Anderson Jack Blocks (The red buckets)

[Naegele]

I purchased three of the Anderson Jack Blocks thinking the reduced time (jack travels much less), reduces stress on the jack ( not extended so far, better for resisting side loads) and clean off with a rinse when used on dirt.  So they work as advertised but I have discovered a basic weakness of the product when used on anything other than concrete. See the pictures.  When used as sold the bucket goes flange side/hollow side down.  The issue is all the weight is on the flange portion that calculates roughly 28 square inches.  So given say a say “650” lb tongue weight that equates to 23 PSI.  The result is the flange settles into both dirt and asphalt.  By comparison a 2x12 board cut square 11.25x11.25 is 127.6 square inches and 5.14 PSI with the same load.  I may try them upside down but they will collect some rain water.  Bottom line I need to put a flat surface of lumber or other plastic block to prevent the bucket from sinking in.  At the last campsite we were at the settled in about 1/2 in per day.  I store the Ollie at a new RV storage yard and the owner wasn’t too pleased with the rings I left in his asphalt.  

[BlueHighways]

Thanks for that insight. My wife an I were literally Just talking about these and I logged in to find a picture . . . 
I think for the price I can do better!

[hardrock]

At the Oliver Trailer Rally, Anderson is one of our primary sponsors.  I got a set of the red buckets from the Anderson Reps.  When I ask about what side is up, they told me, definitely do not put the jack stands inside the bucket.  It is a engineering design.  

I carry a 3/4 " piece of plywood a bit larger than my buckets.  That works great with the jack on top !

[Naegele]

Makes sense.  I’ll probably do the same.

[Calypso]

You might want to look at the  Camco yellow stabilizer jack supports. A lot less than the Andersons and work great.

[KWRJRPE]

We use the Andersen buckets, seem to work fine.  I purchased an Andresen "kit" with buckets, banana levelers, and door entry mud mat.  All bright orange color.  Easy to store and keep clean. Likely same or better options out there, just keeping it same with Andersen (also have Andersen hitch system).  

[Geronimo John]

For over 50 years I use cut sections of treated lumber (Recommend washing them with soap before handling).  Cheap and replacement over time is easy. 

I started out using 2X12 treated lumber on the base and then a stack of  2X6's above.  what I soon learned is that when used in soft ground, the trailer weight through the 2x6 stack would break the larger base.   Maybe I should have used better wood???  While on the road, I did not have an easy way to replace the broken base 2 X 12's.  So I was forced to use two 2X6's as a base.  i placed them side to side, and then stacked 2X6's turned 90 degrees to the base ones.  Have not had any issues this way.   The icing on the cake is that NOW, all of the dunnage can stack side by side in my front tub milk crate. 

However, this past year I noted that during our annual 8 month storage, termites were infesting the ground contact 2X6 boards.  So much for modern "treated" lumber.....  My fix was to purchase three concrete blocks at Home Depot.  They are about $2 each, Store SKU #679311, 7" X 7" X 4".  i have placed them exactly where I want the trailer to sit each year.  Once the jacks are over the blocks, I still use a single 2X6 as a slip pad just in case the trailer gets moved while on the jacks.   

I leave the foundation blocks in place while using our Ollie, and have a great target to back the trailer into the dark barn. 

(For new Owners,:  You need to almost always provide slip pads every time you use your electric jacks!   Many jacks have been destroyed by forgetting to do so, and then forgetting to raise the jacks.  The more elevation used by your slip pads,  the less jack you have extended for leveling of the trailer.  So, WHEN you do forget, (as 95% of all experienced owners have done at least once I would wager) the less probability of damage to your jacks.  Why did I say "almost"?  Some places we are forced to use have elevation changes that make their use not advisable.  When this happens, I leave my Ollie hitched and only partially level.  I then put a sign on my seat that says "JACKS UP?"

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Geronimo John

[SeaDawg]

Note that Geonimo John is talking about solid cinder blocks, not typical cinder blocks turned sideways. 

A typical cinder block (with the holes) , turned sideways to have a flat surface, is a prescription for disaster. These blocks do not have the same strength turned sideways, and a small crack could result in a serious failure. 

I'll stick with wood. I throw out or burn the ground contact pieces yearly .

Sherry

[Geronimo John]

Sherry: 

I am using solid CONCRETE blocks.  But the idea you are conveying is correct.  Cinder blocks have no place under anything important or heavy regardless of how they are stacked.  Good input..

I especially like your idea of burning the ground contact ones!  Some innate pleasure in seeing termites bite the dust.   🙂 

Thanks

[rideandfly]

On 8/11/2020 at 8:00 PM, Calypso said:

You might want to look at the  Camco yellow stabilizer jack supports. A lot less than the Andersons and work great.

 

We use the Camco stabilizer jack supports. They work fine for us, too.

How about cutting a round piece of plywood like Hardrock mentioned to further distribute load concentration. Wood we use for Ollie storage is painted for durability, too.

To help reduce rear jack stabilizer load we also use Camco banana wedge leveling system for rear wheels similar to what like KWRJRPE mentioned. In the reviews for the Camco leveling wedges, some users reported slippage, so we cut out rubber matts for use under wedges to prevent slipping on hard surfaces, working fine so far.

It's easy to replace wood when it gets in poor condition, like John and Sherry mentioned.

Edited September 21, 2020 by rideandfly

[BackofBeyond]

I use three 6x6 treated blocks about 10" long.  Works fine, gives you two options for height, and store easily. I too use a few 2x10x10 for adjusting when needed. Cheap, and versatile. 

I hope my Oliver doesn't sit long enough to have a termite problem......

[SeaDawg]

20 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

using solid CONCRETE blocks. 

I have no idea why I said cinder blocks, except that I  was really tired, and we grew up calling cmu "cinder block." I  do know the difference, and there's a big difference in strength. I won't change the post, because at this point it would confuse the thread.

Either way, it's important that in the future,  when home depot deletes/changes the product  code, that readers know you were using and recommending  solid blocks, not cmu turned sideways . I'm sure you wouldn't recommend  that, with your background. 

20 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

especially like your idea of burning the ground contact ones!  Some innate pleasure in seeing termites bite the dust.   🙂

Yup . I  agree. 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by SeaDawg

[Mattnan]

We also use 6x6 pressure treated lumber are about 10 inches in length as BackofBeyond described for the rear stabilizers.  We sanded them down and drilled a hole so we could run a line through as a handle for carrying.  We copied it from Maniac.  We use the Andersen bucket for the front and Andersen wedges for levelling.  Works good for us.