Trailer stabilization

When we first got the trailer and went out camping, immediately we were not impressed how much it felt like an earthquake any time someone walked around. Especially when one or the other of were trying to sleep. Tena goes to bed about an hour or so before me, and wakes up about the same amount before me. It’s our individual quiet times and works great for us. Fixing this became priority number one and trailer stabilization was the first “modification” we did to the trailer.

Stabilization options

You can get those blocks that go between the tires if you have a tandem axle (the yellow thingies in the pics) like this one from Camping World: https://www.campingworld.com/wheel-stop-chock-29163.html Apparently they are supposed to help somewhat, but if they do, we really didn’t notice.

These didn’t help with stabilization that much but they are still a good thing to have

The next choice for a fifth wheel is one of those tripods that goes under the bunk and connects to the fifth wheel hitch pin. Like this one also at Camping world: https://www.campingworld.com/fastjack-stabilizer-kit-71258.html?cgid=stabilizing-jacks. We never actually tried the tripod, the reviews we read was that it works for the bedroom and related activities in the bedroom. But not so much for the rest of the trailer. The next choice is this one: https://www.campingworld.com/universal-rv-stabilizer-34337.html made by Valterra. To be honest we didn’t even look at this option at the time… No installation required and relatively easy to set up. And the last option we checked into was steadyfast which does require installation.

What did we choose?

The Steadyfast system www.steadyfast.com is what we ended up getting. I could get into detailed instructions on how to install it but the company’s instructions, videos and support are far better than anything I could put together. I was able to get installed in one day, at this point I don’t recall exactly how many hours. Most of the work involved drilling into the trailer’s frame and using self-tapping bolts. So now that it’s all installed the trailer is WAY more stable, the company’s claims are really true. When setting up the trailer at the campsite I go through the same process of lowering the jacks and getting the trailer level. And once complete I have 3 hand screws to tighten and it’s done. When it’s time to leave just walk around to the 3 hand screws and loosen them. One thing that’s really important is not to move the landing gear or jacks after they stabilizers have been locked down.