Stabilizing a Pop-up Camper
One of the first things I realized after I started using my 1978 Bethany Pop-up camper is that there was a fair bit of movement once it was set up. Just walking into it caused it to shift which puts a lot of stress on the camper. It also causes one to be concerned about it tipping which has happened to many others. Especially if only one of the beds are being used as then its one big teeter totter/lever and probably the last thing you want waking you up!
The camper came with some stabilizing jacks but I opted to buy some scissor jacks as I found them much easier to use. Some people will attach them directly to the camper and have them on each of the four corners. I also added a fifth one to be used by the door as that is the highest traffic area. Once the jacks are in place the camper hardly moved! A word of caution, do not attempt to use the jacks to level the camper. Instead put blocks underneath the tire that is setting on the lowest ground to level the camper. The jack should also be used to level the camper from front to back. Depending on your camper you can put the stabilizing jacks in place as soon as you have the camper parked and leveled or your campers recommendations may be to first pop the camper up.
Depending on where I am camping and the type of soil I am parked on I often use wood blocks. This prevents the jack from sinking into the ground as it increases the surface contact area against the ground. I find it less work to add additional blocks if the camper is further away from the ground in one corner verses the other!
I then took it a step further by adding slide out stands for the beds. They tend to be rated for far more weight than what will ever be on the beds. This further stabilize the camper and it also reduced the stress being put on the camper by the beds. It is important to purchase stands that can be easily adjusted and opt for a height that is greater than you expect to use. The ones I purchased adjust from 26 1/4 inches to 49 1/4 inches. The Bethany's beds slide out from the side of the camper and often extend past the campsite's "pad" where the ground is sloping downwards. The goal here was to extend the camper's life as I noticed that the beds put a lot of stress on the camper when extended. I have never had to use them at their lowest height nor at the highest. I measured multiple times before making the purchase! It was a small investment to avoid further repairs and would allow me to continuing using the camper for many years to come!
Many people will use a 2x4 between where the jack makes contact with the camper but I have not found it necessary to do so. The first time I used the jacks I found they kept falling down! I went old school and just purchased to lead ropes typically used for horses. I use the snap to make a loop on one jack and then tie a not for the other. The nice thing about a horse lead rope is that its thickness allows for knots to be easily undone whereas with a thin rope it may prove nearly impossible to do so!
Once the scissor jacks and the slide out supports are in place the camper has zero sway to it when myself or the boys are moving around, playing, or sleeping!
