Newbi, questions TT

[Adventurous Traveler]

Chocks, absolutely. Behind and in front of every tire. Remember to chock the tires BEFORE you unhitch. Can't tell you how many times I have seen people forget that little bit, and trailer starts to roll sideway

I've highlighted this quote just so the OP knows how important it is to chock the wheels before un-hitching.

To use any size or kind of scrap lumber for leveling pads, stabilizers, or jack stand pads, try looking around your area for new home construction. There might be a pile of lumber cuts in all kinds of sizes lying out front in a pile that the builders have no problem if you pick out some pieces. Before the camping season starts, I'll check out a couple of new home developments near me. Generally, I get two loads of wood from 2x4s up to the heavy main support beams for firewood. The pads that I put under the leveling jacks on my motorhome are made from beam wood cut into 12x12 squares with another square of 1/2" ABS board screwed on. They are heavy and bulky, but they work great for my DP. During winter storage, I put the wheels off the ground on doubled-up planks of 2x12s picked up as scrap at the home builds.

 

[Sunnyfalls]

We use 4 chocks (2 on each side of each tire of our single axle) before unhitching. When staying anyplace for an extended time and since each of our 4 BAL 24002D Scissor "Jacks" can lift twice the weight of our 3500 pound maximum weight trailer, we jack the tires completely off the ground. We use 1 SF plastic load plates under the hitch jack and under the 4 scissor jacks which results in a ground loading of less than 5 PSI. This approach makes the trailer rock stable (no flexing of the tires at all), unloads our Dexter 3,500 pound TORFLEX 10 degree down axle and enables checking the wheel bearings and brakes on a more frequent basis. This is perhaps more important for us as our dry glamping outings often exceed 15,000 miles before we return to a home base.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

 

[gwinger]

And always put the chocks in place after leveling and before unhitching or dropping the stabilizers.
I made my own chocks using 3 pieces of 2X6 bolted together I traced the profile of the tire and cut the curve on a band saw.
I have yet found a store bought chock that fits snug to the tire.