Sunline Essentials

It doesn't have jacks already on it? I thought all the Lippert framed units had jacks under them, maybe not.

Anyway, I would most certainly go with the scissor style "leveling" jack and not the "stabilizing jack" with the thing that goes coach wide and has an arm on either end that drops down. We've had some experiences with those stabilizing jacks (not on the Sunline though) were if the situation is on dirt/uneven ground, if you try to pick up the trailer whatsoever, the jack will be very hard to turn to do that. If you happen to be in a situation where you haven't locked all the tires and the tongue jack starts moving, this style jack will just bend like it's nothing. At least if the scissor jack starts sliding off whatever block you use or even if it's just on the ground, I think it should still hold the trailer up and not bend horribly.

Not to mention, the main force contact point for lifting on the stab jacks is way in from the frame. It does depend on the unit, but it could be up to like a foot in from the frame rail on each side. So that means that any lift you get will mostly be put on the small channel for the jack frame and not applied directly to the frame rail, so this will cause quite a bit of bounce inside the unit too.

Here's what has worked well for us for battery tenders. We've been using them for a few years now for all the stuff since a couple of the Sears ones we had started acting up. I know some have mentioned on here in the past that they like a charger with a desulfate mode too, but I'm not sure what brand has one. Regardless though, I would plan to take the battery off the trailer and put it either inside your garage or in your basement and put it on charge there. Also, make sure you get a 12V charger and not a 6V.

Battery Tender Plus - Batterytender.com

Jon
 
That's a nice link you have Joan. Lots of great information consolidated in one spot.
We purchased most of what you have on your list at WalMart. In addition, we did get a high flow water filter at Camping World.
 
No I am sure its has stabilizing jacks but I was looking at some leveling products they have. The idea of having to drive back and forth on boards to level the rig isn't very appealing especially when you are a newbie, alone and not great at backing up (yet)

This is nice but its only for single axle trailers or pop ups

Just looking for an alternative that isn't too pricey, like automatic levelers

Thanks for the link to the trickle charger for the battery. I definitely plan on taking the battery off the rig and keeping in my garage with a charge



Sunline Fan said:
It doesn't have jacks already on it? I thought all the Lippert framed units had jacks under them, maybe not.

Anyway, I would most certainly go with the scissor style "leveling" jack and not the "stabilizing jack" with the thing that goes coach wide and has an arm on either end that drops down. We've had some experiences with those stabilizing jacks (not on the Sunline though) were if the situation is on dirt/uneven ground, if you try to pick up the trailer whatsoever, the jack will be very hard to turn to do that. If you happen to be in a situation where you haven't locked all the tires and the tongue jack starts moving, this style jack will just bend like it's nothing. At least if the scissor jack starts sliding off whatever block you use or even if it's just on the ground, I think it should still hold the trailer up and not bend horribly.

Not to mention, the main force contact point for lifting on the stab jacks is way in from the frame. It does depend on the unit, but it could be up to like a foot in from the frame rail on each side. So that means that any lift you get will mostly be put on the small channel for the jack frame and not applied directly to the frame rail, so this will cause quite a bit of bounce inside the unit too.

Here's what has worked well for us for battery tenders. We've been using them for a few years now for all the stuff since a couple of the Sears ones we had started acting up. I know some have mentioned on here in the past that they like a charger with a desulfate mode too, but I'm not sure what brand has one. Regardless though, I would plan to take the battery off the trailer and put it either inside your garage or in your basement and put it on charge there. Also, make sure you get a 12V charger and not a 6V.

Battery Tender Plus - Batterytender.com

Jon
Click to expand...
 
Thanks...its one of my favorites......trying to get to Wal-Mart....


Tweety said:
That's a nice link you have Joan. Lots of great information consolidated in one spot.
We purchased most of what you have on your list at WalMart. In addition, we did get a high flow water filter at Camping World.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Joan

You mentioned a battery charger to trickle charge your battery. I "think" you mean a float type charger to keep your battery healthy all winter long. If you mean to charge it back up from a very drained state that is a different type.

This is one of the ones that desulfate the battery.

Here is there main web site Battery Chargers by BatteryMINDers.com

Here is the ones I use. BatteryMINDer® Plus 12 Volt 1.33 Amp Charger-Maintainer-Conditioner (Desulfator) | All | Battery Chargers by BatteryMINDers.com

If you search on that model number on the web they can be found for like $40. There are 2 other brands out there that have the float charge and desulfate mode too so I'm not brand hung up just these have worked well for me.

You do need to charge the battery full up before putting these on. You can do that with the TT converter. Once charged then the Battery Minder Plus keeps it up and conditions the battery.

Hope this helps

John
 
Hi Joan,
I like the RhinoFlex hose for dumping. It is fairly rigid and pulls out to the length needed unlike the the slinky kind which is... like a slinky and goes where it wants to. However, most people store the Rhino in the bumper--the slinky ones just coil up in a relatively small bin.

For leveling I have wood and the lego block style Lynx Levelers--a similar, but not compatible product is made by CW. The lego blocks work well if you have a spotter as it is a pretty small square to stop on. One down side of lego is that it will slide on a hard pad like asphalt and is best used on bare ground. I know wood planks are a bit of a pain, but they work much better if you don't have a spotter. I park on a one piece 2X10 at home, but carry smaller pieces for each wheel on the road. I have found cpg. to be fairly level and usually find one lego block or 2X8 to be enough. Don't let the tires hang off a block, it stresses the cords.

The jacks installed by Sunline are stabilizing jacks, not leveling jacks. BAL sells a power version, but also says not to use it to lift the trailer. With the hand crank you really can't lift the trailer either and that is why they are stabilizing jacks--they keep the trailer from bouncing while you're walking around inside. The proper way to use these jacks is to level the trailer as close as possible with the tongue jack and blocks under the wheels. With what's left, lower the stabilizing jacks on the low side first and turn the crank a good 1/2 to 3/4 turn further. That will lift the trailer somewhat more and get you pretty close to level. Then lower the jacks on the low side and give the crank another 1/4 to 1/2 turn just so it feels good and solid.

Backing onto blocks is much easier if the truck is at a slight angle to the trailer as you can see the blocks easier. You can also feel the resistance give as the trailer wheels roll up the block, so it can be done without a spotter. You're not going to learn everything on the first trip. Maybe tour some campgrounds solo and look for good spots so you can go back later with the trailer and not be worried about what predicaments you might get into. RV parks are also easier than most SP so are a good place to practice and build your confidence. We barely made it into our site at a WI SP that had 90° sites on a narrow treed road. Sometimes you can also get really good satellite views of campsites and I always check RV and SP when traveling just so we don't get surprised--although the WI SP was in full leaf on the satellite and I couldn't see the entrance to the site. I don't remember what your rig is, but wide mirrors, and a convex spot, are essential, and you should look into adding them if you need to.

It is quite possible to destroy a refrigerator with an out of level trailer. Those most at risk are the ones who don't tow level and then don't unhook at the cpg. A good rule of thumb is if you can walk around inside the trailer and it feels ok, it is level enough. So you don't need to worry if the level isn't right on. It should look level outside--although terrain can be deceiving--and feel level inside.

Henry
 
apackoftwo said:
No I am sure its has stabilizing jacks but I was looking at some leveling products they have. The idea of having to drive back and forth on boards to level the rig isn't very appealing especially when you are a newbie, alone and not great at backing up (yet)

This is nice but its only for single axle trailers or pop ups

Just looking for an alternative that isn't too pricey, like automatic levelers
Click to expand...

Hi again Joan

Saw this. None of those BAL scissors or stabilizers are intended to lift the TT to level it. They are intended to stabilize only, aka take out wiggle motion from sitting on rubber tires and suspension.

If your are after actually lifting to level like on a motor home, they do build such a device but it uses hydraulic cylinders to lift the camper. A while ago there was a person who added them to their Sunline even, a 2003 camper about ~ 27 feet long even. He was a real mod kind of guy to create one that automatic. As for price, I do not know exactly but if you are talking hydraulic leveling it can get close to ~$800 and up.

With that said how do you do this by yourself on the wood or plastic block types? While mine are short and the DW tells me when to stop there are other ways to do this.

A longer board that covers 2 wheels length has been used. It weighs more but gives more freedom of when to stop. You can add a small bump stop on the back so you can feel it in the truck. Only heads up is if your dump valve is right behind the tire the long boards can kick up if you drive off them fast, so go real slow off them.

I have seen folks use the plastic blocks and they make them long enough to covers both tires, again allowing more room for when to stop.

And until you have mastered the backing up on situation, may just use what ever leveling block you want and place a 2 x 4 block about 12 inches long behind one of the truck tires spaced back the distance you want to back up. If this is on the drivers side rear wheel you can see it from the cab and feel it when you reach that distance, then just stop.

Hope this helps.

John
 
I see Henry and I where typing both at the same time. :) Henry what is the name of your Battery Minder that desulfates?
 
Hi John, we're still typing at the same time. Are you retired now??:mrgreen:

I have the one you have as well as this Cetek.

Henry
 
henryj said:
Hi John, we're still typing at the same time. Are you retired now??:mrgreen:

Henry
Click to expand...

No on lunch break.... Now have to get back to work...:mrgreen: Wish I was retired

Joan, on the voltmeter, do you want a real meter with test leads or the simple plug in type like Henry pointed to?

I have both but use them for different things.
 
I have seen folks use the plastic blocks and they make them long enough to covers both tires, again allowing more room for when to stop.
Click to expand...

Lynx Levelers also makes these chocks that hook onto the leveler blocks (see below) allowing you to back onto the levelers until you back against the chock. I have a set and they work very well.

wheel-stops-chocks.jpg
wheel-stops-lynx-1.jpg

We also make one long ramp, then remove the tiles that end up between the tires if we need them for other purposes.

It is also handy that if we need more than one tile in heighth, you can off-set the tiles so the two layers are interlocked (think laying bricks) so they don't slide.

Mack
 
Joan, I know after you have backed up onto blocks/boards to level a few times you will be very comfortable. The first few times are always the worst. Maybe some practice in a school parking lot on a weekend will lessen the fear.

Here is one tip for backing up onto blocks/boards when alone. Put the boards down behind or in front of the tires to raise. Use a yardstick or string or locking tape measure (whatever) to measure how far the tire needs to move to be where you want it to end up. Take that measurement and lay it on the ground next to the truck where you can see it from the drivers seat. Make a visual reference from one end of the yardstick to something on the truck. Move truck until that reference is at the other end of yardstick, string, whatever. You will now be very close to where you want to be. After enough times you will just know how far to move by just looking at the ground.

PS. I used to use boards until I got 2 10 packs of plastic Lynx levelers. They are lighter than boards and store nicely in their bags even when wet.
 
John & Henry,

You bring up a good point about the stab jacks. Indeed you cannot completely level the TT with them. I've just found they seem to have more abilities to make minor adjustments over the style that has the arm coming down.

I'm not sure if they said in the Sunline manual or in the instructions for the jacks themselves that you cannot lift the trailer enough to get the tires off the ground. I certainly make use of these jacks when changing a tire because I'll put one down after I've lifted it with another jack (just as a safety backup), but I certainly could not even attempt to lift the trailer with it.

Even though they aren't designed for total leveling, BAL advertises them as such: BAL - Innovative Products for the RV Industry

This is the style I'm not a fan of: BAL - Innovative Products for the RV Industry

Jon
 
Sunline Fan said:
John & Henry,

You bring up a good point about the stab jacks. Indeed you cannot completely level the TT with them. I've just found they seem to have more abilities to make minor adjustments over the style that has the arm coming down.

I'm not sure if they said in the Sunline manual or in the instructions for the jacks themselves that you cannot lift the trailer enough to get the tires off the ground. I certainly make use of these jacks when changing a tire because I'll put one down after I've lifted it with another jack (just as a safety backup), but I certainly could not even attempt to lift the trailer with it.

Even though they aren't designed for total leveling, BAL advertises them as such: BAL - Innovative Products for the RV Industry

This is the style I'm not a fan of: BAL - Innovative Products for the RV Industry

Jon
Click to expand...

Hi Jon

I agree we are both not fans of the arm type on a TT unless it is a real small one.

The scissors type they are more power full however there is a play on words in the term leveling. See the note at the end of item number 5
BAL - Innovative Products for the RV Industry

Here is a quick excerpt "[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]NOTE: Do not raise any tire off the ground by using your jacks. If you apply too much pressure to the jacks, your doors and windows may not close properly, or you may bend the jack leg(s)."[/FONT]

And here in the instructions they caution about excessive weight in several places. They just do not declare what excessive is but to not use it to lift the camper or change a tire. http://norcoind.com/bal/downloads/manuals/Leveling Scissors Jack (24010 & 24012).pdf

This much I know, the Bal's on my T310SR will not hold. In fact they unscrew themselves under load right in front of my eyes.:mad: They did this even when the camper was almost empty. They never did that on the T2499 but they for sure to on the T310SR. A mod this winter/spring is to make a locking handle or tab on them as the wiggle is even worse when they back off.

They will do some lifting, like says 1" of play but to lift the entire side of a TT say 3" like you would on backing up on blocks is something I do not think Sunline had in mind nor Bal for a point load in the TT frame that far from the spring hangers of the TT. They only want you to jack the frame up not exceeding 18 inches from the axle when changing tires.

The smaller the TT, the easier the lifting. Why mine slip is truly a weight thing I believe as the mechanical advantage backwards thru the screw just turns the acme screw. And the more I lube them the worse it gets.

For sure, get the scissors type, but they have limits too.

John
 
PS. I used to use boards until I got 2 10 packs of plastic Lynx levelers. They are lighter than boards and store nicely in their bags even when wet.
Click to expand...

We carry 4 sets (40) of Blocks, Two Chocks, and 1 set (4) of the cap blocks. We use them every where, under the tires for side to side leveling, under the jacks with a cap block (we've found that the jacks are the most stable if the "diamond" formed by the jack is as close to square as possible), and on the rare occasion, under the tongue jack if we need more height than the wood block we normally use there.

Each bag has enough room for a cap block, so all four sets only take up a space 8" x 32" x 10".
 
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