Bent Leveling Feet

[TeddEBear]

Howdy All!

New member here...and sure I am going to have a pile of questions.

My 1972 31ft sov has crank down leveling feet. The two on the "front" or door side of the trailer are bent.

Is there a way of repairing these or am I better to replace them?

Any idea on cost of replacement?

Thanks for any and all advice.

Ted

[loudruff]

We were just at the Mother ship, factory/store and they were only about $10 each. Don't know what shipping would cost.I think you can hammer them out if you have the time and tools too.

[azflycaster]

The stabilizers are made by BAL and the ones for an Airstream have an extended shaft. They sell for around $50-$60 each. I would try and straighten them first, it could save you some money.

[loudruff]

Are just the flat, round feet bent or are the whole stabilizer arm assemblies bent too?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by TeddEBear

Howdy All!

New member here...and sure I am going to have a pile of questions.

My 1972 31ft sov has crank down leveling feet. The two on the "front" or door side of the trailer are bent.

Is there a way of repairing these or am I better to replace them?

Any idea on cost of replacement?

Thanks for any and all advice.

Ted

Ted.

Posting a photo, will get you better help.

Andy

[Wabbiteer]

Just a side note: the crank down levers are 'stabilizing' props, use your tongue jack and drive-on boards to get level and then drop the arms to snub most of the wiggle of walking etc.. The crank-down arms were not meant to lift weight off the axles blah blah blah...

[TeddEBear]

Thank You All for the advice and ideas.

I am not sure of the formal name for the part in question.

They are the crank down arm with feet on the bottom that are located in the four corners of the under belly. The part in question is not part of the towing assmebly at all.

[TG Twinkie]

These devices are only intended to stabliize the trailer, they are not leveling jacks. They are to keep the trailer from rocking around as you move around on the inside.

[dznf0g]

As Andy said, pics would help. I'd pull them off and take them to the bench and straighten them, clean them good, inspect for any cracks after the straightening, paint them up if necessary, lube the screw and pivots with silicone spray, remount, and go camping!

[RaleighAir]

same thing with 3/4 of mine from PO. I may try to straighten mine and if it doesn't work, I'll buy new from Out of Doors mart. I may weld in reinforcement if they straighten out well, but it may be a good failsafe for it to bend before lifting at that point and causing damage.

[AIR-Quarius]

We were making a quick move one time and one leveler was still down, and it bent it towards the back. I freaked out needless to say. But the next day I climbed under 'THAR' and unscrewed the whole enchilada and we took it to a friend that had a vice (if needed) and a good sledge hammer. He straightened it out in a matter of minutes, and we brought it home and re-installed it and it works, but not as good as before...but it works. and I swear from now on I make darned sure those little 'boogers' are raised before any more moves are made!

The crank-down arms were not meant to lift weight off the axles blah blah blah... __________________
I agree! Blah -blah - blah!

[Ahab]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

The stabilizers are made by BAL and the ones for an Airstream have an extended shaft. They sell for around $50-$60 each. I would try and straighten them first, it could save you some money.

Been there done that. Once bent and straightened they are weakened and never the same. Several years ago I bought some on e-bay, they were $75 for two plus shipping.

[Cracker]

You can purchase new flat bars from Bal at a fairly reasonable cost - as I recall - having done so just after bringing my trailer home for the first time (2003). Straightening is possible - but once the bars have been bent excessively they'll never be as strong again. On the other hand, if care is used when stabilizing the trailer, the repaired bars may be perfectly adequate. I'll admit to being somewhat persnickity sometimes - taking out 1/8 of a bubble on the high side using the stabilizers - but this only requires a slightly higher force than normal on the crank - and certainly not enough stress on the bars to cause any deflection.