Quote:
Originally Posted by rickst29
...I go a bit past level, making it easy to open the rear shell. I lift and clip the rear shell, with gravity assistance.
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Rick, I might suggest that if you feel you need gravity assistance to open a shell, your torsion bars may need adjustment. My front shell was a bear to open and I did need gravity assistance at times. However, I discovered that the torsion bars were not matched to my having an awning, so I had to replace two torsion bars. Once those were in place, I can now lift the front shell with a single hand. The difference was amazing.
Make sure that when the center latches are released, the shell at the middle of the trailer opens up about 6-8" (make sure it's equal each side). If it does not rise enough you need to increase the torsion bar tension on the center torsion bars for the shell.
The shells at the ends (front if it's the front shell, rear for the rear shell) should rise slightly, perhaps an inch. You can adjust the torsion bars at the front for the front shell (rear for the rear shell) to help with the lifting force.
All of this assumes there is no binding and the torsion bars are in good shape. Make sure the screw clamps are in place for the torsion bars underneath the trailer.
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As for leveling, here's what I do, and it works very well for me:
1) back into spot, lining up the sewer so that the hose will be stretched once connected. (An accordionated hose will flop around when emptying the tanks, making flushing the hose difficult.)
2) Check for side to side level. I use the bubble A frame of the trailer. Add the necessary levelers in front or behind the trailer wheel of the side that is low. Pull the trailer onto the leveler, and recheck the side-to-side level. This doesn't have to be absolutely perfect, but the closer the better.
3) Chock wheels, front and back. (It's embarrassing when your trailer runs away because you are on a slope and forgot this....)
4) Unhitch, park TV.
5) Raise/lower front until bubble level on A frame is centered.
6) Place pads for stabilizers, then lower stabilizers until just touching.
7) Use a 1' level to check front to back on the trailer frame. ("A" frame is usually good enough.) Raise the low corners by lowering the stabilizer for that corner.
8) Use the 1' level on the rear bumper to check for side-to-side.
Either raise the low side by lowering the low-side stabilizer,
or
lower the high side by raising the high-side stabilizer. Check that the pads underneath the stabilizers are firm and cannot be easily kicked out.
9) Recheck side-to-side and front-to-back, making small adjustments.
Note 1: raising one corner will tend to raise the other corner on the other side of the trailer. Don't make changes more than a single turn at a time.
Note 2: don't try to be too perfect. It has to be very close, but trying to achieve perfection can be a waste of valuable camping time! If all 4 stabilizer pads are firm, the TM opens easily without binding, all doors line up well, and you're not feeling like you're drunk walking around inside your trailer, your leveling is good.