Bending front frame when jacking up wheels for winter

[TMtraveler]

Is it possible to bend the triangular front part of the frame on a 2720SL (has swing hitch) by jacking up and putting the frame onto stands right behind the wheels (to take some of the weight off the tires during winter storage) as has been described under "How NOT to lift TM off wheels for storage"?

If more weight is transferred to the tongue is it enough to bend the that area of the trailer (i.e. the frame area right underneath the slideout ? Could this compromise any of the frame welds in that area of the trailer frame?

[Bill]

My guess (I have no specific knowledge) is that you shouldn't put the jack under the swing tongue. It is not designed to carry the entire weight of the trailer (or half of it, depending on how you are jacking). However, jacking anywhere behind it should be OK. When I jack up my TM for this purpose, I put the jacks under the frame just ahead of the wheels. You don't have to lift as far with the jacks there.

Bill

[ThePair]

Were I to do this, I would first place jacks in front of the front stabilizers, then jack up the back and put in the back floor jacks. This way, all 4 corners are on floor jacks, rather than keeping the weight on the front of the swing tongue.

Realistically, for next season, I'm going to look into a set of curved wheel storage ramps I saw in a catalog once, so that the wheels just rest in a natural curve rather than on the flat concrete. Seems like a lot less work than all the jacking.

For the record, I've never tried to jack up my TM to remove weight from the tires in storage.

[mjlaupp]

Goodyear recommends over-inflating RV tires for long term storage if you can not get them off of the ground:
http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/tire-storage.aspx

[tentcamper]

I would think you could do the jacking with the with the swing arm in the normal travel position and once you have it up on the stab's swing the arm.

Once I started run radials I never have jack up my trailer for the wither. I know bias ply tires can generate issues sitting to long in one spot. May car collectors follow the same rule.

[Bill]

Mike -

This is a great link, and one that I never spotted. Not only does it answer the question you referred to, but it answers a number of other questions that come up from time to time. For example:
o What does it mean to inflate my tires COLD?
o Should I let some air out of the tires as the day warms up?
o Should I always inflate the tires to the pressure listed on the sidewall?
o Will lower inflation pressure give a smoother ride?
o Should I use metal valve caps, or the plastic ones that came with my wheels?
o Should I have the tire/wheel assembly balanced? If so, when?
o Tires have a load-carrying specification. Do the wheels also have a load rating?

Thanks

Bill