JT Strongarm or Steadyfast??

[havnfun]

Need to stabilize our new fiver and I'm looking at JT Strongarm and Steadyfast stabilizers. Read You Tube reviews and both seem to do the job pretty good. Is one easier to install than the other? Which is "better"?
What say you??

Happy RVing,
Jeff

[T-Roy]

Watching with interest I have the same question.

[Riv96]

Been lurking for a while , figure this would be a good first post since I just installed the steady fast on my Jayco Eagle HT 26.5 BHS. I looked at both the JT strongarm and steadyfast before i purchased, deciding factor for me was simply steadyfast being made just south of me in Bakersfield Ca. I did call and speak to Paul (the owner i believe) before I purchased, had a question about options for install since my spare tire in mounted on the front. Very helpful and nice person!! Ended up relocating tire to rear on bumper to accomodate system. Quality of parts are excellent, everything I received in kit was packaged carefully and protected. I would recommend laying all your parts out where they will be installed on 5th wheel before hand. This made install go pretty smooth. Directions were easy to follow. I'm just an average do it your selfer and was able to complete the task fairly easy. Took me about 4 hours from start to finish, took the most time just laying out parts where they need to go. Overall I'm very happy with it, took the majority of movement out of my fifthwheel... For me it was money worth spending.. Good luck with what you decide, I'm sure the JT works well too, looks fairly similar.
.

[Mopar_Earl]

I went with the JT's. Didn't like the design of the other one. Especially the foot attachment.


Earl

[wiscampsin]

We had the JT's fore and aft on our previous 37' 5th wheel and the worked great!

[Lowmiler]

So, what kind of movement do these stabilizers remove?

Even with screw jacks under the generator door area, we still get some side to side shaking in the master bedroom on our 377 if someone is walking around the kitchen or living room area. All six levelers deployed, extended only about 6".

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by Lowmiler

So, what kind of movement do these stabilizers remove?

Even with screw jacks under the generator door area, we still get some side to side shaking in the master bedroom on our 377 if someone is walking around the kitchen or living room area. All six levelers deployed, extended only about 6".

They make a huge difference but you won't eliminate all movement. Frame flex, tire flex, suspension flex and so on all play a role. From my research before I bought mind, I don't recall anyone saying it was a waste of money


Earl

[Farmall]

We have the JT's on our 24' Quest. Seem to work really great - rock solid!

[ArcticFire]

We use JT's and X-Chocks and are very happy with the outcome. There is hardly any movement left. But like everything else on your RV, things need to be maintained and occasionally checked and reset / re-tightend.

[ROC-REQS]

I have the Steadyfast on our FW and really like them.
I have the 6pt leveling system, have the Steadyfast in the front and on the rear stablizer jacks.

I had JTs on our previous TT, they were good on the TT, but I think the Steadyfast are better on the FW.

I took the JTs off the TT before trading it in and tried them on the FW when we 1st got it. I wasn't satisfied with how the JTs worked on the front landing jacks. So I sold them and got the Steadyfast system. I much happier with the Steadyfast system on the FW then the JTs. To me the Steadyfast system does a much better job on stabilizing the front of the FW.
That's just my opinion for what it's worth.

As others have mentioned, nether will take 100% of the movement out.
But both will make a difference.

Good luck

[vcbice]

I tried several things to remove movement. First, our trailer has the front jacks and the two stabilizers in the back. The rear ones are about 6ft fron the end of the trailer so there is quite a bit of overhang there.

First, BalChocks. They did a little, but, not much. They are easier than std wheel chocks.

Tried Kingpin stabilizer. It helped a little. Ended up giving it back to the original owner.

JT's. These were simply great. Why JT and not the other brands? They were in the RV store when I went there. Took me about two hours to install and I did not move the spare tire (there is small issue there but I live with it). The JT's (and probably any other stabilizers like them) work very well. They remove about 80% of the movement.

Screw jacks. Because of the large rear overhang we still had a bit of movement when someone was in the bunkhouse. I put two screw jacks under the rear most part of the frame. They have removed all but a very small amount of the remaining movement in the trailer.

If you want to go a bit less expensive then a set of 4, 6 or 8 screw jacks will do the job. Or, do like mobile homes and use concrete piers and wedges at 6 or 8ft intervals.

FWIW, the movement is due to slop in the jacks and flexibility of the tires/suspension. Chock do not change the flexibility of the tires. Typical jacks have at least a fraction of an inch of movement. May not seem like much but it is. If you measure from the outside it only takes about 1/4" movement to be able to feel it inside.

PS the critical part of using the JT's is to tighten them and then raise the jacks to put tension on them. If only tightened up there is still some slop.

[Murff]

You might look at the BAL Lock Arm Stabilizers.

Work well and cost less than the JT Strongarm.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...bar-33456.html

BAL - Innovative Products for the RV Industry

Murff

[DavidJay]

Originally Posted by Murff

You might look at the BAL Lock Arm Stabilizers.

Work well and cost less than the JT Strongarm.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...bar-33456.html

BAL - Innovative Products for the RV Industry

Murff

I didn't like the BAL arrangement for the landing gear connection, so I upgraded to the JT clevis, link: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...zer-59653.html

[havnfun]

Just looked under my Eagle HT 26.5RLDS and see that the spare tire sticks out forward several inches. It is in the way of any stabilizers I'm interested in (Stadyfast, JT, BAL). What have you HT owners done to get around that tire issue? Doesn't appear that I can move it back 4 - 5 inches to get the clearance I need.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

[vcbice]

Yes, the spare tire hits the stabilizers.

When installing I lowered the spare. Installed the stabilizers and raised the spare. The first time I raised the jacks I loosened the spare a little. After raising the jacks I raised the spare back up so it was tightly in place (and jammed up against the stabilizer bars).

Now, when I get to a campground I just lower the jacks. The spare is a little loose when the jacks are down. When the jacks are raised back up I push back the spare a little so it settles back into it's 'travel' position as the jacks come up. Works well for me.

Of course you can always get a bumper mount for the spare, or, modify the existing mechanism so it is a couple inches further to the rear.

[Lowmiler]

Is this the proper kit for the front of a 377?

https://smile.amazon.com/Mobile-Outf...ustomerReviews