Okay, the mobile home NG is so dead and no answer there so here goes here.
I have a single wide trailer that is noticeably unlevel, low on one side at one end, about 1/2 way down the length. I don't see why I can't level it myself about 1/2" -1" at a time. How big of a bottle jack would I need to life one pillar (one support) at a time and put some shims in until it is level, 30 ton, 50 ton? Thanks.
Mike D.
The 30 ton will do the job for you as you are only lifting a partial load.
And please do not do this alone. Have someone standby in case the jack slips.
BetsyB
if you are cribbing it properly, the most it could fall would be about 1
1/2" & btw: a 5 ton jack would most likely suffice
He's only leveling it, not moving it. Just keep some blocking under it at all times and if the jack slips it wont fall more than an inch or so. I leveled my own MH. I tried a 3 ton jack and it would not do. I found that my 10 ton worked fine, but I wanted to use 2 jacks at once so I went and bought a 20ton. The biggest problem was the jacks wanted to compress the soil rather than lift the house. I finally bought a piece of 3/4" thick steel thats 2 feet square. That worked well. A railroad tie also works. but moving that thing around was too much work. The steel was heavy too, but much easier to move, and also less likely to tip or lean. Forget using cement blocks under the jack, they crush. To level it, buy yourself a water level. $20 to $25 at most home repair centers.
Note, blocking should be placed about 8 feet apart along the whole trailer. Put an extra stack under the doors to prevent door sag.
Thanks. The blocks are already there and I just need to raise the one side a little at a time. I am not going to rush it. I just need to decide what to use as shims. Maybe good quality 1/2" OSB in 8" squares? I will probable add an extra set of blocks at the doors.
Mike Dobony wrote: ...
Not OSB unless it is very well protected from the rain/snow/wet...
Ideal would be some steel plate in various thicknesses depending on what you need. Make do, would be treated, but I can make whatever thickness I want.
I don't know what a regular installer would use and I've never actually done one, but I think OSB ain't a real good choice...
--
Seeing as how the entire unit only weighs about 16,000 pounds, a simple 4 or
5 ton bottle jack will do what you need to do just fine.Just use PT 1x lumber. Pieces of 1x8 about a foot long is what I'm visualizing.
I don't know. It is UNDER the trailer and has a full skirting. I never had rain blow up under it, but only lived here a few months. My in-laws have had a trailer for a few years and never had a problem of rain, snow wet getting under their trailer.
YIKES!!!!!!!! It is only wood on top of cinder blocks right now. I have to look to see what kind they used.
I never thought OSB was good for much, but termites hate the taste of the glue used in OSB.
I have yet to see a 4 or 5 ton bottle jack handle much more than 2-3,000 lbs very well. Walmart has 15 ton and 30 ton jacks for a reasonable price.
Mike D.
Try this:
Use at least six five ton jacks at a time. Have sufficient cribbing (4x4's and 2 x 4's and shims, or concrete pillars and shims) available so that when you DO get it to the right height, you can put in the cribbing on those six points, and not lose what ya got. Then release the jacks, reposition, and repeat. If you're using just the screw up jacks common to "manufactured homes", that's okay, too.
What you don't want to do is jack this end up, get it right, then jack the other end up, and find out that it kicks this end out of kilter, culminating in a day of running circles and consuming large quantities of beer.
I'd use at least four jack points, four jacks, and a plan.
Steve
One last thought ............ make one point of one jack the "good" point, and raise or lower all the others to that point.
Steve
keep buying them at walmart and you'll keep seeing exaggerated capacities.
no better at automotive stores
I'll probably borrow a laser level
As long as you look at nothing but the Chiwanese knockoffs...buy a _real_ Walker or equivalent and it'll handle nameplate easily...
Of course, it ain't cheap, either, which pretty much relegates 99.44% of the US buying public from considering it...
--
Ok, what ever you say.
Let your fingers do the walking..... Find a mobile-home sales/delivery outfit. Have the people that do it every day level your place. They have the equipment and the experience.
and you won't have to worry about; "what to do with a used 20 ton jack "
My single guess is that you have cider shims on top of the blocks now. Plenty of mobile homes (wheels off ?) in your area, surely would mean a local company can level this for you.
-- Oren
..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..
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