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FYI Proper jack pads for motorhomes

Welcome to RVForums.com

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  • Commercial/Vendors welcome
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Neal

Staff member
RVF Administrator
Joined
Jul 27, 2019
Messages
11,585
Location
Midlothian, VA
RV Year
2017
RV Make
Newmar
RV Model
Ventana 4037
RV Length
40' 10"
Chassis
Freightliner XCR
Engine
Cummins 400 HP
TOW/TOAD
2017 Chevy Colorado
Fulltimer
No
I've seen various uses of jack pads for heavy motorhomes. I've seen plastic, rubber, and hardened plastic ones. I installed RV Snap Pads on my coach which after the fact I realized they do contact and conflict with the chassis and I probably should not have installed them on my coach but they have remained intact and work well.

The purpose of a jack pad is not protect a surface from marking but actually to provide a larger footprint to distribute the weight. If your jack pads are folding up under weight, i.e. a thick rubber that is not maintaining its form (cough: not naming names here) then your jack pad is ineffective. A jack pad that can distribute the weight under a jack should not lose its form to properly protect the surface below whether concrete or soft surface (grass/turf).

The best jack pads I've seen for heavy Class A motorhomes are DICA RoadWarriors. You can purchase the size based on weight but I recommend the largest size as that is going to distribute the surface area under your jack the greatest and protect the surface of the campground you're showing respect to or are required to use such as FMCA required use on the grass in Perry, GA. RoadWarriors are not heavy and have a useful handle. I am able to easily store them side by side in my house battery bay.

I cannot recommend higher. If you want a quality jack pad, DICA RoadWarriors is what I recommend. I am not affiliated, I am a happy customer and will even use these under my RV Snap Pads when the surface needs weight distribution.


roadwarrior.png
 
You use pads under your snap pads? Hmmm... So yesterday I installed my newly acquired snap pads. The video made it look as easy as pie ? Well, lets just say it was more of a challenge than I expected. Of course I was solo (I know the video says two people), what I discovered was my 2007 (Atwood) jacks do not operate independently until they make initial contact with the ground, and they do not retract independently (they ALL go up). Thus there was some total ups and downs while I positioned them. Then two pads didn't snap as easy because the metal jack plates were slightly bent. I had to use the shim method to finally get them on. Now that they are installed I like them. Obviously they ride an inch lower...anyone had one brushed off driving down the road?
 
I did mine by myself as well, I think the trick was some dawn dish soap per the snap pad web site I think is where I read it. And yes, the dica roadwarriors offer a larger footprint and since I have them I'll use them at critical locations, otherwise not necessary with snap pads I believe.
 
I did also, on my BayStar, but had to remove the front two due to something rubbing and wearing an indentation on the front of the pads. I gave them to a neighbor. I am thinking of looking closely at exxagerating the carved out area and putting them back on. I need to see exactly how the tire, which seems far away can get back there to rub the pad.
 
We have and use the 15” Dica Road Warrior pads. If I was doing it over, I would probably buy the 18” instead. We purchased the ones we have when we had the smaller Ventana LE. That said, the 15” pads work well on hard/firm surfaces. A larger pad might work a little better on soft surfaces (aka grass). And that’s why I would go with the 18”.

As for storage, here’s how we do it with the 15” pads.

6D419556-C382-4BE0-A03A-0B709D99C42B.jpeg


They sit on edge in a heavy-duty, 6” wide x 15” deep plastic parts bin in the pass-through storage bay. Takes very little space.

TJ
 
We camp on grass a couple times a year and purchased Buyers Products 24 x 24 outrigger pads. They work great and store nicely under the slide out tray. Used some smaller ones prior to that but drove them into the ground.
 
I've seen various uses of jack pads for heavy motorhomes. I've seen plastic, rubber, and hardened plastic ones. I installed RV Snap Pads on my coach which after the fact I realized they do contact and conflict with the chassis and I probably should not have installed them on my coach but they have remained intact and work well.

The purpose of a jack pad is not protect a surface from marking but actually to provide a larger footprint to distribute the weight. If your jack pads are folding up under weight, i.e. a thick rubber that is not maintaining its form (cough: not naming names here) then your jack pad is ineffective. A jack pad that can distribute the weight under a jack should not lose its form to properly protect the surface below whether concrete or soft surface (grass/turf).

The best jack pads I've seen for heavy Class A motorhomes are DICA RoadWarriors. You can purchase the size based on weight but I recommend the largest size as that is going to distribute the surface area under your jack the greatest and protect the surface of the campground you're showing respect to or are required to use such as FMCA required use on the grass in Perry, GA. RoadWarriors are not heavy and have a useful handle. I am able to easily store them side by side in my house battery bay.

I cannot recommend higher. If you want a quality jack pad, DICA RoadWarriors is what I recommend. I am not affiliated, I am a happy customer and will even use these under my RV Snap Pads when the surface needs weight distribution.



Good day,

We are new to RV camping, and we are trying to get the lay of the land. I have extensively researched recommended jack pads for hydraulic leveling system. We own a 2021 Jayco GreyHawk Prestige 29mvp (Class C) 32'. I've read many recommendations on DICA Road Warrior jack pads, and based on the company's website the 12" pads would fit our coach.

Can anyone confirm that the 12" pads are sufficient for our size motorhome, or do you recommend purchasing a larger size?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.
 
I would always err on the larger size. Won't hurt and you can use them on any future motorhomes. Too small and they can be less effective and money lost. Also if you decide to sell them larger ones will go easier than smaller ones.
 
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. You made really great points that I hadn’t thought about.
 
I have Outdoors for Life jack pads.;


The 14" size with the optional name and phone number.

Safe Travels
 

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