Quote:
Originally Posted by pemc4279
My distaste for scissor jacks comes from my ignorance when first using them, but it solidifies concerns posted by Camper One. Our first experience was a rental of a pop-up with canvas sides. I used the scissor jacks to level, putting them too high, but quickly noticed the weak spots. Since then, while I'm leveling before engaging jacks, I still feel like they're weak. Anyone thought of replacing them with drop leg jacks like in the pic I've attached?
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I'm a little confused by your question. Canvas pop-ups are almost always equipped with drop leg stabilizers (not jacks) like those in your picture. Even the Coleman Niagara, one of the biggest canvas pop-ups out there, has drop-down jacks (see the picture). I suppose you could have rented one with true scissors jacks, but it would be unusual. Assuming your rental had true scissors jacks, in what way did you find them to be a "weak spot"?
As TentCamper says, the drop-leg units are simple stabilizers, not jacks. They can seem a bit weak, especially if the ground under them is soft, since they aren't designed to take much weight. The crank-down scissors jacks on a TM are rated to lift 5000 pounds
each, which is more than the total weight of the TM. In no way can these be considered weak.
If you are concerned about the need to crank the scissors jacks up and down - very much a chore if done with the hand crank - then simply get yourself a battery-powered electric drill, and chuck a foundation bolt or a 1/4 inch Allen wrench into it. The jack zips up and down in a hurry.
A TM weighs considerably more than most canvas pop-ups, so removing the crank-down jacks from the TM and substituting drop-leg stabilizers might not be a good idea. If nothing else, they will have an even harder time stabilizing a TM.
Bill