Old Blokes and Stabiliser Legs

ConsumerMan · Senior Member

Old Blokes and Stabiliser Legs

erad · Guru

I have a severe respiratory condition, also a very bad back. It was a real effort for me to wind the stabilisers up or down. I got a piece of 10 mm rod and welded a 3/4"socket on the end of it. The rod is about 600 mm long and I now screw it into a battery drill and within a minute or two all stabilisers are down or up as required. Very little effort involved - the hardest part is lining up the socket onto the hex head of the stabiliser bolt (which I had to do anyway).

Greg 1 · Guru

Can you get a hook with a tee handle made up out of 12mm rod to pull the lock handle out. Be careful using battery drills to wind the legs down. I have seen more than one person strip the gears in the leg doing so. Some of the new battery drills can apply considerable torque to the winding mechanism if you are not careful with using a low setting on the drill. I am still a manual winder bloke having seen to many damaged legs. The latest was the last trip. Bloke pulled in alongside our van and was putting the legs down with his drill and next looking very forlorn with stripped gears in one of them.

Possum3 · Guru

Greg 1 wrote:
Can you get a hook with a tee handle made up out of 12mm rod to pull the lock handle out.

Unfortunately the grab handle to release the pivot arm must be pulled straight/evenly on the locking pins (IE not twisted). Easy to do it one sits down with ones legs either side of stabiliser - bloody difficult for old farts that have difficulty in getting down there, near impossibility getting up again.

I've used graphite, silicon spray and dry lube on the actual locking pins that grab on, tried tapping with hammer but found that the best way to get the little buggers to let go - is get the child-bride to do it - she is younger and more flexible and does it with ease.

markf · Senior Member

We have exactly the same problem. Winding the legs up and down is not an issue. Swinging the legs up out of the way IS though. The front ones are OK-ish but the rear ones are a problem. The way I do it is to sit on the ground under the spare wheels at the back of the camper and I can swing the legs up. Of course getting back on my feet can be a problem - to a watcher it must look like a very undignified process but it works. There's a photo in this post ( http://jandmf.com/index.php/2019/10/29/our-camper/ ) that shows where the legs are when they're stowed.

Greg 1 · Guru

I must admit that putting them up into the travelling position is a bit difficult these days with dodgy back and knees. I have seen those motorhomes with the self levelling motorized type that work really well and there have been times that I have thought seriously about converting my van to them.

ConsumerMan · Senior Member

We are travelling at the moment and yesterday I sat on the portable step to reach under the caravan with my feet straddled each side of the stabiliser. I pulled the red handle and the leg fell down and swung like a pendulum with such force if my feet were any closer I am sure I would of ended up with quite an injury. I use the winding brace as a walking stick to help get myself up into a standing position. The remaining winding is easy for me. I am not going the rattle gun/ drill as I figure I need the exercise of winding up and down

Bicyclecamper · Guru

markf wrote:
We have exactly the same problem. Winding the legs up and down is not an issue. Swinging the legs up out of the way IS though. The front ones are OK-ish but the rear ones are a problem. The way I do it is to sit on the ground under the spare wheels at the back of the camper and I can swing the legs up. Of course getting back on my feet can be a problem - to a watcher it must look like a very undignified process but it works. There's a photo in this post ( http://jandmf.com/index.php/2019/10/29/our-camper/ ) that shows where the legs are when they're stowed.

I am very interested in these campers. Their are a few brands about like yours. But anyhow, will have to sell our van as we will be going to a cheaper AWD, as my current vehicle is a lemon and I have to get rid of it. So going to a Chinese brand vehicle as it is all we can afford. Even though the new vehicle has a weight of 1700 kgs towing and our van max is 1630, the AWD has only an 170kg tow ball weight but my van tow ball loaded is 180kg. My wife likes your style of camper, and I think that is the only style she would go back to. She would prefer a van, but unlikely to get one with a bathroom under that weight second hand. So the question is, Is your wife happy with this camper and especially the outside cooking in bad weather? Is it okay to cook inside on the table if it is too wet and you don't have the annex up? This is mainly what my wife is worried about, not so much as not have a onboard toilet, as we have a camping toilet substitute already when we tent about. Their are lighter weight versions of your camper with tow ball weights of less than 160kgs, especially only with one spare and one battery, so I will not have a problem finding one.

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:03:50 PM

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:12:41 PM

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:15:49 PM

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:17:45 PM

markf · Senior Member

Bicyclecamper wrote:
markf wrote:
We have exactly the same problem. Winding the legs up and down is not an issue. Swinging the legs up out of the way IS though. The front ones are OK-ish but the rear ones are a problem. The way I do it is to sit on the ground under the spare wheels at the back of the camper and I can swing the legs up. Of course getting back on my feet can be a problem - to a watcher it must look like a very undignified process but it works. There's a photo in this post ( http://jandmf.com/index.php/2019/10/29/our-camper/ ) that shows where the legs are when they're stowed.
I am very interested in these campers. Their are a few brands about like yours. But anyhow, will have to sell our van as we will be going to a cheaper AWD, as my current vehicle is a lemon and I have to get rid of it. So going to a Chinese brand vehicle as it is all we can afford. Even though the new vehicle has a weight of 1700 kgs towing and our van max is 1630, the AWD has only an 170kg tow ball weight but my van tow ball loaded is 180kg. My wife likes your style of camper, and I think that is the only style she would go back to. She would prefer a van, but unlikely to get one with a bathroom under that weight second hand. So the question is, Is your wife happy with this camper and especially the outside cooking in bad weather? Is it okay to cook inside on the table if it is too wet and you don't have the annex up? This is mainly what my wife is worried about, not so much as not have a onboard toilet, as we have a camping toilet substitute already when we tent about. Their are lighter weight versions of your camper with tow ball weights of less than 160kgs, especially only with one spare and one battery, so I will not have a problem finding one.

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:03:50 PM

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:12:41 PM

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:15:49 PM

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:17:45 PM

When we got the camper the only real criteria were somewhere to sit inside, a decent water capacity, a decent kitchen and it had to be able to be towed by our Discovery 2. We looked at countless others but got this one because Balance Trailers have a reputation for standing by their product and it's built like a brick outhouse. The only real drawback is the sheer weight of the canvas. It's REALLY heavy and has apparently been proofed against everything up to, and possibly including nuclear holocaust. It's pure cotton Bradmil Kordux Lighweight which I believe isn't made any more.

I normally do the cooking...

If we're only staying for one night the annex doesn't get put up. We only do that if we're only staying put for a couple of nights or more.

If the weather's crap we always have a stash of cold meat, salad and wraps (they keep a LOT better than bread) to munch on. We also keep a stash of packet soup that comes in saches that we can heat up in our mini microwave - it's a Whirlpool. Having said that we've found that it only very rarely rains for more than about 30 minutes so we wait a while before cooking. Wind can be more of a problem than rain. If the weather's REALLY bad we can always repair to a handy pub for a meal...

We have cooked inside on a single burner Gasmate style stove but it makes that inside of the camper really hot and steamy - I wouldn't recommend it.

To be fair we've only been caught out by bad weather a couple of times.

-- Edited by markf on Tuesday 25th of February 2020 06:43:43 PM

Radar · Guru

ConsumerMan wrote:
my Alko stabiliser legs are deep under my caravan on the chassis. Winding them up and down is no problem (no rattle gun required), but getting down and under to pull the red handle to lower/raise the legs to the required angle is quite an exhausting task for this old bloke and his sore back. Currently I sit on the portable step to complete the task but wondering what other old blokes do. Do you have any tips for me please to make the job easier on my knees and back

I am a bit of a specialist, when things do not work for me, I get my old mate to fix it, lucky me. We talk about it first and then it do able or not worth the trouble, he is a good mate

We cut ours rear legs off and rewelded them back on where they were more manageable. At some time we shorted the crank handle some, now it all so much easier to do.

I must omit this was the back ones and they were hard to get at, the front ones are not to bad but at some point will bring them closer to the outside also.

The main thing is having someone who can weld laying on their back.

vanTas · Veteran Member

Our van too has swing down then wind down stabilizer legs.

I can get a hand on the pull handle just by bending over, unless the van is on a slope. Then I might need a hook of some type to extend the reach. but it is more of a problem to get the handle/pins square when locking them in again. But I certainly will not sit with legs under van as: a) my feet become targets as the pendulum descends, and b) too hard to get up again.

So, I use the winder handle as a control on the descent and as a helper again in swinging up. The awning hook can double-up here to pull the loop handle out - albeit a bit long. No need to sit. No use of a battery drill either.

For those having difficulty can I suggest a winder with a longer shaft, or an extension to it? That would allow a bit of a slope and a chance to just bend over. An old wheel brace can be a source of the right size socket.

On our previous van the rear wind-downs were quite a way in due to the rear storage box. For that I made an extension - a straight rod with a socket welded on backwards to give a square socket for van end, and a bit of square tube shrunk down to fit the end of the winder.

nomadz · Veteran Member

Gday,

I am still able to bend to reach the red handle but have trouble pulling the red handle out to release the legs.

I use the winder (that came with the van) in one hand to apply slight upward pressure on the legs and at the same time pulling the red handle out.

This has the effect of making it very easy to pull out the red handle and at the same time (with the winder handle) being able to gentle drop the legs to the desired position.

Works for me!

Regards,

Ian

Magnarc · Guru

We were lucky to find a van with hydraulic stabilisers. My old knees would never be able to get up and down four times!. Probably cost an arm and a leg to retro fit now. I believe the company is in SA.

Craig1 · Guru

Ian, What about when you put/flip them back up ? Are you using the winder handle to push them up whilst holding out the rotten red handle?

nomadz · Veteran Member

Gday Craig,

Yes, use the winder handle to push them back up.

Regards,

Ian

mischief · Veteran Member

interesting thread,,i In 50 yrs of caravaning i recon i may have wound down the legs on any of my vans very few times..Mind though i mostly freecamp and am attached to tug,which stabilizes movement, In parks,which i have stayed at i still don't seem to use them,,I guess it's a matter of choice, ,Maybe some do it because it's the excepted thing..

Noelpolar · Veteran Member

Just throw $20 on the ground. Every old person I've seen can bend and pick up $20 no worries.... just do the legs whilst down there.

Iva Biggen · Senior Member

When my dear wife was with me I drilled a hole in each of the foot plates on the drop down legs and used the awning bar that you reach the lock with to pull the legs back up.
Generally she would do this and I found it a lot easier task to push the legs back up to the lock position when the weigh is being taken by someone on the end of the steel rod. I could easily just push them up the final couple of inches with the winder handle or even on my knees although I have trouble getting up as well.
I have since changed vans and I am once again doing it like most others, in my opinion it is the worst part of packing up.
I have often thought of devising some sort of spring mechanism to assist and I am sure if someone came up with something that was light in weight and worked they would make a killing until China cuts their lunch. biggrin biggrin

Cheers

Ivan

Iva Biggen · Senior Member

I should have mentioned that lubrication of all moving parts of the legs will help a bit as well.
I am with mischief above but I will wind the back legs down and leave the front on the jockey stand where I can.

Cheers

Ivan

ConsumerMan · Senior Member

Thanks everybody. I have now tried using the winder brace as a support when pulling red handle. Works OK when releasing but need two hands on brace when raising. So I guess 50% success. Thanks again, I appreciate the support.

Delta18 · Guru

Do you really need to put the stabilisation legs down? Surely by now you have got past the van rocking stage? Leave them up and save the pain.