JT Strong Arm on my HT 5th Wheel

[mlcote]

I installed JT Strong Arms on my HT 5th wheel. I had to deal with the bad design for the font where the legs are on the HT models. The problem is caused by the spare tire they installed in between the legs. First this tire sticks out from the front and is in the way of the strong arms and second the beam has a bracket to support the tire that is in the way.

Here is the solution I have for the bracket. You can bolt it right on the bracket but I find that it flexes a bit too much so I put a much longer bolt and some nuts and lock washers to make it stronger. This ties the bracket to the beam above it making it much stronger. It was a bit tricky to drill the hole because you don't want to center it or it will hit a welded plat on top of the beam but it worked out perfectly in the end. Here are the images of this setup and one of the side bracket that was easy to mount. You'll notice the bolts end up flush with the welded plate so it does not affect the panel that is on the bottom of the front storage.

I'll add another post for the tire being in the way problem.

[mlcote]

To get the spare tire out of the way I added two rails that go front to back so I could move the tire back by over 8 inches. This lowers the tire down but only by about 3/4 of an inch so clearance is still fine.

To then lift the tire further back was a bigger problem. I drilled the two rivets on the bottom of the winch and replaced them with two bolts. The bolts can't squeeze the winch or it will not work anymore so I have two nuts that lock together at just the right place to keep it tight without squeezing it.

I used these same bolts to mount a pulley that is itself mounted on a metal plate. I had to fiddle with it and shape the plate and drill it. I also had to mount a small bolt with a large washer and a spacer of just the right width to make sure the cable would not jump off the pulley if it was loose.

Finally I put a second pulley further back held in place with a chain mounted on the back spare tire support beam. That is a simple one to get in. I got the two pulleys on Amazon and the metal plate and bolts and nuts and lock washers at home depot.

It was some work to figure out how to make it work but now it works great. I will check it once in a while to make sure nothing gets loose when I drive but hopefully I put enough lock washers to not have a problem. If it does I'll add some lock tight to the setup.

Here are some pictures.

[mlcote]

The rest was mostly standard assembly. I did have to add a cross member to add the rear arms. I got a square beam, painted it black and bolted it onto the frame and mounted the arms onto it. I can get pictures if anyone is interested.

Here are my few remaining pictures. I just realized I don't have a picture showing the whole setup zoomed out. If I remember next time I'll take the picture and add it to my post.

[havnfun]

Holy crap, Batman!! Would the Steadyfast Stabilizers been any easier/better to install? I'm not that mechanically inclined to tackle the JT's like that.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

[PlayersZ28]

I saw those a while ago and decided I'd just make my own front leg stabilizers. Whatever brand you go with (or DIY in my case) they make a big difference. The pin tripod never did a thing for me and I gave up on hauling it with me. Friends find that the expandable tire chocks work but I haven't tried those. My tires are close so I'd need the skinny ones.

[poohbear]

Originally Posted by havnfun

Holy crap, Batman!! Would the Steadyfast Stabilizers been any easier/better to install? I'm not that mechanically inclined to tackle the JT's like that.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

From the photos , I would say SteadyFast would have been much simpler . I base that on my SteadyFast install but I have no spare tire issue. . Might require a bracket to extend down the mount on the side to side arm if that tire extends out the front.

[Riverman]

I put the JT Strong Arm's on my travel trailer last week, and it made a tremendous difference in the stability. I highly recommend them for a 5th wheel or travel trailer.

[mlcote]

Originally Posted by havnfun

Holy crap, Batman!! Would the Steadyfast Stabilizers been any easier/better to install? I'm not that mechanically inclined to tackle the JT's like that.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

I think the Steadyfast might be a bit less work since it has fewer pieces. The tire issue would still exist so still not that easy is my guess.

[mlcote]

Originally Posted by poohbear

From the photos , I would say SteadyFast would have been much simpler . I base that on my SteadyFast install but I have no spare tire issue. . Might require a bracket to extend down the mount on the side to side arm if that tire extends out the front.

The tire would still be a problem. If it wasn't for the tire this install would have been really easy. Having to move the tire back is most of the extra work. Even my brackets in the front are not too bad. Just a bit more drilling.

[mlcote]

I went to my storage and got a picture of the JT Strongarms on my trailer so you can see the full view. I also put a few pictures of the back arms where I installed a cross bar and bolted the ends to that bar.

[rashers]

Has anyone adding JT Strong Arms with the generator installed? My North Point 375BHFS exhaust seems to be a perfect spot to interfere with the install.