Jack pads for a MH

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
scottydl

scottydl

Site Team
Joined
Jul 1, 2006
Posts
9,080
Location
Land of Lincoln
Obviously a board didn't work (see photo below).  Well it *worked* to elevate the RV but couldn't take the weight.  ;)  I rarely need them (usually I'm digging a hole to get the jack all the way down) but it would be nice to have something reliable.  The aftermarket jack pads out there seem to be designed for TT scissor jacks and not motorhome hydraulic jacks.  I think I remember reading of someone using plastic cutting boards glued together, or a baking stone, or other items like that.  Any other ideas?
 

Attachments

  • DSC01334.JPG
    DSC01334.JPG
    142 KB · Views: 149
We have a set of round plastic pads about 1" ghick that we got from the Brewers about 12 years ago and finally one cracked in half and another is cracking.  But the other 2 are still intact.  As long as the ground underneath is fairly solid, even a board shouldn't break.  Don't put it over a hole.
 
scottydl said:
Obviously a board didn't work (see photo below).  Well it *worked* to elevate the RV but couldn't take the weight.  ;)  I rarely need them (usually I'm digging a hole to get the jack all the way down) but it would be nice to have something reliable.  The aftermarket jack pads out there seem to be designed for TT scissor jacks and not motorhome hydraulic jacks.  I think I remember reading of someone using plastic cutting boards glued together, or a baking stone, or other items like that.  Any other ideas?
Click to expand...

Howdy, Scotty.
For our Bluebird Wanderlodge at 42,000 lbs plus, we use jack pads that are 2' x 2' x 2". They are pressure treated wood.  Hope this helps.

Regards,
Liz Pearce
 
we got 4 good oak bards 2" thick and they work like a champ on our class a 35'
 
We have almost identical splits in several of our boards, but they still work.
 
Part of my problem admittedly is that the board is too long and was partially in and partially out of a hole that I dug.  Uneven pressure contributed to the board cracking I'm sure.  I have 4 of those boards that I use for "auxiliary ramps" to get the car up on the tow dolly without the front end scraping.  I just needed something under the jacks on this last trip and that's all I had laying around.

I like the idea of those DICA pads.  But at $41 each, they look a LOT like black plastic cutting boards.  ;)  I may spend $3 on a cutting board at Target and experiment on our next trip!
 
I use the yellow plastic ones you get at camping world and they work fine.  The orange ones suck and break apart and also rot quickly.
I have had a couple of times that they sank in mud on one leg of our jacks and had to add more blocks.  I have two packages of ten and have had to use them all more than once.  They also fit together nicely to drive  on and hold my vehicles weight without a problem.  My 37 footers is 26000 lbs.
 
I have 2 sets of pads, one is made from cutting boards and are mostly used on parking lot type places for the jacks.  The other set is made from 4X4s and 2X4s and is used where the slope is such that an extra lift is required.  The ones for the rear are 4 4X4s with 2X4s across each end.  The ones for the front are similar but only 3 4X4s.
 
The original owner of my MH had about 8 12x12" 3/4" plywood squares in the coach when I bought it plus a few 12" long pieces of 2x12's. i have used them now for six years without any of them splitting or otherwise breaking down.

Woody
 
I bought a piece of 4'x4'x3/4" treated plywood. Cut it into 1'x1' pieces. This allowed me to make 4 pads each consisting of 4 layers of 3/4" plywood screwed together. Has worked great for about 7 years now. They are currently supporting my 32,000 lbs Horizon.
 
I have square plastic pads, honycomb on one side smooth on the other, they seem to work for me, I have had 'em "Bow" a bit but they have yet to break

I also have the "leggo" type blocks.

I also use 2x whatever

If you are way off, you should use 2xwhatever's to bring the wheels up first (Whatever is 2" wider than the tires, note you may lay 2 or more plank side by side to get to whatever.. IE: if your tire is 10" wide, use a 12 inch plank or 2 2x6)

Then finish with the hydraulics or electric jacks.
 
You talk of digging a hole and mention putting the jacks all the way down.  What's up?  I don't think there is a need to get the jacks all the way down.  Maybe I'm missing something.
 
By "all the way" I just mean touching the ground... not fully extended.  Sometimes I need to raise one corner, and the jack at that location swings down but hits the ground at an angle and is not straight.  I'll clear some gravel/dirt or scoop out a small hole so the jack will swing vertical, then extend it to raise the coach up a bit.
 
scottydl said:
By "all the way" I just mean touching the ground... not fully extended.  Sometimes I need to raise one corner, and the jack at that location swings down but hits the ground at an angle and is not straight.  I'll clear some gravel/dirt or scoop out a small hole so the jack will swing vertical, then extend it to raise the coach up a bit.
Click to expand...


Hi Scotty,

When that happens I just put one or two of the 2x12's under the tire at that corner. This raises the coach up enough for the jack to clear.

Woody
 
I made wooded pads from 2 X 8" pressure treated lumber. Used 4 pieces of the lumber14" long each to make each pad. Placed two parallel with about 2" of space between each to make the bottom string. Then for the top string placed two pieces at right angles to the bottom cord.  Used 2 1/2" screws to join them together. 
They are heavy! but I want to hold up a heavy rig.  if I am parking on concrete I use those orange square plastic pads from Camping World to keep any rush stains from the concrete. 
 
Woody said:
When that happens I just put one or two of the 2x12's under the tire at that corner. This raises the coach up enough for the jack to clear.
Click to expand...

And that cracked board shown under my first post IS a board for tires, but my vehicle tires for loading the tow dolly.  But there's nothing to keep me from using them for the MH tires also, I just never thought of that!  :p ;)
 
Thought I would mention jack pad design from an engineer's perspective (not from me - I'm not an engineer  :D)

The ideal (as in unbreakable) jack pad looks like a pyramid - a wide base at the bottom, another layer a little smaller, next layer a little smaller, etc.  This spreads out the stresses and it will not break.
 
I went to a metal fabricator and had 10 inch square plates cut out of 1/2 inch aluminum stock, they are light and will last a life time, I have used them for years now and are like new. Will slip under most jacks that have minimum ground clearance when down.
,  and will support any weight rig. Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,154 (members: 25, guests: 1,129)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,976
Posts
1,388,563
Members
137,726
Latest member
CampMike2270
Back
Top Bottom