Hi all i would like to know your feeling on pitching up on site do you think it is better to have your jockey wheel supporting the weight with the corner steadys, or not???? i only ask because i see more and more vans with the jockey up doing nothing bearing in mind it is connected directly to the chassis and designed to take the weight rather than prop it up, your thoughts please!!!!!!
Jockey wheel up or down
- Thread starter taylor.paul
- Start date
Damian
Moderator
Paul, the jockey wheel is designed to act as the third main point of contact and support of the van, along with the wheels.
The corner steadies are just that, steadies and not designed to take the full weight of the van , hence the advice never to use them as jacks in the event of a puncture, therefore taking it one step further, they are not meant to be the main weight bearers for the front end of the van either.
The corner steadies are just that, steadies and not designed to take the full weight of the van , hence the advice never to use them as jacks in the event of a puncture, therefore taking it one step further, they are not meant to be the main weight bearers for the front end of the van either.
This has been discussed at length before. If steadies aren't meant to take the weight at the front of the van, then how can they take the weight at the back? And if the jockey wheel is taking the bulk of the weight at the front then the steadies would bear vey little ... meaning that there would surely be some side to side movement.
In theory most of the weight is borne by the wheels via the chassis. The steadies can bear a great deal of weight, but they are not designed to take (say)
In theory most of the weight is borne by the wheels via the chassis. The steadies can bear a great deal of weight, but they are not designed to take (say)
Down every time as far as I'm concerned. I think it has become a "fashion" to have the jockey wheel up and some people even remove it from the A frame altogether - WHY? I have no idea. Just another piece of equipment to play with I thinks and another chore for those who do it. Beyond me.
I went to pick up my van from storage a couple of years ago only to find that someone had nicked my jockey wheel. This made hitching up the van very difficult. Before we could go on our holidays I had to go and buy a new jockey wheel -
Hello Mike P
The distribution of the weight between the main wheels , the jockey wheel and the steadies, cannot be determined by a simple percentage, it all depends on how hard the steadies/jockey wheel are driven down to the ground, and then how the weight of occupants and payload are distributed or moved during usage.
In the worst case scenario, and because they are generally located at the corners of the box, it is unlikely that a single steady will be expected to carry more than about 50% of the total weight of the caravan.
The biggest problem is not the strength of the steady itself, but what it is attached to. Too much lift on a single corner of the box can and has in many cases actually distorted the box.
As ever it is best to use chocks under the main wheels to broadly level the van side to side, then the jockey wheel to level for fore and aft, when it virtually level. Just use the steadies to hold it there.
The distribution of the weight between the main wheels , the jockey wheel and the steadies, cannot be determined by a simple percentage, it all depends on how hard the steadies/jockey wheel are driven down to the ground, and then how the weight of occupants and payload are distributed or moved during usage.
In the worst case scenario, and because they are generally located at the corners of the box, it is unlikely that a single steady will be expected to carry more than about 50% of the total weight of the caravan.
The biggest problem is not the strength of the steady itself, but what it is attached to. Too much lift on a single corner of the box can and has in many cases actually distorted the box.
As ever it is best to use chocks under the main wheels to broadly level the van side to side, then the jockey wheel to level for fore and aft, when it virtually level. Just use the steadies to hold it there.
John L
For once (I agree with almost everything else you seem to post) I have to take issue with you.
I can not see any circumstance (even worse case) where a corner steady might be expected to take 50% of the weight of the van even if you removed the wheels,jockey wheel and balanced the van on 3 corner steadies.
Personally I have used the corner steadies to raise one side of the van a little on an uneven pitch but otherwise only use them as "steadies" and would not expect them to support more weight than I can comfortably wind up (100 Kg at a very rough guess)
I never remove the jockey wheel.
For once (I agree with almost everything else you seem to post) I have to take issue with you.
I can not see any circumstance (even worse case) where a corner steady might be expected to take 50% of the weight of the van even if you removed the wheels,jockey wheel and balanced the van on 3 corner steadies.
Personally I have used the corner steadies to raise one side of the van a little on an uneven pitch but otherwise only use them as "steadies" and would not expect them to support more weight than I can comfortably wind up (100 Kg at a very rough guess)
I never remove the jockey wheel.
We allways leave the jockey wheel firmly on the ground as in my opinion it is far more capable of taking the vans weight than the steadies, I can never understand why anyone would want to spend extra time winding the jockey up or removing it when on site its just more work and more stress on the van.
I can however understand removing the jockey when the van is in storage as ive heard loads of stories of them being stolen.
I can however understand removing the jockey when the van is in storage as ive heard loads of stories of them being stolen.
Hello Garry
Thank you for your support here comes the old chestnut: I shall wear it always..
Seriously, as you point out, the caravan would have to be parked very precariously to get lose to any single steady carrying about 50%, and it is just about as you suggest, no wheels and only three steadies. I agree it is very unlikely which is why I qualified the suggestion by stating worst case.
I think you could be surprised at how much weight a steady carries; the design of the steadies is rather like half a scissor car jack, now if you remember how much effort you put into a car jack and roughly compare it to the force required to set the steady, I think you could find it to be significantly more than your guess of 100Kg.
It is not only the static force (ie dead weight of the caravan) but as people move about inside, and the wind acting on the sides, can impose considerable impulse loads through the steadies.
Thank you for your support here comes the old chestnut: I shall wear it always..
Seriously, as you point out, the caravan would have to be parked very precariously to get lose to any single steady carrying about 50%, and it is just about as you suggest, no wheels and only three steadies. I agree it is very unlikely which is why I qualified the suggestion by stating worst case.
I think you could be surprised at how much weight a steady carries; the design of the steadies is rather like half a scissor car jack, now if you remember how much effort you put into a car jack and roughly compare it to the force required to set the steady, I think you could find it to be significantly more than your guess of 100Kg.
It is not only the static force (ie dead weight of the caravan) but as people move about inside, and the wind acting on the sides, can impose considerable impulse loads through the steadies.
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