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Old 06-10-2017, 12:58 PM   #1
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stabilizing a 30FE

I am new to motorcoaches. New to RV's, too. Last RV I owned was a used 19' trailer in 1983. So, I will have what may seem to be pretty basic questions. This one concerns stabilizing. We took our new Freedom Elite 30FE for an overnighter to try everything out. Glad to say everything worked. The only issue was how much movement we felt every time either of moved at night. This made me realize we need to stabilize the vehicle in camp. I have ordered jack stands but I really don't know how to place them. Does one need to stabilize both front and rear? Where is the best and safest spots to place the jacks?

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Old 06-10-2017, 01:21 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by pylelr View Post
I am new to motorcoaches. New to RV's, too. Last RV I owned was a used 19' trailer in 1983. So, I will have what may seem to be pretty basic questions. This one concerns stabilizing. We took our new Freedom Elite 30FE for an overnighter to try everything out. Glad to say everything worked. The only issue was how much movement we felt every time either of moved at night. This made me realize we need to stabilize the vehicle in camp. I have ordered jack stands but I really don't know how to place them. Does one need to stabilize both front and rear? Where is the best and safest spots to place the jacks?
My prior class C has three stabilizer (scissor) jacks installed. There were 2 in the rear and one center front. They should be mounted to the frame or house if possible since you want to remove the sway caused by the house interaction with the chassis suspension.

As a note, the one center front on that coach did very little to stabilize the rig and the coach should have had a fourth one installed with two positioned front and the two in the rear.
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Old 06-10-2017, 01:28 PM   #3
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......... the coach should have had a fourth one installed with two positioned front and the two in the rear.
That's the way trailers are stabilized. I don't understand why RVs are built without at least this simple scissor jack method of stabilization.
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Old 06-10-2017, 01:44 PM   #4
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thanks for the info

I purchased jackstands as a way to stabilize rather than install scissor jacks for cost and because I was unsure about the best place to put them. The Thor literature is not very helpful with this and dealers want to sell things. I assume the rear stabilizers need to go on the two beams that run the length of the RV. How close to the rear bumper would they be? I really have no idea where to place the front stabilizers. Would they be placed under the cab or further back under the house? For those who have the single front jack, where is it located?
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Old 06-10-2017, 02:17 PM   #5
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That's the way trailers are stabilized. I don't understand why RVs are built without at least this simple scissor jack method of stabilization.
Probably added cost and weight, plus some owners may not want them if requiring manual cranking. And if wanting to upgrade to hydraulic or electric jacks, the initial cost would be partly wasted.

I've never been bothered by RV movement so I wouldn't want to start out with them. Either we don't weigh enough or need to move more.

Need for jacks in trailers are a little different in my opinion.
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Old 06-10-2017, 02:33 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by pylelr View Post
I purchased jackstands as a way to stabilize rather than install scissor jacks for cost and because I was unsure about the best place to put them. The Thor literature is not very helpful with this and dealers want to sell things. I assume the rear stabilizers need to go on the two beams that run the length of the RV. How close to the rear bumper would they be? I really have no idea where to place the front stabilizers. Would they be placed under the cab or further back under the house? For those who have the single front jack, where is it located?
My engineering 2 cents.

Do you have jackstands that can be adjusted to take weight off suspension? If not, I'm not sure how you plan to lift motorhome enough to get stands below frame rails so that they take some load off springs.

To your question of placement along the length, I think you need to evaluate what's easiest to reach and work versus what's most effective in reducing movement. Ends of RV are usually easy to reach, but not as effective because it leaves more RV frame length to flex.

Normally you want to place jacks or supports near suspension to minimize frame unsupported length which reduces flex. Somewhere just behind the front suspension should be good for front jacks. At the rear if motorhome has long overhang I'd place the jacks just behind the rear suspension, being careful with fuel tank. If RV has long wheelbase and shorter rear overhang, placing rear jacks just ahead of rear wheels should yield good results too.
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Old 06-10-2017, 02:46 PM   #7
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P.S. -- By the way, I'm not suggesting to take a lot of weight of springs. It's more about making sure jackstands have a little weight on them -- but not too much.

Also be careful just behind the front suspension because that's where the frames are stretched to make wheelbase longer.

For frame stability, its best to support any weight near a frame crossmember.
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Old 06-10-2017, 03:46 PM   #8
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IMHO unless you plan to haul a couple jacks also to lift the coach to place the jack stands, which by the way sounds a lot sweat & weight, then I would say just to stabilize it a bit put 2 in front & 2 in the rear on the frame & easy to reach. If I were to guess after you use the coach a few times you will not notice the movement & will be leaving all the work at home.
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Old 06-10-2017, 05:07 PM   #9
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jackstands

The stands I purchased have a total adjustment of over 6 inches and are adjusted with a jackscrew so they will be able to snug up to the frame nicely. I will try the various places suggested and let ya'll know the results.
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Old 06-10-2017, 05:39 PM   #10
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The stands I purchased have a total adjustment of over 6 inches and are adjusted with a jackscrew so they will be able to snug up to the frame nicely. I will try the various places suggested and let ya'll know the results.
That's great planning. The jackscrews should make it much easier to set up.
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Old 09-17-2017, 12:36 AM   #11
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We've noticed that our 26HE leans when then slide out is extended. I'm looking at putting scissor jacks on mine. Any other suggestions other than bottle or chassis jacks?
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Old 09-17-2017, 01:10 PM   #12
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stabilizing jack stands

I used the stabilizing jack stands twice. Once, I used them at the rear under the towing hitch mount to stabilize the bedroom. This worked ok but there was still some movement, the other time was at the Sleeping Ute RV park in SW Colorado. The site was sloped so my front end was down. I used all my blocks but was still slightly down to the front. it was not so much that I could not put out the slides but a can on the floor would roll toward the cab. It was worse when all of us sat in the front of the living space. I put the jacks under the front frame just behind the wheels to keep the springs from sagging. This worked well. For the most part, though, if the RV is level, I don't use them any more.
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