Taking the rocking out of an e 450

[KandT]

No stabilizers so I tried to do the same thing with scissor jacks. I picked 4 spots on the RV that were on a main part of the frame (or what looked like a solid section of thick welded steel that Thor added on).

2 questions:

Any reason I would damage anything? I stayed away from lines and pipes. I don't want to rock into a propane, gas or electric line!

Darn it - It seems only to help a little. I am afraid to really raise it up and take too much weight off the suspension. What's a guy with an annoyed wife to do?

Thanks all!

[gmc]

As long as you are on the frame - should be fine to take some weight off the suspension...

It's one area I haven't seen mentioned much when people say they don't have to level - or even using leveling blocks... Definitely notice a difference in movement 'jacks down' vs 'jacks up' - and yes - DW notices it even more than me. She could tell when one jack didn't come down - and I walk out the door... lol

[KandT]

Originally Posted by gmc

As long as you are on the frame - should be fine to take some weight off the suspension...

It's one area I haven't seen mentioned much when people say they don't have to level - or even using leveling blocks... Definitely notice a difference in movement 'jacks down' vs 'jacks up' - and yes - DW notices it even more than me. She could tell when one jack didn't come down - and I walk out the door... lol

My fridge wasn't working this morning and I correctly suspected we were at too much of an angle. I really had to lift it a good bit so we will find out if anything breaks! The front wheels are still on the ground but I raised the front quite a few inches!! I had used all my levelers and borrowed some from the campground so I used the scissors the rest of the way!

[JamieGeek]

We put scissors on our Axis:
Front:

Rear:

We've only used them on one trip so far (put them on last fall) and they didn't completely remove the rocking from our E-350 framed unit. Each jack, however, is good for at least 5000lbs so I should be able to really crank them down and take most of the weight off the wheels.
I'll know more when next season gets underway...

When parked on our driveway our unit cannot run the fridge due to the angle--I have to lift the front a good 6" for the fridge to work properly.

[bevedfelker]

I've got to do that same mod as Jamie -- or at least get four scissors jacks and use then in the portable mode. My wife is always complaining about the Vegas shaking when she's in bed and I'm still moving around the living area.

[Hudsoner]

I use hydraulic bottle jacks to level my unit. I have welted plates on top of the screws and thus have quite some surface area for weight distribution. Works like a charm, I use 6 ton jacks.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by KandT

No stabilizers so I tried to do the same thing with scissor jacks. I picked 4 spots on the RV that were on a main part of the frame (or what looked like a solid section of thick welded steel that Thor added on).

2 questions:

Any reason I would damage anything? I stayed away from lines and pipes. I don't want to rock into a propane, gas or electric line!

Darn it - It seems only to help a little. I am afraid to really raise it up and take too much weight off the suspension. What's a guy with an annoyed wife to do?

Thanks all!

Under the right conditions, I think it would be easy to do major damage to a motorhome. You are wise to proceed with caution.

I'm pretty sure that most motorhome chassis are not capable of being lifted substantially from the very ends. On a long Class C like yours, if you try to lift much from ends that are about 30 feet apart, the chassis can flex a bunch. Motorhome chassis rails are too shallow (they are not very deep to be stiff enough) to span that much distance without excessive flex/bowing, which I'm sure is why people still feel movement when they walk around the motorhome.

Ideally if you were going to have only 4 jacks, you'd place them strategically to minimize chassis flex; which would NOT be at ends. Ideal jack locations would be closer to where axles are located so as to minimize unsupported spans. Notice where most hydraulic jacks are located on motorhomes. There is a reason for that. Granted that would make cranking scissors jacks by hand much more difficult.

[Mr Sunshine]

We have HWH levers on our Vegas, and it raises two jacks at a time, both fronts, both backs or both rights or both lefts. This prevents twisting the frame and potentially cracking the windshield (again, in our case). The HWH jacks are positioned behind the front wheels and behind the back wheels, bolted to the frame.

Your scissor jacks could lift the coach, but be extra cautious about twisting. Best to level first, then lower the jacks to stabilize. That's what we did before with our travel trailer and with our fifth wheel, with the stabilizers that came on them.