5th Wheel Hitch Tripod and Rear Stabilizer.

[traveldawg]

I always had my suspicions about whether either of these devices would work. This winter I had an opportunity to pick up a well used tripod for only $10 and found a great deal at Camping World on a Valterra Camper Stabilizer.

Wow - what a difference. Hardly any movement at all now. And when the washing machine runs there is practically no shake anymore; previously it was horrible.

So, needless to say, I am now a believer in these. The stabilizer goes on the rear and is a bit of a pain to set up because of our bike rack. I'll come up with a way to keep it mounted while underway so all I have to do is deploy the legs and tighten the ratchet strap. The tripod is a bit easier to set up. I doubt it would be worth bothering with for a less than 2 or 3 day stay, but sure liking this set up.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I've heard reviews all over the map for those tripods. One of my friends called it useless...maybe he just didn't know how to set it up?
Glad it works well for you.

 

[Jomani]

I have used both the two legged and three legged versions. Personally, I like the simple two legged “A” frame version the best. I use that on the front, and a homemade stabilizer on the back ( just copied the Lippert one and added a platform to carry my generator. Since I always use the X-chock wheel chocks, the stabilizers only need to control side to side motion.

Our previous 5th wheel had front living room and I could really tell the difference when I didn’t use the stabilizer in the front. What really sold me though was a friend that saved his 5th wheel during a moderate earthquake here in California. He had the front stabilizer in place and his trailer survived. His buddy next to him did not. His trailer fell off the blocks under the front stands and did significant damage. Because it was earthquake related, insurance would not cover the damage.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

I tried the tripod and was emphatically underwhelmed. I finally got tired of hauling it around and gave it away. I tried setting every way I could think of, and was recommended and it always seemed to do nothing. I did install the JT Strongarms and they DID work. This was on our last trailer which did not have leveling legs, only stabilizers.

The Valterra stabilizer works like a champ. For something so simple and uncomplicated it really does work. But our Momentum has a lot of trailer hanging off from the rear leveling legs, so it does help, especially when the door is down as a patio. It cuts down on the bounce when moving around back there.

 

[Summit1]

When buying a tripod for my 5th Wheel RV, I ignored social media (except for entertainment purposes) and bought what I wanted. We have never had a problem with excessive movement of the RV when parked and leveled, but then we don't stomp around when inside the RV (nor anywhere else).

It likely provides some stability, but that is difficult to quantify. It serves as a "warning" of sorts (along with a short section of purple pool noodle), discouraging human impact and unnecessary "traffic beneath the nose of the RV.

As for a rear stabilizer, I have neither bought nor used one, for reasons stated above. While I tend to be somewhat a geek who occasionally over-engineers stuff, this is one case in which I do not.

 

[Gronk1]

I keep the landing legs as short as possible, this seems to work for us as we really don't notice much movement (it does sit on 4 tires)-but we don't have a washer/dryer. I kinda put tripods in the same boat as the slide out braces-just because they make 'em doesn't mean you should have 'em.

 

[Tom Traveler]

I keep the landing legs as short as possible, this seems to work for us as we really don't notice much movement (it does sit on 4 tires)-but we don't have a washer/dryer. I kinda put tripods in the same boat as the slide out braces-just because they make 'em doesn't mean you should have 'em.

I’ve always questioned the usefulness of the front tripods. We have leveling jacks at the very bottom front of the frame and the structure from there is the beefiest part of the RV. Plus you aren’t walking ahead of the front jacks so how can the tripod do anything useful? Maybe the electric or manual front jacks have much more play than the hydraulic versions.

On the other hand, the rear end sticks out 12 to 15 feet, unsupported, behind the rear jacks/wheels and has floor all the way to the back. We use a Valterra support under the rear hitch and it helps with the movement from walking.

As to the washer, I doubt anything will stop the shaking from the spin cycle.

 

[Butcher]

I finally got tired of hauling it around and gave it away.

That is what I did with mine when I sold the previous 5th wheel we had. Too heavy and it seemed like it was always in the way. It did help, just not worth the hassle.