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Old 06-30-2016, 05:23 PM   #1
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Parking on an incline

Hi everyone,

We are brand new to RVs and trailers, and jumped full in due to our love of camping and adventure. Being new, I cannot tell if I'm just being cautious or paranoid.

We literally brought our new Jayco home last night, and today when I was unhitching it from the truck, I began to worry about the slope of our driveway. I placed 4x4 wood blocks under the tires, went out and bought two plastic 17" wheel chocks, came home and now have both the wood and the wheel chocks in place (back wheels have the chocks, front wheels have the wood). Is this over the top?

Also, should I consider building up with cinder block or wood a spot for the tongue/jack on the front of the hitch? I didn't want the jack fully extended to try and keep the RV flat since it seemed more susceptible to bending and flexing. Are there any problems with having it on an angle? Should I be concerned about extra stress on the jack?

Edit:
I don't know why the picture is loading upside down, or at least it is for me. Here is a link: http://www.jaycoowners.com/attachmen...ce2fa42659.jpg

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Old 06-30-2016, 05:34 PM   #2
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I've got a similar driveway but perhaps not as steep. My trailer is also shorter at 26 feet.
We have to crank the tongue jack up almost all the way with a wood block under it and of course we chock the tires. We also drop the stabilizers whenever we park it. Haven't had a problem in 4 years. I think it is important to have your trailer level. We keep ours plugged in and often have the fridge running on electric while at home, so we need it to be level.
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Old 06-30-2016, 05:34 PM   #3
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It needs to be level if you plan to run the ac and be in it while in the driveway. You can't have to much chocking and you can put blocks under the tongue jack to keep from over extending the tongue jack. Most place the chocks in front of the forward tires and behind the rear tires. Just so its chocked front and back on each side.

Get in the habit of always chocking it front and rear every time before disconnecting and it may someday save you some grief.

I don't know about the pic yet. I tried to download it and it displays correctly on my computer. When I uploaded it, it came up turned over too! It displays correctly on my iPhone.
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Old 06-30-2016, 05:59 PM   #4
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The pic is fine when I view it on an I pad.

One thing to be careful of is having the fridge on while that far out of level.

From my understanding (from other members here) you can do damage if you're running it on propane.
The flame is meant to burn straight up (level). To far out of level causes the flame to come in contact with parts that can't take the heat directly from the flame.

I'm not sure if running on electric is bad also.

Maybe someone else with more info will chime in.

Good luck and welcome to JOF!
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Old 06-30-2016, 06:10 PM   #5
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This is what I did. My driveway has a steep grade so I built crib blocks out of 2 x 4's and use jack stands and good wheel chocks. It's worked well for almost 2 years now.
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Old 06-30-2016, 06:56 PM   #6
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If I upload your pic to Photobucket it works fine:
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Old 06-30-2016, 06:58 PM   #7
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Did you take the pic originally with an iPhone?
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Old 06-30-2016, 07:27 PM   #8
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Always chock before unhitching. I now have four, last spring while I only had two, the trailer rolled on me, at a spot that I did not think was to bad.

At home, my driveway slopes just as bad, but in the other direction. At our old house, I was in a hurry one day, parked on the street unhooked, slight slope, did not chock, came home from work and my tongue jack was off its board and dig into the asphalt about 4 inches.

Please do not use cinder blocks for the tongue. They are not very strong. They are designed for a static load with only a down force in one direction. I made up a nice large nose wheel block for at home out of scrap wood. They just stay in the driveway when we are gone.
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Old 06-30-2016, 07:29 PM   #9
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You do not have to level your TT in your driveway, UNLESS you plan to run the refrigerator. Possibly the A/C. And it would probably be good to level it if you plan to extend your slide-out(s), if any.

I try to level mine, with a driveway that's just as sloped as yours. I use two stacks of cinderblocks under a pair of jack stands at the front, plus a stack of wood blocks under the tongue jack. After it's close to level, then I drop the rear stabilizers. All that so we can start the 'fridge about 24 hours before our next outing. That's a lot of work! Next time I bring it home I will NOT level it, and we will take food along in a cooler. I'll start the 'fridge on gas right after I hitch it up and take it out of the driveway, and let it start getting cold while we're driving.

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Old 06-30-2016, 07:35 PM   #10
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Some smartphones automatically "right" pictures or videos that were accidentally taken upside down. They even "right" the picture/video on the screen while you're taking it so you don't even realize you're holding the device upside down. However, the saved picture/video is stored upside down. When you upload/copy/move it, it may display upside down if the device you're displaying it on does not have this automatic "righting" feature.

For smartphones, there are apps available that will "right" and save photos/videos in their "righted" state.

On Windows computers, pictures are easy to do as as almost any photo software will rotate and/or flip pictures. With MS Word, you can insert a picture into the text portion and turn it at all kinds of angles, plus you can shrink or enlarge it. For videos, search the net for some free video editing software that has this capability. I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

Good Luck!
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Old 06-30-2016, 08:19 PM   #11
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I built a block for the tongue jack, that was angled so the top was level. Worked well and never had an issue.
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Old 06-30-2016, 09:07 PM   #12
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Welcome and congrats on the new rig!!!

One set of chocks in front of the tires will probably be enough, but having another set due to the slope can't hurt. As mentioned, you should still chock behind the tires as well. Could prevent jack damage if someone bumps the trailer in the driveway

When setting our chocks, after leveling side to side, I place one set in front of the rear wheels, then move the tt with the truck "into" the chocks, set the e-brake, and then place the other set behind the front tires. Release the e-brake and the tt will "settle" into the chocks which are nice and tight.

Block the tongue jack as ,mentioned. Though if you are so inclined to angle the block, I would consider placing the angled portion on the ground, so the stack is more vertical. Not sure if that is what Wags does or not, but an excellent idea!

Enjoy the new rig, and don't hesitate to ask any questions!!!
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Old 07-01-2016, 05:29 AM   #13
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Thanks everyone for the insight and support. I feel better and I may look at building a more solid block for the jack. I don't plan on running it in the driveway, so the fridge shouldn't be an issue. But I feel like that would be something to help when we are starting to load it, and to allow us to get the fridge going early as was mentioned.

And yes, the photo was from my phone, which I haven't seen it do before, but I also don't upload photos to forums too often. lol
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Old 07-01-2016, 07:41 AM   #14
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Typically its wise to chock front and back, but in this set up I would put all of them in the front of both wheels. That puppy is not going to slide backward and someone bumping it is not going to knock enough to push it back. On a minor slope I would do front and back.

Unless its only for an overnite, I would always recommend that you level out your rig. That allows you to open slides and power up the fridge the day before your next trip. I would definitely build a base lift for the front jack using a 10"x10" bottom plate and then sandwich it up maybe 8 or 10 inches using smaller planks all screwed together to eliminate the risk of the whole thing shifting. I would top it off with a 1 1/2" rail to box off the top [split a 2x4] to prevent the jack wheel from rolling off the riser. Since you are making it specificly for your drive, I agree that it would be wise to put a strip across the front of the bottom plate to allow the whole thing to be vertical on your drive.

You don't want your TT to roll when you disconnect from the TV.
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Old 07-01-2016, 08:11 AM   #15
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You can never have too many chocks. I have a 1' section of 6" x 6" lumber that I use under the tongue jack. Used an old piece of ratchet strap and stapled it to the side as a handle. Works well, no issues.
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Old 07-01-2016, 10:44 AM   #16
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heh i'm a new owner and had the same questions. this is my TT on the driveway. which has quite a bit of slope. i have all my chocks in front of the tires as i doubt it will roll backwards and my tongue block is just tall enough, but can be a bit taller so i don't have to extend it so far. i also want to add a few more to each of the front stabilizers.

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Old 07-06-2016, 11:46 AM   #17
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I ended up building a box from an assortment of lumber I had. It ends up being just the right height for me to set the hitch on when it's on my truck. I still have quite the distance to raise it to get it even close to level. No idea what the crush strength of a 2x4 is, but I'm guessing I'm safe.

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Old 07-06-2016, 12:24 PM   #18
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It's a little tough to see. But, even for winter storage, I level the trailer.


The ground is sloped away from the barn. You can see the tongue jack is at near-full extension.





No matter which fuel you use: Electricity or propane, operating a gas fridge out-of-level for extended periods will damage it.
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Old 07-06-2016, 12:34 PM   #19
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Currently no appliances are running, but my expectation is to level it when we start prepping for a trip and when/if I get the fridge running before we leave.
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Old 07-06-2016, 12:44 PM   #20
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First of all, never park your TT upside down. I've done this before after a night of drinking and it puts wear-n-tear on your roof. Second, always chock before unhitching.. front and rear of wheels. What you built for the tongue looks pretty darn good if I say so myself. It scares me (even with proper chocking) to park for extended periods of time on a steep decline/incline. But I understand some folk have no choice. And just fyi, there's no such thing as "too much chocking". However, there is such thing as "too much upside down'.
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