Ltrip
Reno, NV
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Joined: 12/03/2007
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I have read several posts about the 3 primary ways to stabilize the fifth wheel.
- tri-pod under the king pin
- chocks in between the wheels
- stabilizer struts at the landing points
If you were to pick one as the most effective, and buy just one, which would it be?
Thanks,
Larie Trippet
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD
2008 Fuzion 302
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towhead
Heber Springs, Arkansas
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I use the kingpin tripod along with the rear jacks and am quite satisfied with the results.
Dave
2005 GMC Duramax 4x4 crew cab
2005 Cruiser CF28RL
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KNSMCCL
CO
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Joined: 02/02/2007
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I'm useing the wheel chocks. But I'm fulltiming and useing concrete blocks for more stability. Other wise just a block under the jacks with wheel chocks. They do remove a lot of the movement witha lower cost.
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Denver, CO
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BB_TX
McKinney, Texas
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Joined: 04/04/2005
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Stabilizers such as JT Strongarm. I used a tripod before installing the JTs. No comparison. The JTs are much better.
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fj12ryder
Platte City, MO
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Joined: 08/19/2003
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It can depend on your trailer. We had a 34' 5er and just the RotoChocks helped pretty much. The tripod never did much with that 5er. To my mind the tripod is a waste of space, time, and money. With our tall heavy toyhauler the only thing that really put a halt to most of the motion was the JTStrongarm stabilizers.
Howard and Peggy
"Don't Panic"
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wandering1
Texas
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Joined: 06/18/2002
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bi-pod under the king pin. Depends on what you mean by stabilize.
When someone is walking around inside the 5er it will bounce/wiggle. Rubber tires will bounce, suspension systems are made to bounce. To eliminate the bouncing/wiggling you need to keep the weight from pushing down on the tires and suspension by making sure your stabilizers are tight between the 5er and the ground. Don’t just let them out far enough to touch the ground, turn the crank more to make sure they are tight so they will not allow the 5er to push down on the tires. Use a bipod/tripod under the king pin. Make sure it is tight between the ground and the king pin, don’t just adjust it till it touches, tighten it so the front overhang will not move. Make sure to check the stabilizers and bipod/tripod every couple of days because they will loosen up over time. Doesn’t make sense spending a lot of money on landing jack stabilizers when the landing jacks are stable and don’t bounce up and down. If you have properly adjusted the stabilizers and bipod/tripod then you shouldn’t have any bouncing/wiggling. This has worked for me over the past 15 years.
Chocks are to keep the 5er from rolling forward or backwards. They do not eliminate the weight of the 5er from pushing down and causing the bouncing/wiggling. If you park on a site that has a decline then you probably want to use chocks to keep your 5er from rolling when you unhitch.
There are a lot of other options out there to “eliminate” the bouncing/wiggling if you have the extra money and want to spend it.
HR
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Alpenliter
Fulltimer: Wherever we are!
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I've got the king pin stabilizer, wheel chocks and even scissor jacks directly behind the wheels as well as the usual stabilizers. Still. lots of movement. Thinking strongly about the Strongarm type stabilizers.
My first Wife Linda, 45+years
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larry barnhart
wenatchee. wa usa
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we have scissor jacks in front our tires and have had them for 8 years to help with up and down movement where My wife sits over the wheels doing her crafts. Then we were at an alpenlite rally and had JT's installed. Great product for us.
chevman
chevman
2001 35 ft avalon alpenlite RK
2005 3500 2wd duramax CC dually
prodigy
easyrider/reese airhitch
trailair center point suspension
JT Strong Arm Stabilizers
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scanguage II
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Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
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Joined: 06/20/2009
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We FT.
Tried the tri-pod.....didn't see enough improvement to justify carrying the extra weight around.
Wheel chocks.....not so much for movement other than to keep 5'vr from rolling away
If the movement that does occur after setting up really bothered us, would probably invest in stabilizers bars of one brand or other. Same concept/principles so don't know if high dollar expense is necessary. But after 5 yrs. of FT'ng guess the movement hasn't bothered us enough 
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larry barnhart
wenatchee. wa usa
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I should add we stay almost 6 months in one site so this makes us want a stable fifth and the best time to enjoy the Jt's or similair products is during hard winds. You won't believe the difference. Many have told me this so it is not just my opinion.
chevman
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