I'm in the no-wheel camp, for two reasons. First, the wheel is heavy and messy to carry, and has to be stored somewhere while on the road - I don't dare leave it on the jack stem while driving. Second, it leaves the TM vulnerable to unexpected movement during the hitch / unhitch process. I nearly killed myself with it once. It was my own fault, but I still prefer to have the jack stem solidly anchored to the ground as soon as it bears weight - even before I get the levelling jacks down.
But without the wheel, I was always nervous about putting the end of the jack stem directly on a board, and cranking the jack down. The hitch weight is large, the end of the pipe is quite sharp, and I'm afraid it could cut through or break the board. And if I just put it on the ground, it simply punches down into the dirt (or breaks the rock I put under it). So I bought a 3/4-inch floor flange from a hardware store for a few bucks, and tossed it in my "towing stuff" box. I set it on the board (or on the ground) under the jack stem as the stem comes down, so that the stem comes down around the raised center portion of the metal flange. The board is protected from the sharp end of the pipe, and body of the flange spreads the load. Works great.
Bill
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Threaded Mode
