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Jacks

Stabilizer jack installation

This courtesy of Bob Clark: I am very pleased with the new Atwood stabilizer jacks I had added to my 1984 12.5 foot Scotty. I bought them on Ebay and paid $45 per pair plus $9 shipping. They are part number 82306 and can be seen on the Atwood website: http://www.atwoodmobile.com/ where you can download their product catalog. These are the shorter ones and since clearance is an issue on our Scottys, they are best. Note: if you have an RV store near you, check for them. They were found locally for less than the online price and no shipping costs!

I’ll share how I think they are most easily used when setting up, at least for my Scotty. The pics should show you where I mounted them directly on the two square tubes that act as the frame. I notice on the new retro Scotties that they have them mounted out from the frame, I suspect on a special mount they built in. They appear to open out toward the sides as opposed to out toward the front and back as mine now do. I considered doing that but the extra trouble building an extra mount did not seem worth it as they fit so perfectly on the frame. It took an hour for the welder, so only cost $40 to have them welded on.

My Scotty, when setting level on its wheels and the tongue jack, has 10.5 inches clearance from the frame to the ground at the rear and 11.5 inches in the front. You will have to take your clearances into consideration when setting up your Scotty, older Scottys may have less clearance and these may not work for you.

The first step in setup is to use wheel blocks to get the Scotty level left to right by driving the low wheel up onto a block. There are commercial blocks for this purpose or you can make one using 2X6’s of graduated lengths. I use 3 stacked with beveled edges giving me a possible 1.5-4.5 inch rise depending on how unlevel my campsite is.
Once Scotty is level left to right, the next step is to jack the tongue down so the rear has 12.5 inches clearance allowing the rear jacks to swing down. Once down they extend 11.5 inches. Then using the tongue jack, I raise the front (the weight now going on the extended rear jacks) until there is 13.5 inches clearance so the front jacks can swing down. Once down, I can then level Scotty front to back using the tongue jack and securing the stabilizer jacks with it’s jack handle to lock Scotty into a level position. Voila, Scotty is level and firmly stabilized even on a very unlevel site.

Bob added: My new type of levelers are perfect for changing tires or working on the brakes/wheels/ bearings or whatever. The entire Scotty can be lifted off it's wheels using these levelers with the entire 1900 lbs(mine's weight) safely within the limits of these levelers.(1000 lb each times 4= 4000lbs)


Raised


Front Lowered


Rear Lowered

Tire changing jack

If you are without an original Scotty jack, which is similar to the old bumper-style jacks, but with a piece of 1/8" x 3/4" wide steel bent and welded in place, you'll want to invest in a good hydraulic jack. These can be picked up at Walmart for less than $20.

You will also want to carry with you a good set of jack stands--not the 4 you prop up the corners of your Scotty to level it when you're camping--those would not work well if you need to change a tire. You can find these in the automotive section of a place like (or) Walmarts. They make a set for SUVs that will go an extra 5" higher than the standard set and they aren't much higher in price than the regular pair. They'll save you time when you are trying to jack up your Scotty high enough to get the wheels off. Be sure you carry plenty of blocks of wood with you because even if you have the SUV jack stands, you can't jack your Scotty up high enough without putting your jack on blocks to raise it even higher. See also "Changing A Tire". If you have anything to add, please e-mail me.

Scotty Jack
An original "Scotty jack"

Scotty Jack
A close-up of its mechanism

Scotty Jack
How it hooked on to your Scotty

Tongue jack replacements

From NancyK: I've ordered all of mine online, but you can check local RV stores, or places like Tractor Supply Center.


National Serro Scotty Organization | Delton, Michigan 49046