Jacking the trailer

Fourman110

After seeing the "90 Seconds with nuCamp ] TAG Line Supervisor Kyle Beachy" video on Youtube, I'm not so worried about using the levelers for changing a tire (per another one of their videos). The unit may be completely empty (interior, fridge, sink, etc.) for all I know, but it looks like they're jacking the whole thing up on the two leveling pads and the trailer hitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YfEyRx-5W8

LuckyJ

If you notice, the levelers are folded, and not open. That is how the are the strongest, since they are pretty much a steel block in this position.

Where it gets tricky, is when thay aer fully extended to support the trailer w/o the wheel holding most if not all the weight.

The manufacturer of those (if you look in the owners manual) mentioned that they are not safe and made to support the trailer. So using them to change a tire is a no no.

Fourman110

Hi LuckyJ,
I don’t have my trailer to check on the max strength position of the stabilizer. I’d think the strongest position would be with the pad 90 degrees down vs fully open. Notionally (and again without the unit to check on) I don’t think the 90 degree position would even be feasible though.

On the using it for a jack topic, I’m with you on the stabilizer manual. That said as a Mechanical Engineer, I also know there is a Factor of Safety included in every design. That coupled with the trailer manufacturers recommendation to use the stabalizer for changing the tire lead me to believe it’s OK, at least for me. There’s a difference also between using it in a temporary static condition vs using it to level when dynamic loads are in effect (like people moving around in a trailer).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7tTf0JBgVw

I really appreciate your technical insight and personal observations and am looking forward to future posts.

tagurit

Hopefully he chocked the opposite wheel and unhooked the truck and just didn't show it in the video (and his hitch is way too low!).

Joabmc

Neat video. Thanks for sharing.

TomD

Unfortunately the video didn’t show how the lug nuts were removed and put back on. The lug nuts have a required torque in order to be safe. In order to do that you need at least a torque wrench or breaker bar to reach the desired pounds of torque for install and removal. It also would have been helpful to indicate the appropriate torque value. I have no problem with the use of the stabilizers in this process. I just wouldn’t shimmy underneath the RV.

LuckyJ

@Fourman110 said:
Hi LuckyJ,
I don’t have my trailer to check on the max strength position of the stabilizer. I’d think the strongest position would be with the pad 90 degrees down vs fully open. Notionally (and again without the unit to check on) I don’t think the 90 degree position would even be feasible though.

On the using it for a jack topic, I’m with you on the stabilizer manual. That said as a Mechanical Engineer, I also know there is a Factor of Safety included in every design. That coupled with the trailer manufacturers recommendation to use the stabalizer for changing the tire lead me to believe it’s OK, at least for me. There’s a difference also between using it in a temporary static condition vs using it to level when dynamic loads are in effect (like people moving around in a trailer).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7tTf0JBgVw

I really appreciate your technical insight and personal observations and am looking forward to future posts.

Hello @Fourman110. I am not saying that it would not work, and that I do not agree with you, simply that it is not recomended by the leveler fabricator. And if you dig enough, you will also find that Nucamp after finding out about this have mentionned ( not officially) that they probably should not have posted this vid.

So, just saying.