Will I 'tweak' the frame?

[rmkrum]

Raising the front of the trailer (and the tow vehicle) high with the tongue jack is a well-known trick. Just last night, I used the same trick twice to hitch and unhitch in a two-mile move. I'll admit to being a skoshi bit lazy, even though the WD jacks on the ProPride just take a bit of wrench time to adjust the WD properly. Jacking the front up makes it super easy...

The only thing you have to look out for is raising the front of the trailer without being sure there is enough clearance at the rear.

The other minor issue is that it is a biggish strain on the jack if it is a wimpy one...but hey, if you break it, you need a new one anyway, so get a bigger, more powerful one when you get the chance, right?

Now, if you forget to raise the stabilizer jacks, you can be sure they will collapse into a pile of bent metal to protect the frame from bending...

[PKI]

There was a post that suggested raising the TV and TT with the TJ placed a significant load on the coupler ball catch/capture mechanism. Had not heard that before. Have not heard of a coupler component failure either. Anyone have info? Pat

[rmkrum]

IMHO, if simply raising the hitch and TV end of the Airstream a few inches with the tongue jack causes problems, the hitch assembly is worn and should be replaced...better to discover that while sitting still than underway, huh?

Bouncing down the road puts MUCH heavier shock loads on the hitch assembly than just raising it for a few minutes. All you do when you raise the front of the trailer is change the angle of the WD bars (the rear ends come up a few inches closer to the bottom of the A-frame, basically) to make it easy to tension them. It would be an angle that you can easily hit going over a grade transition in the pavement. The hitch ball doesn't fall out when you do that occasionally, one would hope...

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by PKI

There was a post that suggested raising the TV and TT with the TJ placed a significant load on the coupler ball catch/capture mechanism. Had not heard that before. Have not heard of a coupler component failure either. Anyone have info? Pat

Did this all the time with our 25' in the 90's and with the FC20 over the last few years. Compared to the up-and-down road forces on rough roads, using the tongue jack to raise the tongue enough to engage the WD is a relatively benign force IMO. I believe that this practice is a nearly-universal approach.

[davidrrand]

Steam, congrats on your new AS. Beware of “rough” as clearance is minimal with most AS trailers. Also, go down a rough washboard road long enough and the interior will come apart. Don’t ask me how I know��

[donabston]

Also be sure to read up on how important it is for the refrigerator to be level. I'm fairly certain one bad parking spot caused me to replace my 4 year old Dometic.

Happy Trails, Don

[Steamguy]

Originally Posted by donabston

Also be sure to read up on how important it is for the refrigerator to be level. I'm fairly certain one bad parking spot caused me to replace my 4 year old Dometic.

Happy Trails, Don

Oh yeah... 44 years of camping together brings teaching moments. Such as iceboxes don't care about level, but absorption fridges do...

Above, I might have intimated that we do rough roads. We just don't, anymore. Those campsites way back in the timber will be for others; my knees just won't take the abuse any more.

But there are some places we go where the sites aren't level from side to side, and I thank you all for the good advice about using my Lego blocks; they will be put to good use.

[J-K Georgia]

I still use my Anderson levelers in conjunction with the level mate pro, great combination.
By the way, those that are Anderson haters, remember, there are a lot of people who work for that company that were not out defacing any National parks. They deserve a chance to work and earn money. Let the owners pay their fines and move on.