Stabilizer Jacks

[MattG]

Hello,
Does anyone know what will be the best stabilizer jacks? I have seen the Camco aluminum, but would also like to know if there are any others that are recommended.

Thanks

[overlander64]

Greetings MattG!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Airstreams!

Originally Posted by MattG

Hello,
Does anyone know what will be the best stabilizer jacks? I have seen the Camco aluminum, but would also like to know if there are any others that are recommended.

Thanks

I initially tried to economize, and purchased an inexpensive set of scissors style frame mounted stabilizing jacks for my 1964 Overlander Land Yacht International in 1996. They hung down far enough below the trailer that they became a clearance issue and the rear pair were eventually ruined by dragging on campground entrances/exits. I took my Overlander to my my Airstream dealer in about 2003 and had a set of BAL stabilizers very similar to those installed on current Airstreams installed on my Overlander. Those BAL stabilizers have stood the test of time, and are still doing their job to this day. I was so happy with the installation on the Overlander that I took my 1978 Argosy Minutet 6.0 Metre in and had a set of the BAL stabilizers installed on it shortly after I purchased it from the original owner in 2002.

BAL, at least up until Airstream started using power operated stabilizers on their new trailers, offered manual, telescoping stabilizers that store very close to the belly skin and have specially extended drives so that you do not have to crawl under the trailer to raise/lower the stabilizers. I checked the online catalogs of a couple of the Airstream dealers, and they only list the power versions. A check with the actual parts department of a dealer would likely turn up the current parts availability of the manual, telescoping, BAL Stabilizers specifically for Airstreams.

Good luck with your Investigation!

Kevin

[Bill IVERS]

Check out Woodlands Airstream Parts catalog. They list several stabilizers that are manual.

https://woodlandairstreamparts.com/s...a&_ss=e&_v=1.0

[Sunny Falls]

We replaced the two lame OEM Scissor "Stabilizers" on our 17' 3,500 pound max weight Casita trailer with four BAL 24002D Scissor "Jacks" each having a static load capacity of 7,500 pounds.

https://balrvproducts.com/product/cl...scissor-jacks/

We properly welded plates onto the proper sections of our Casita trailer frame, that we obtained from Little House Customs, which have the proper Scissor Jack bolt mounting hole spacing. These Scissor Jacks provide better trailer stabilization when camping and enable easy trailer jacking for an on-the-road failed tire replacement and easy accomplishment of trailer maintenance tasks without having to rely on or trust someone else to properly jack our trailer without damaging it.

We also replaced the Casita trailer lame OEM hitch jack with an Ultimate Trailer Jack rated for a 2000 pounds lift capacity and a 3000 pounds support capacity to enable easier and faster operation without needing to use any blocks whatsoever. This innovative hitch jack is faster and takes less effort than using a powered hitch jack, doesn't drain the battery and is less prone to failure.

Additional photos and details on these Casita trailer modifications (e.g., welding specifics) and all our other many Casita
trailer modifications may be found by Googling our trailer name if interested.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[richard5933]

Just don't make the mistake of thinking that because you install stronger stabilizer jacks that they can be used for leveling - the frame they're connecting to still is only designed to be stabilized, not leveled, by the jacks.

[Sunny Falls]

Originally Posted by richard5933

Just don't make the mistake of thinking that because you install stronger stabilizer jacks that they can be used for leveling - the frame they're connecting to still is only designed to be stabilized, not leveled, by the jacks.

That's only true if you make the mistake of placing your Scissor Jacks in the same weak frame location where the Scissor Stabilizers may have been located. However, if you place your Scissor Jacks at the strong frame locations where Jacks are intended to be placed, you can most certainly use your Scissor Jacks to both level and stabilize your trailer...or at least you can with a fiberglass Casita trailer. We routinely lift our wheels off the ground when in a location for more than a day or two. Unloading our Dexter 3,500 pound TORFLEX 10 degree down axle increases its life.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Sunny Falls

That's only true if you make the mistake of placing your Scissor Jacks in the same weak frame location where the Scissor Stabilizers may have been located. However, if you place your Scissor Jacks at the strong frame locations where Jacks are intended to be placed, you can most certainly use your Scissor Jacks to both level and stabilize your trailer...or at least you can with a fiberglass Casita trailer. We routinely lift our wheels off the ground when in a location for more than a day or two. Unloading our Dexter 3,500 pound TORFLEX 10 degree down axle increases its life.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

May be true with a Casita, but since this is an Airstream forum I was talking about with an Airstream.

On an Airstream the jacks are solely for stabilizing, which is why they're called stabilizing jacks and not leveling jacks.

It is possible to twist or bend the frame enough with the stabilizer jacks to make the door difficult/impossible to open or close.

[Sunny Falls]

Originally Posted by richard5933

May be true with a Casita, but since this is an Airstream forum I was talking about with an Airstream.

On an Airstream the jacks are solely for stabilizing, which is why they're called stabilizing jacks and not leveling jacks.

It is possible to twist or bend the frame enough with the stabilizer jacks to make the door difficult/impossible to open or close.

I can understand how the OEM Scissor "Stabilizers" may be located on the weak portion of frame and be of insufficient load rating and quantity so as to not enable using them for jacking and leveling the trailer. Casita trailers having only their two OEM Scissor "Stabilizers" suffer from this issue too. However, it also seems like there should be locations on an Airstream frame to enable placing jacks and jacking the trailer to enable working beneath it to say replace an axle. If so, this is where one might be able to place Scissor "Jacks" of an adequate load rating to enable jacking and leveling the trailer. If not, that seems like a problematic design flaw akin to using aluminum for the frame.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[ROBERT CROSS]

^^^^^^^^^

This is where I put 'jackstands' to lift and for Winter storage.

Bob
🇺🇸

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Sunny Falls

I can understand how the OEM Scissor "Stabilizers" may be located on the weak portion of frame and be of insufficient load rating and quantity so as to not enable using them for jacking and leveling the trailer. Casita trailers having only their two OEM Scissor "Stabilizers" suffer from this issue too. However, it also seems like there should be locations on an Airstream frame to enable placing jacks and jacking the trailer to enable working beneath it to say replace an axle. If so, this is where one might be able to place Scissor "Jacks" of an adequate load rating to enable jacking and leveling the trailer. If not, that seems like a problematic design flaw akin to using aluminum for the frame.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

There are places on the frame where you can certainly put a jack and lift the trailer. These are the factory-marked jack points. My trailer is sitting on them right now.

But there is a big difference between where these jack points are and where the stabilizing jacks are. The jack points are located only a little bit behind the rear axle. The stabilizing jacks are located nearer to the four corners of the trailer.

The jacking points are intended for lifting the trailer to enable working on the tires/wheels/hubs/etc. The stabilizing jacks are intended for making the trailer stable - eliminating rocking motion and other movement from people walking around inside a trailer sitting on axles in the middle of the trailer. The further towards the outer corners the stabilizing jacks are, the more stability they can provide.

You could level the trailer from the jacking points, but with them being so close to the axles they wouldn't provide stability - walk heavy in the rear of the trailer and you'll still feel the motion in the front of the trailer due to a see-saw motion. You'd just be moving the pivot point from the axles to the jacking points.

Leveling a trailer sitting on axles is really a simple procedure that doesn't require leveling jacks - fore/aft is handled by the tongue jack, and side-to-side by using ramps on the low side. Takes us less than 5 minutes to properly level our trailer when we set up - not much time for a foolproof and low-tech solution.

The flex that comes from over-extending the stabilizing jacks isn't a design flaw, but rather it's a design difference. The engineers could have built a much more rigid frame and body system, but the result would have been much heavier and come with other inherent issues. Building a travel trailer is one compromise after another, and I don't think it's possible to build a practical trailer with all the benefits and none of the pitfalls without breaking the bank on both the trailer and the tow vehicle needed to pull it.

[Sunny Falls]

Originally Posted by richard5933

There are places on the frame where you can certainly put a jack and lift the trailer. These are the factory-marked jack points. My trailer is sitting on them right now.

But there is a big difference between where these jack points are and where the stabilizing jacks are. The jack points are located only a little bit behind the rear axle. The stabilizing jacks are located nearer to the four corners of the trailer.

The jacking points are intended for lifting the trailer to enable working on the tires/wheels/hubs/etc. The stabilizing jacks are intended for making the trailer stable - eliminating rocking motion and other movement from people walking around inside a trailer sitting on axles in the middle of the trailer. The further towards the outer corners the stabilizing jacks are, the more stability they can provide.

You could level the trailer from the jacking points, but with them being so close to the axles they wouldn't provide stability - walk heavy in the rear of the trailer and you'll still feel the motion in the front of the trailer due to a see-saw motion. You'd just be moving the pivot point from the axles to the jacking points.

Leveling a trailer sitting on axles is really a simple procedure that doesn't require leveling jacks - fore/aft is handled by the tongue jack, and side-to-side by using ramps on the low side. Takes us less than 5 minutes to properly level our trailer when we set up - not much time for a foolproof and low-tech solution.

The flex that comes from over-extending the stabilizing jacks isn't a design flaw, but rather it's a design difference. The engineers could have built a much more rigid frame and body system, but the result would have been much heavier and come with other inherent issues. Building a travel trailer is one compromise after another, and I don't think it's possible to build a practical trailer with all the benefits and none of the pitfalls without breaking the bank on both the trailer and the tow vehicle needed to pull it.

Thanks for this detailed explanation...which fully makes sense to me and which I totally agree with. I am a licensed professional mechanical engineer and worked in aerospace industry for 35 years before founding our engineering and construction company 15 years ago.

We are able to successfully do what I mentioned previously with our Casita trailer largely because it is only 17 feet long and there are acceptable jacking points that extend about 6 feet beyond the axle which provides a strong and stable jacking configuration. Nevertheless, Casita trailer owners have also still had the same issue as Airstream owners of not being able to open their entry door because they over-extend their two OEM Scissor "Stabilizers". The cause is the combination of these OEM Scissor "Stabilizers" being at the far rear of the trailer and the hitch jack being at the front of the trailer which creates maximum bending moment that bends the frame and then reduces the door clearance to zero thus jamming the door. Since our Casita trailer maximum weight is always less than 3,500 pound, placing our 1 SF load panels under each of our four Scissor "Jacks" results in less than 6 PSI of ground loading (3500/4/144=6 PSI) so we could even accomplish this on sand. And again, we only do this for long duration glamping or when not using our Casita trailer for a long duration to unload the axle and increase its life. We mostly do long duration dry glamping in very remote locations in North and Central America.

We also level our Casita trailer leaving our tires on the ground in a similar fashion as you described by using our hitch jack to adjust the pitch angle. However, we then adjust the roll angle using our two Scissor "Jacks" on the low side. Then we use our Scissor "Jacks" on the other side to lock in this level and stable configuration. If we have very unlevel ground, we first place a ramp on the low side and then roll up on it before doing this procedure. Yes, this only takes a couple minutes at most to accomplish and we use our DeWalt battery powered drill to adjust our Scissor "Jacks" so it is an effortless procedure as well.

By the way, we make what are hopefully worthwhile contributions to this forum because Airstream and Casita trailers have some commonality and we find the people on this forum to be more informed and capable than many other forums.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita