back, that won't for sure ;-)

And most of my rocking seems to be at the back end of the camper.....so it would seem I should focus there instead of the front? Or are my physics off? ;=)

And....most of my rocking appears to be side to side......which again, unless my physics are backwards, would indicate i'd be better off with any stabilizer bars going going across the width of the camper....not parallel with the length ....... heck, i'd probably do both directions if you can .... can't hurt.

Dave.


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## aplvlykat (Jan 25, 2004)

You do have another option. On my 2004 25rss the al-ko axle is max rated at 7000 lbs. It comes and was ordered by keystone with 6000 lbs springs. They are three leaf, 1500 lbs rating/ spring. You can upgrade your springs to four leaf , 1750 lbs rating/spring and not exceed the 7000 axle rating. Sorry but I don't remember the eye to eye length but they are a standard size. I bought my new set of four off ebay for about 17.00/ spring. I also replaced the cheep plastic bushings with brass greasable type. I also installed a set of 4 al-ko brackets and shocks. These two upgrades made the TT more stable going down the road and while it is parked. It may be worth your while to place a call to the axle manufacture and find out if they down rated yours as well. Kirk


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## dherndonnc (Nov 11, 2008)

aplvlykat said:


> You do have another option. On my 2004 25rss the al-ko axle is max rated at 7000 lbs. It comes and was ordered by keystone with 6000 lbs springs. They are three leaf, 1500 lbs rating/ spring. You can upgrade your springs to four leaf , 1750 lbs rating/spring and not exceed the 7000 axle rating. Sorry but I don't remember the eye to eye length but they are a standard size. I bought my new set of four off ebay for about 17.00/ spring. I also replaced the cheep plastic bushings with brass greasable type. I also installed a set of 4 al-ko brackets and shocks. These two upgrades made the TT more stable going down the road and while it is parked. It may be worth your while to place a call to the axle manufacture and find out if they down rated yours as well. Kirk


Ok, that would help with up and down "bounce" i assume? My problem is definately side to side movement.

Now, I was ready to move my scissors to 90 degrees this AM......now I know why they are at 45 degrees or so. If you move them to 90 degrees, the lug would stick out beyond the edge of the camper at least 2 inches.......probably not something I want. The frame on this camper must be further apart than others....which means they are closer to the outside edge of the camper. so they had to angle the scissors to keep them under the camper. :-(

Dave.


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

We have used a product similar to this on at least 3 different trailers with great results...

http://norcoind.com/bal/products/consumer/...estabjack.shtml

It has been used on a 24' TT, 25' 5er, and a 40' 5er. It made a big difference for all 3. Virtually eliminated the side to side action in all three. However, we noticed the stabilizer worked best on the 5ers with a tripod on the front hitch arm (not sure what you call that round metal piece that slides into the 5th wheel hitch).

We have not used it on our trailer yet, but we plan to soon. We got our stabilizer at WalMart for under $40. Hope this helps some.


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## hazmat456 (Jul 26, 2007)

dherndonnc said:


> You do have another option. On my 2004 25rss the al-ko axle is max rated at 7000 lbs. It comes and was ordered by keystone with 6000 lbs springs. They are three leaf, 1500 lbs rating/ spring. You can upgrade your springs to four leaf , 1750 lbs rating/spring and not exceed the 7000 axle rating. Sorry but I don't remember the eye to eye length but they are a standard size. I bought my new set of four off ebay for about 17.00/ spring. I also replaced the cheep plastic bushings with brass greasable type. I also installed a set of 4 al-ko brackets and shocks. These two upgrades made the TT more stable going down the road and while it is parked. It may be worth your while to place a call to the axle manufacture and find out if they down rated yours as well. Kirk


Ok, that would help with up and down "bounce" i assume? My problem is definately side to side movement.

Now, I was ready to move my scissors to 90 degrees this AM......now I know why they are at 45 degrees or so. If you move them to 90 degrees, the lug would stick out beyond the edge of the camper at least 2 inches.......probably not something I want. The frame on this camper must be further apart than others....which means they are closer to the outside edge of the camper. so they had to angle the scissors to keep them under the camper. :-(

Dave.
[/quote]upgrading like kirk suggested will help the side to side as well , so would adding a automotive style sway-bar. I think that the ultimate solution would be a bottle jack between the axle and frame or between the frame and ground near the axles. I think it is the flex of the suspension and tires that cause most of the rock.


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