Elevating Bambi

[Gene T]

I've just put on new tires for my 19' Bambi and placed it into indoor storage for four months till we use it again. I lowered the tongue and lowered the rear stablizer stands, then raised the tongue again until little or no weight on the tires. Question. Am I causing undue stress to the body and/or frame of the trailer? All in the interest of being kind to the tires.

[Lumatic]

The stabilizer jacks are just that, to stabilize the trailer when camping. They are not designed to take a load.

[Gene T]

Thanks for the reply. So, am I hurting the stabalizers or the body/frame.?

[cwf]

You are damaging.

Jack properly, till wheels off ground. Level, then use stabilizers for that purpose.

[bwoodtx]

Put some inexpensive jackstands in place of the stabilizers and you will be fine.

[Gene T]

Okay. I get it. Don't use stabalizers to raise trailer, just to keep it there or better yet to give additional stabalization to trailer while on auxiliary stands.

[Belegedhel]

Hmmmm.... I would think a better practice would be to jack the trailer up as you would to change a tire, then place a jack stand under the trailer at the jack point (axle plate), then lower stabilizers to stabilize. This way, the trailer is still mostly being supported across roughly the center (in the vicinity of the axle) rather than only at each end.

[Lumatic]

IMHO. I don't see much reason to take weight off the tires for seasonal storage. Your tires will need routine replacement due to age (5 years, maybe a year or 2 more) long before seeing any benefit from unloading for a couple months. Taking the weight off the whole suspension may have some merit if the trailer is being stored for an extended period.

[Gene T]

Thank you one and all. I appreciate the feedback, that's why I ask for it. It's easy to tell the stabilizers are not jack stands, also that with the designated spots on the frame aft of the axle to jack the trailer up, one would realize the frame is not as strong and continuous as I would have thought. And while tires, albiet expensive, are cheaper to replace than having AS warped and bent. I'll lower the trailer onto a couple of jack stands and have them share the weight with the tires.

[RM66caravel]

I use wood and cinder blocks in place of the jack stands and no frame damage has occurred but I think you knew that! Common since is all it takes the stabilizers are never a sub for jacks but I bet someone out there is doing just that!
Cliff

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by RM66caravel

I use wood and cinder blocks in place of the jack stands and no frame damage has occurred but I think you knew that! Common since is all it takes the stabilizers are never a sub for jacks but I bet someone out there is doing just that!
Cliff

It's called "cribbing" and you can make your cribbing as long as you want it, so that you're supporting the frame over a longer span and avoiding concentrated loads. For example, if you support each corner on a stack of cribbing one foot square, that's good, but supporting each corner on a stack of cribbing a foor wide and three or four feet long is even better, because the load per square foot is reduced. Not sure what size cribbing RM66caravel uses, but in general the more surface area where it contacts the frame, the better.