Argh. I have no clue why I never thought of this. Learned the hard way as I tried to crank down the stabilizing jacks on my Fleetwood pop-up trailer a couple of weeks ago. Bent the crank holder in the process. While trying to crank down the jack heard horrible grinding sound. Then could barely get the crank to fit on the lift sytem jack. All of this could have been avoided with a little WD-40 and basic maintenance!!! WD-40 ( or similar) will do a bit of cleaning of the gunk, displace any water and allow for SMOOTH turning of metal parts. Before you go out- test out your jack and give them a good cleaning.
I could have seriously damaged my trailer.
Using WD-40
Posted by admin as General Camping at 9:50 PM EDT
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In can be a harrowing experience- riding down the highway and then as a transport trailer passes you by you start to feel your trailer sway- and sway - harder and stronger. First off - keep calm and don’t panic..
Tips to stop sway once it happens:
1) If you have separate brakes ( and you should!) for your trailer- hit the switch that kills the trailer brakes for a few seconds. The trailer will pull into line.
2) Speed up a little bit. Seems counter intuitive- but by speeding up you will stop the sway.
To Avoid Sway While Pulling Your Trailer
Before you go out and buy sway bars try these tips first:
Balance- balance can be everything and maybe all you need. Try and put MORE weight in front of the axle. If you can- make sure you propane tanks are full or get a second tank and keep them both filled.
This will solve the problem for most people who have trouble with swaying when they ar going camping or RV-ing and experience sway.
Check how you are storing your supplies inside the trailer. Put heavy items- such as drinking water jugs, BBQ, etc in center or near axle and lighter such as bedding, sleeping bags, etc near the back. You don’t want a trailer that is “bottom” heavy.
Make sure you front is sitting a bit lower inf ront than back. Check your tire pressure as well. This can make a huge difference.
Sway Bars:
If these dont; work and you would like tho peace of mind sway bars for trailer can bring- buy all means give them a try. Note that sway bars do not prevent the sway from happening- they just prevent the trailer from careening to much.
Some brands to try cost for friction type sway bars is usually about 100.00
Drawtite Sway Bars or
Reese Friction Sway Bars .
Posted by admin as General Camping at 11:31 PM EDT
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