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Old 02-01-2008, 06:14 AM   #1
rarin2go
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Angry Scissors jacks in Garage

Looking at buying a 2720sl that will be kept on one side of a two car garage.
If I use the scissors jacks while it is in the garage,how do you use the two
that are on the garage wall side.I understand they don't swivel.Can the
swingaround tongue support it without the jacks.NEED HELP.
Rarin2go
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Old 02-01-2008, 07:06 AM   #2
PopBeavers
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My TM 2720 is in the garage, with the street side up against the wall, very close. I have the swing away hitch.

I do not use the rear jacks, I only use the two front jacks. Here is what I do.

I have a mark on the floor where I set the chock for the curbside wheel. I back the TM in as close to the wall as I can, about 4 inches of clearance. It is at a slight angle, perhaps 5 degrees, as I back it into the corner. The rear of the TM is closer to the side wall than the front is. When the wheel hits the chock I stop.

I chock the front side of the curb side wheel in the front. This wheel is no chocked front and rear. There is no chock at all on the other wheel. I disconnect from the TV.

I lower the front jacks until they almost touch the ground, Then I push the front of the TM up against the wall.

I have just enough room to reach back with my cordless drill to lower the front street side jack until it just touches the floor. Lowering the curb side front jack until it just touches the floor is easier, because I have more room to work with.

Then I lower the tongue jack until the weight is on the front jacks. Then I pivot the swing tongue so I can close the door.
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Old 02-01-2008, 08:29 AM   #3
JOEALAN
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Default Parking TM In garage. Should tires be off ground during long periods of storage?

Rarin2go, welcome to the TM forum. Alot of great information here.

My TM fits into my garage with room to spare and I don't have a swing away hitch. Of course it helps when your garage is 23' from one end to the other. Had to make a decision to park TM at least two feet away from the wall. Give's me enough room (At least my son) to raise or lower all four jacks. It created another problem, very close to park car in garage. I have no problem in getting out of my park car, but my grandsons while opening the door have already put two small dents in my TM. Just to make you aware, it doesn't take very much to put a dent on the skin of the TM. Hopefully to avoid from putting more dents on the TM, I'm going to put a piece of 1/2" plywood along side of of the TM unless someone has a better idea. Open for suggestions other than disowning my grandchildren.

Brings up another question, is it wise to lift TM completely off the ground so tires are not touching during long periods of storage? Will it prolong the life of the tires?

Have a geat day,

Joe S.
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Old 02-01-2008, 09:43 AM   #4
Scott O
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I have read it is best to get the weight off the tires when in storage, but that is not possible for me since I have the space issues mentioned above. I get the TM where I want it, and raise the tongue jack, which lowers the front end. Then I crawl under the rear of the TM with my trusty drill and lower the jacks as much as I can. Then I lower the tongue jack as much as I can, which raises the front end of the TM. Then use the drill to lower the front jacks as much as possible. Now quite a bit of the weight is supported by the 4 jacks and I can raise the tongue jack and pivot the swing away hitch. Don't forget to chock front and back of the wheels. I have absolutely no idea if this proceedure does any good, but I feel better about storage of our TM when I do it!!!
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Old 02-01-2008, 10:33 AM   #5
jbrooks
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Wht size allan wrench do you use in your cordless drill??
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Old 02-01-2008, 11:25 AM   #6
NYJeff
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I am under the impression that these sorts of jacks are meant to stabilize the trailer & not intended to actually lift the tires off the ground. I would be concerned that the trailer frame is not built to carry the load only on the 4 corners.

If you keep the tires properly inflated, I don't see the benefit to putting down the jacks when simply storing the TM in the garage. Am I missing something?
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Old 02-01-2008, 12:54 PM   #7
PopBeavers
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From what I have read, the importance of getting the weight off of the TM tires seems to be an issue for long term storage.

We go camping once a month, so my tires never sit in the same spot for more than that.

I don't worry about taking the weight off of the TM tires.
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Old 02-01-2008, 02:06 PM   #8
Bill
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NYJeff View Post
I am under the impression that these sorts of jacks are meant to stabilize the trailer & not intended to actually lift the tires off the ground. I would be concerned that the trailer frame is not built to carry the load only on the 4 corners.
Earlier TMs had corner stabilizers mounted on the four corners of the body, not the frame, much like a tent trailer. However, for quite a while, TMs have had honest-to-gosh jacks, mounted on the frame - each one good for 5000 pounds if I remember correctly. Both they, and the TM, are perfectly capable of lifting the TM. I don't like cranking them very much - but that is another story. A search on "stabilizer" ought to turn up half a dozen threads - it is a popular topic. It also comes up in the context of changing a flat tire - why do I need to carry a jack if the TM has built-in jacks?

Quote:
If you keep the tires properly inflated, I don't see the benefit to putting down the jacks when simply storing the TM in the garage. Am I missing something?
You might want to take a minute to read the Goodyear tire brochure in the TM Reference Library (aka TM Info You Won't Find Anywhere Else)
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=5323
Tire manufacturers seem to agree universally that getting the weight off them during long-term storage is a good idea. I'm not sure that you actually have to get them up in the air, but if you can substantially reduce the weight on each tire, it ought to do some good. And cranking the jacks as Scott describes is a good way to do it. On the other hand, I'm not sure that one-month storage qualifies as "long term", so I'm with Wayne on that score. Bobby at wmtire, chime in here if I need to be updated.

If I recall, at least one of our members bought a garage-type floor jack - they're not too expensive at Harbor Freight, etc. From the accessible side of the trailer, you can slide it under the far-side frame (NOT THE AXLE!) and jack it up quite easily. Then a bottle jack works under the near side.

And JBrooks, most any husky size Allen wrench will do. I use a 1/4 inch, others use 3/8 inch, some dispense with the Allen wrench and use a foundation bolt. A Search on "foundation" ought to turn up at least a couple of threads on the topic.

Bill
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Old 02-02-2008, 09:43 AM   #9
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Thanks Bill. Certainly, during camping season I wouldn't worry about it as I take my current TowLite in & out of the garage enough that I won't get flat spots.

If the jacks & frame are OK for lifting, I see no reason not to for winter storage. My jacks are stabilizers only so I know I can't lift mine.

It's nice that TM puts on the big jacks but I'm not sure the added cost to do so provides a tangible benefit. As I said, I fill my tires with air & the trailer sits for near 6 months. Haven't seen any problems yet related to that (I have had to replace crappy Chinese tires but that's another matter).
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