I am having to replace my rear steadies because they are siezed solid, i was thinking of using "nova camper jacks" available online and on ebay has anyone an opinion on them? and are they easy to fit?
Replacing rear steadies
- Thread starter caslau
- Start date
If they are not working it's because of a lack of maintenance. If they were sprayed a few times with some Plusgas or something similar, they could maybe be salvaged.
The replies I have seen so far concern me a little:- The corner steadies are only designed to stop the caravan from rocking in other words "steadying" They are not designed as jacks to lift the corners. So the actual SWL needed should only be a bout 200 Kg
The danger of using more power and actually lifting a corner on the steady is that caravan structure is not designed to withstand that sort of loading, and may distort with permanent damage a real possibility.
With that information you can decide which steadies to fit.
However, if the original units can be made to function properly then that saves money and the need to drill or make new fixing points.
The danger of using more power and actually lifting a corner on the steady is that caravan structure is not designed to withstand that sort of loading, and may distort with permanent damage a real possibility.
With that information you can decide which steadies to fit.
However, if the original units can be made to function properly then that saves money and the need to drill or make new fixing points.
hi caslau
john is right about the steadies, I have never seen a rusty seized steady that cannot be salvaged in 35 years of caravaning it can be done with a litle effort and far better and cheaper than fitting new ones.
first clean as much of the rust of the threads and pivot points as you can with a wire brush, then spray the the whole lot with plusgas leave to soak in then spray again a few more times.
using a six sided socket of the right size (19mm) not one with muliple internal edges (these can strip the nut end of the thread) and a long bar the thead should crack off (one could also warm the thread up with a blow torch if careful) and move a little keep moving the thread to and fro untill free.
use a fine file to clean up the full length of the thread and get rid of the stubborn rust and burrs when free coat all the working parts with grease (I use copper grease) but any good grease will do, check the thread length to see if it is bent if it is straighen with a hammer and clean with the file.
if you have a cordless drill using one of the steady sockets made for a drill wind up and down untill serviceable again.
oh and keep well greased so it doesn't seize again.
colin
john is right about the steadies, I have never seen a rusty seized steady that cannot be salvaged in 35 years of caravaning it can be done with a litle effort and far better and cheaper than fitting new ones.
first clean as much of the rust of the threads and pivot points as you can with a wire brush, then spray the the whole lot with plusgas leave to soak in then spray again a few more times.
using a six sided socket of the right size (19mm) not one with muliple internal edges (these can strip the nut end of the thread) and a long bar the thead should crack off (one could also warm the thread up with a blow torch if careful) and move a little keep moving the thread to and fro untill free.
use a fine file to clean up the full length of the thread and get rid of the stubborn rust and burrs when free coat all the working parts with grease (I use copper grease) but any good grease will do, check the thread length to see if it is bent if it is straighen with a hammer and clean with the file.
if you have a cordless drill using one of the steady sockets made for a drill wind up and down untill serviceable again.
oh and keep well greased so it doesn't seize again.
colin
I agree regarding the comment that these are only 'steadies'. However, I also feel there should be some form of safety factor built in and in this respect I suspect ALKO have gone down this route by making their own steadies rated to a higher figure.
There is always the possibility that the jockey wheel, which takes the main front end loading could fail, and then the whole weight of the van will be borne by the steadies. This could be compounded if there are people sitting at the front at the time.
Similarly, when jacking up the van to change a wheel it is recommended that you use the steadies as extra safety devices and to reduce the chances of the van toppling. If the jack was to give way under such circumstances then again the steadies take the full weight at that point, and if they give you sufficent time to get clear, then they have fullfilled their purpose.
Ironically, in the good old days many vans did not have jockey wheels and the steadies did indeed support the van along with the axle.
There is always the possibility that the jockey wheel, which takes the main front end loading could fail, and then the whole weight of the van will be borne by the steadies. This could be compounded if there are people sitting at the front at the time.
Similarly, when jacking up the van to change a wheel it is recommended that you use the steadies as extra safety devices and to reduce the chances of the van toppling. If the jack was to give way under such circumstances then again the steadies take the full weight at that point, and if they give you sufficent time to get clear, then they have fullfilled their purpose.
Ironically, in the good old days many vans did not have jockey wheels and the steadies did indeed support the van along with the axle.
Hi Scotch lad,
Yes there is some safety margin, and if you consider the probable loads any caravan steady is likely to encounter, then you would see that is the case.
The dynamics of the typical scissor type steady, are that when the steady is nearly closed the mechanical advantage is low , so the systems needs to be rated higher to accommodate the load capacity across the whole operating range of movement.
As we know from many other posts, the nose load of a caravan in towing configuration is likely to be about 75Kg. When parked up on site, the weight distribution will change, but even so it is unlikely to exceed the weight of about four adults all sitting at the dining table, based on each adult producing about 75Kg of weight, that is a total of 300Kg across two steadies, or 150Kg each. I would be very surprised if the load on any steady when used correctly exceeds this.
Most Alko chassis's are assembled from a kit of standard parts, rather like a Mechanno set. so the steadies are likely to be a standard item as fitted to most of their chassis. It is probably not cost effective to manufacture steadies just for the caravan market, so they use ones that are common to other trailers where the loads may be higher. (horse boxes and flat bed trailers etc)
When changing a wheel, the use of the steadies is more to prevent the caravan from toppling off the main lifting jack, They would do this by adding stability to the lift and reduce the chance of a lateral shift which could dislodge the raised caravan from the jack.
If the caravan were still to topple, then as the increasing load of the caravan came to bear on the steadies it is likely to damage the caravan structure.
Yes there is some safety margin, and if you consider the probable loads any caravan steady is likely to encounter, then you would see that is the case.
The dynamics of the typical scissor type steady, are that when the steady is nearly closed the mechanical advantage is low , so the systems needs to be rated higher to accommodate the load capacity across the whole operating range of movement.
As we know from many other posts, the nose load of a caravan in towing configuration is likely to be about 75Kg. When parked up on site, the weight distribution will change, but even so it is unlikely to exceed the weight of about four adults all sitting at the dining table, based on each adult producing about 75Kg of weight, that is a total of 300Kg across two steadies, or 150Kg each. I would be very surprised if the load on any steady when used correctly exceeds this.
Most Alko chassis's are assembled from a kit of standard parts, rather like a Mechanno set. so the steadies are likely to be a standard item as fitted to most of their chassis. It is probably not cost effective to manufacture steadies just for the caravan market, so they use ones that are common to other trailers where the loads may be higher. (horse boxes and flat bed trailers etc)
When changing a wheel, the use of the steadies is more to prevent the caravan from toppling off the main lifting jack, They would do this by adding stability to the lift and reduce the chance of a lateral shift which could dislodge the raised caravan from the jack.
If the caravan were still to topple, then as the increasing load of the caravan came to bear on the steadies it is likely to damage the caravan structure.
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