Question about Chocking the wheels/ Leveling Jacks

[bnd10706]

So I have only owned travel trailers and I recently just purchased a 2008 Winnebago Sightseer 35j. We are getting ready to do our first trip in it, and one thing i was thinking about is the leveling jacks and wheel chalks... something I have not had to do before..

So pardon my 2 stupid questions here.

Do I need to be placing my wheels down on some pad? or do i need to chalking the wheels? I was thinking that with the parking brake on, it wont be needed, but I really dont know about this... what does everyone do?

When parking at a campground for a week or so and its NOT pavement, do you put the wheels on some wheel pad?

For the leveling jacks, when not on pavement do you all place the jacks on some type of jack pad? if so what do you recommend?

Someone told me to never let the leveling jacks extend all the way down...

At my house I cannot even use them because the front of the RV dips so low that the front jacks cannot raise it high enough.

Any advice would be super helpful!

[Morich]

First big thing is that the parking brake is only on the rear wheels and also the park position of the transmission is also only the rear.
So always leave the rear wheels on the ground to avoid any chance of moving on the jacks which tend to be pretty weak when extended very far.

Part of finding the best spot in many public campgrounds is looking at how they slope and figuring whether head or rear in first will leave the rear wheels on the ground best.
We've been known to go in "backwards" to set up, even with having the connections on the "wrong" side!!

Wheel chocks are never a bad idea but if the rear wheels are down, park brakes on and transmission holding. I'm not a wheel chocker!

For pads, we had pads on the jacks as thewy stay without having to fit them each time. If we were on soft ground or pavement like ashalt which we might damage (someone's driveway?) we also carried thick lumber to spread the weight.
Also we found it always handy to have some spare 2X like 8 or 10 wide in short lengths.

One way to make it more fun if you have older knees is to drill holes in the 2X and make a "handle" so you can move the blocks around without crawling .
We found a two pronged weiner stick with the ends bent to the right angle was a great tool, especially when muddy or wet! One can't alwasy tell exactly where the jack is going to land so we often let one run them down and the other adjust the block to land directly on it.
Something like this with the tines bent so that it laid flat while you were standing up?

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/bass...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

[creativepart]

With a motorhome with leveling jacks chocks are not used. Just the parking brake on the RV and the PARK on the transmission.

As for pads, a few places we've been require them (one or two parks in 5 years) and those places provided pads if you didn't have any. We added Snap Pads a couple of years ago and like them especially when parking on sandy soil.

As Richard said. Don't let your RV jacks raise your rear wheels off the ground - that's a big no-no. I personally don't care if my fronts are off the ground but if you ask online you'll find a bunch of folks that find that abhorrent. So, that's up to you. There are always a group of folks that go to extremes in setting up their campsite for all kinds of things. You do you and as long as it's safe you'll be fine.

[Scotty B]

Plus 1 on the snap pads

[Morich]

I find what I do has to be tailered to each campsite and having the pads on is one thing to not worry about so much.
Snap pad is the name I could not think of but they seem to be a good item:
https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Jack-Pad...waArVAEALw_wcB

They snap on and stay very well. The only time we had them pull off was when we wanted to move after a freezing rain and snow so that they were frozen down!

But I also have to keep in mind that they are NOT a total solution for all places where I might stay. Store parking lots and friends houses are two where I am extra careful to not punch a hole in the parking spot as I don't want them to stop providing a free service!!!
We like to camp down next to the water in nice places like the corp of engineers sites and I don't want to mess up a place that I'm paying to build or repair!

[spierce617]

Plus 2 on the snap pads

[be happy]

For my two cents
As for putting the wheels (tires) on pads my short answer is no. I am one however does not like to leave the front wheels unsupported when the coach is on jacks. I will always support the front and I have no real reason other than just because.

I like to use pads for my jacks most of the time. Remember your jacks are holding alot of weight and need a solid base to sit on. Concrete or gravel sites pads are not really needed but there again I get into a habit so just do it. On grass you want as large of foot print as possible. I have seen and been one where the foot print is not large enough. When the ground gets wet you may sink the jacks into the soft dirt. A lot of folks have mentioned "snap pads" to increase the foot print. My choice was Big Foot outrigger pads https://outriggerpads.com/for-rvs/
I wanted to feel comfortable with the size of foot print.

As said the higher the jacks the less stable everything is. I try and keep my jacks as short as possible to level the coach.

Good Luck

[Sullivanclan]

I just don't get the benefits of snap pads as I almost always stack wood blocks to ensure the jacks don't have to drop so far, which like you said makes them more stable. If I could avoid the wood blocks, snap pads would make sense.

[dkoldman]

I have the rubber chocks from HF, but only use them when parking on my RV Port as a back stop; (so I backup exactly where I want without hitting anything)

As a rule, I don't park where I think I could roll or is that unlevel. I think the Snap Pads are nice but I don't have any. I made my own wooden blocks before I knew about them. I use the wood blocks if the ground surface is not solid or wet. I also use under front tires if one side or the other does raise off the ground a tad. I never leave a wheel off the ground. No reason for that ( maybe manual), but I just feel it is better weight distribution. It does not occur enough to be relevant. I will also state that I double stack the wood blocks if more lift was needed under one jack. The longer wood blocks are for duallies. I don't carry my home chocks with me on the road, so I have used the wood blocks as chocks at parks but again it is rare.

[wyocamper]

The main benefit of Snap Pads is not having to get out in the rain/mud/dark/whatever and place wood blocks under the jacks. I just got mine last year and now I wish I'd have got them years ago, but I still carry wood blocks in case I need them.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by wyocamper

The main benefit of Snap Pads is not having to get out in the rain/mud/dark/whatever and place wood blocks under the jacks. I just got mine last year and now I wish I'd have got them years ago, but I still carry wood blocks in case I need them.

That rain and mud ain't too bad


I may have to add the Snap Pad to my Year 4 allocation of $1,500 per year saved from NOT buying extended warranty, rather to buy things we need or like for the RV.

Are the Snap Pads a one size fits all or will they vary by WBGO model?

[Scotty B]

Vary by model I think, though I imagine many WBGO use the same jacks.. Website and phone customer service are great. Easy peasy to install...

[Jim_HiTek]

+5,000 for Snap Pads (I lost count). I've used them since they finally produced a pad that fit my 8" HWH OEM pads on my Journey as an early adopter. I had written them a few years prior about wanting them and I got one of the first few shipments when they finally produced that size. They work great! I still carry wooden pads but rarely need to use them with the Snap Pads in place.

The issue with extending the jacks too far on the fronts (I'll assume readers can understand the reason for the rear tires to stay on the ground) is that the air bags can be extended too far causing premature aging and or cause cracking so they start leaking. Not a good thing because those rubber bags are very difficult to replace. Many posts and youtube videos about it talk about the difficulty.

I only did it once when I didn't know any better but never again. The 'popping' I got on the road for a couple days afterwards (extended the jacks to lift the front tires off the ground so a tire shop could change the tires) as the bags readjusted to things was an eye opener. Never again. So far, years later, the bags are still doing okay though so I lucked out I think.