Leveling with tongue jack while still hitched?

[Silvr_Bullet]

I wouldn’t lift the trailer for leveling while being hooked up. Likely stressing the jack, reducing life of it. By doing so it’s adding weight to the hitch and frame of the tow vehicle ( bending the hitch upward is not the movement it designed for )

[blacklab]

I always block the tires whenever I'm sleeping inside, no matter what. If the rig did move, I want to be able to say that the blocks must have failed. [/QUOTE]

Ron, when you say you "always block the tires . . ." are you referring to blocking the TV tires or the AS tires?

Thx.

Cheers,

Bryan

[DonRich7878]

Originally Posted by Silvr_Bullet

I wouldn’t lift the trailer for leveling while being hooked up. Likely stressing the jack, reducing life of it. By doing so it’s adding weight to the hitch and frame of the tow vehicle ( bending the hitch upward is not the movement it designed for )

A WD is designed to force "up" the point of connection between the camper and tow vehicle. Using the hitch jack to lift the trail in order to level the camper fore/aft is in fact reducing the load on the WD system, thereby reducing load/stress on the AS and tow vehicle.

[Mollysdad]

On a simple overnight stop, I never disconnect.
In my case the Level Mate Pro wants me to go up an inch or two, so I toss my jack block down and level.

But while hitching and unhitching, I don't think twice about raising the tongue AND truck by a foot to ease the pressure on the bars. I (almost) never use the pry tool.
I thought everyone did this, so raising the combo by 6" overnight wouldn't cause me any concern. In the morning toss the block in the truck and don't forget to reconnect the 7 way. JIK.

[jeffb831]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

I thought everyone did this, so raising the combo by 6" overnight wouldn't cause me any concern. In the morning toss the block in the truck and don't forget to reconnect the 7 way. JIK.

To me the difference is one is a temporary 5 minute situation while the other is a 8-12 hour situation.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by jeffb831

To me the difference is one is a temporary 5 minute situation while the other is a 8-12 hour situation.

But overnight is stationary, and I'd bet the receiver takes a lot more stress driving on a rough road than raising the truck.
I will agree though that raising the truck puts a lot of stress on the widget inside the coupler that holds the ball secure.
But I'm talking about 6", not the large amount I raise the truck to attach the bars/chains. I've never overnighted where I had to raise the tongue by a foot or more.
Raising the coupler by 4"-6" actually takes strain OFF the coupler, since the tongue weight is removed from the receiver.

[WestieHouse]

Originally Posted by jeffb831

It would put a lot of stress on the hitch, jack, and front of the trailer frame because it would also be raising the back of the TV.

Generally, when I don't unhitch, I don't level. If I need to level, then I unhitch.

One the advantages of my more powerful 5,000 lb. Husky jack is it can better handle that stress. I always level F-R using the jack while hitched if I have greater than 2 degree slope measured by my iPhone level measure app.

[WestieHouse]

Originally Posted by DonRich7878

A WD is designed to force "up" the point of connection between the camper and tow vehicle. Using the hitch jack to lift the trail in order to level the camper fore/aft is in fact reducing the load on the WD system, thereby reducing load/stress on the AS and tow vehicle.

Yes. This is evident every time you need to jack up the hitch in order to place your bars in position.

[mythbuster88]

Originally Posted by klash

Towing a 25FBT with pro pride hitch, I often Boondock without unhitching the trailer. Can I use the tongue jack to raise the front of the trailer for leveling without unhitching the pro pride?

We do it all the time.

[greghoro]

Originally Posted by mythbuster88

We do it all the time.

+1

Primarily for enroute one night stops, which are usually KOA type private campgrounds that are typically level pull-thru sites.

Use an abbreviated procedure as when I fully unhitch. Lower the jacks to remove weight from the bars (always 30 turns of the crank, 15-30-15 L-R-L) and adjust the tongue jack to remove weight on the ball. I usually leave the safety chains, breakaway cable and electrical umbilical cord connected. And thanks to this thread, will start leaving the crank in the drivers seat as a reminder.


Greg

[mythbuster88]

Originally Posted by greghoro

+1

Primarily for enroute one night stops, which are usually KOA type private campgrounds that are typically level pull-thru sites.

Use an abbreviated procedure as when I fully unhitch. Lower the jacks to remove weight from the bars (always 30 turns of the crank, 15-30-15 L-R-L) and adjust the tongue jack to remove weight on the ball. I usually leave the safety chains, breakaway cable and electrical umbilical cord connected. And thanks to this thread, will start leaving the crank in the drivers seat as a reminder.


Greg

If the front is high we take the pressure off the bars. If the front is low we use the electric jack. If more help is needed there are the Anderson levelers. If there is dirt around we can use a shovel to scrape some dirt to lower a wheel a few inches.

[Thiss]

Your hitch, tongue, recover we are all a freaking massive hunk of steel. That electric jack doesn’t have enough torque to harm anything.

Level away and then throw your stabilizers down, sleep easy, drive away in the morning.

[cjw81]

Originally Posted by s1000pre

Get yourself a levelmate pro and a couple Anderson levelers.

Agreed! We use this method, and it works like a charm every time.