You have finally found a good camping spot and now you wonder about how to keep travel trailer from rocking.
It only makes sense that when it comes to set up, your camper should be firmly positioned and not swinging side to side or back and forth.
This is why stability is a very important thing when inside your travel trailer. After all, any rocking issues can cause problems with your equipment such as your fridge. Moreover, there is the discomfort of moving around while inside the vehicle if it rocks continuously.
So, how exactly can you keep your vehicle from rocking? Is this something that you can do with just simple tools?
Learn all you need to know with these quick and easy ways on how to keep travel trailer from rocking straight from the experts!
Contents
Keep Your Travel Trailer From Rocking – Know the Basics
First of all, why do you need to know how to keep travel trailer from rocking, anyway?
There are so many reasons why you need to make sure your travel trailer is not rocking. When you walk, an unstable trailer tends to rock back and forth with every step you make.
Surely, this does not make the entire experience easy and stress-free. You will feel dizzy and uncomfortable each time it happens.
The constant rocking can also pose problems with your appliances. Your AC, refrigerator, stove, and everything else inside the vehicle won’t work as efficiently as they would when there’s no stable ground for your vehicle.
This is why there is an urgency to perform certain steps that will keep the vehicle steady and stable.
How to Keep Travel Trailer From Rocking
You can improve on the stability of your trailer by placing it in a level ground.
But that is not all. You need to have the wheels prevented from rolling, as well as having stabilizer jacks in place. In some cases, folks choose to put some X chocks right between the tires while parked. This way, you can be very certain that the travel trailer will not move unnecessarily while parked on a slope.
So, let’s talk about tools to get started.
First, you want to make sure you have your stabilizer jacks installed on the vehicle. It also helps to have some X chocks, which prevent any rocking or swaying motions of the vehicles.
Others rely on wheel chocks. By chocking the wheels, this gets rid of sways and swings easily.
And also, you need your levelers. We particularly prefer those ramp styles that chock the trailer’s wheels. But if you want to put them under your stabilizer jacks, then that’s what the block type is for.
Consider Using Stabilizer Jacks
We mentioned stabilizer jacks, and allow us to explain first how it works.
Basically, these tools extend from the RV frame’s bottom and to the ground. You can find them more commonly on fifth wheels and travel trailers.
Also called “leveling jacks”, it is mainly used to level and not exactly to stabilize, despite the name. Thus, you cannot simply rely on it to handle the entire weight of your trailer. When you do, this can cause damages to your RV frame and jacks. Even the interior structure of your camper is at risk when you try to use these leveling jacks outside of their main purpose.
Stabilizer jacks come in different types such as the electric and manual. Naturally, the latter is easier to work with as there are models equipped with a button to auto-stabilize the vehicle.
But the most important thing to note about stabilizer jacks is that you only use them after leveling your trailer to the side and back. Also, you need to chock the wheels first before you use the stabilizer jack. Otherwise, these jacks pretty much use only a minimum amount of weight.
They do reduce the movement in your trailer but cannot fully stabilize it.
Level Your RV First
This is first and foremost the thing you need to do prior to everything else.
You can either opt for a ramp type or a block type of leveler to make sure the trailer does not swing or rock from side to side.
Either check with a handheld level or an automatic one to make sure the vehicle is indeed leveled.
Keep the Wheels Chocked
After figuring out a level position for your vehicle, you can now chock the wheels.
In the case of Andersen Levelers, you can rely on these as chocks. Then, bring down the stabilizer jacks and secure them on leveling blocks.
If you have no solid pad, this will not work well since there are tiny contact points with the jacks. Eventually, they will only sink in gravel or soft soil, which makes them ineffective. This is why you have to readjust the stabilizer jack.
Secure with X Chocks
In some situations, you may still notice some movements with your trailer.
So, to completely keep it from rocking, you need the help of X Chocks. These are your metal ratcheting tools that add pressure to your tire. Hence, the wheels are locked and can no longer move.
If you have a single axle trailer, however, X Chocks will not work. This is because there is nothing that the X Chocks press up against.
The main thing to realize is that you should avoid blocking up way off the ground with your wood or leveling blocks. Otherwise, it can lead to damages to the jacks
So how much pressure is enough?
You can figure it out by checking for a solid contact between the stabilizer jack and the leveling block. Then, you can bring down the jack until it is entirely touching the ground. Perform another rotation until the trailer is lifted.
Avoid using stabilizing jacks when lifting or leveling the trailer. This is not the purpose of these jacks. After all, doing so many only remove about 50 lbs of weight off the trailer for each jack.
Additional Tips When Using Stabilizer Jacks to Keep Travel Trailer from Rocking
We highly recommend that you use your stabilizer jacks while you are in the trailer. These jacks offer added comfort to you. But most essentially, you can expect them to prevent your vehicle from unnecessarily rolling down during an emergency.
At other times, you need to use these jacks to reduce pressure on the tires. They may actually minimize as much as 200 lbs of pressure.
But overall, you need to use these stabilizer jacks with wheel chocks. Add on the X Chocks and you have a whole ensemble of the perfect tools to eliminate rocking concerns completely!
Read More: How To Level A Travel Trailer On A Slope – Expert Advice You Should Know
Final Thoughts
No one wants unsteady ground when they park their travel trailer during camping.
It can be stressful to deal with the rocking back and forth of your vehicle, which can also cause damages to your appliances.
This is why after reading these tips and techniques, we hope we were able to provide you with relevant information on how to keep travel trailer from rocking. Now, you can park your vehicle with ease and camp out in comfort minus the dizzying rocking and swinging motion!
