how thick

[samcrimm]

So I was messing with my levelers to drain the ac water off the roof.... got a leak somewhere..........
My question is one of the legs buried up in my gravel about 6". So if I was to go get some flat steel how thick do you think I need it to be. And I don't wont to break my back or my basement bottoms to hit the ground.
I am thinking 12x12 or should it be bigger?

Thanks
Sam

[Bottomland4x4]

Have you thought about using wood blocks?

[Bob86ZZ4]

I use hunks of microlam LVL beam. I have used these for a long time and they hold up much better than normal plywood. If you make friends with some carpenters/framers when they're building garages and houses you'll be able to get cutoff pieces. Mine are about 12"x12". I keep a bunch in my storage bays. I wouldn't want to wrestle with a piece of steel plate under the rig.

[Bottomland4x4]

What if you took some 12x12 inch flat plate steel, say a 1/2 inch thick and welded it to the feet on the stabilizers? No more messing with the wood, unless you needed more height. The only problem would be if you sank them in something like sand, then you could be really stuck?

[bushpilot]

in soft soil or warm asphalt (and even on concrete) i use 3/4 inch (marine grade) plywood...

I cut the plywood in 15x15 inch squares and have screwed several squares together...this serves a couple of purposes - 1) is spreads the load to prevent sinking or punch through 2) it increases the "reach" or potential height that i can lift the coach (if I'm on a steep incline) 3) it eliminates the need to run the jacks out to get the tires off the ground (when in storage).

[samcrimm]

Great idea's Thanks! next where do you store yours? I have three spots on the drivers side, the front one is for all the washing stuff, nest about middle ways, I only have water hose. And the last is where the electric is.
The left side is full of stuff.....

Sam

[bushpilot]

I carry about 16 of the 3/4 inch plywood squares (stored on the edge) in my (rear most) storage bay (curb/passenger side)....
I keep a tool box, hoses & grill in the same (large) basement bay.

I'll get a picture for ya.

[bushpilot]

Sam -

heres (poor quality) picture of some of the contents of my rear most storage/bin -
you can see the 3/4 inch plywood "jack pads" turned on their end for storage.

Ill try to get a better picture in the next couple of days.

[Bottomland4x4]

I like your shelf in the storage unit, these bins are so tall it's easy to loose small stuff.

[bushpilot]

Thanks!

I agree the bins are HUGE and w/out a shelf things just get piled on top of each other....and it would seem the thing you need 1st or the most is always on the bottom of the pile.

I THINK we actually GAINED storage with the shelfs - instead of having things heaped on top of each other, we now get some (visual separation) and get some storage "up top" via the shelf.


I built a shelf for the front & the rear most bins.
I painted the rear most shelf black so it wasn't so obvious....

the rear storage bin shelf is not full depth - by design. I have a grill that needs to be
tilted IN (over the front stiffening lip).

the rear shelf also allows me to mount broom sticks (adjustable and non adjustable) under the shelf - I use these broom sticks for washing the coach - attaching brush & squeegees etc.

I modified the lighting in all the storage bins - adding 15 inch LED STRIPS of (12v) lighting...the factor had one (dim) 12v incandescent bulb stuck in a corner.

notice the rear bin lighting provides full coverage across the entire width of the bin.

the FRONT storage bin is a little different (see picture below)....the shelf is FULL depth &
the LED light strip is applied ABOVE the shelf (to the front edge of the bin) and to the BOTTOM of the shelf to light the under side or storage area below the shelf.

The front bin, allows us to store (fold up) chairs, telescopic flag pole, or outdoor mat on the top shelf and in the lower portion I keep heavier items like our 36 lb, 15.5 foot Xtend & Climb Ladder

I also have a REMOVABLE center post (Its just friction fit) on the front shelf for when I get carried away piling to much stuff on the top shelf - the post add a bit of support and prevents sagging or bowing of the shelf under a heavy load.

[bushpilot]

heres a better picture(s)....I think this is 18 or 20 boards (over kill usually)....

[samcrimm]

Thanks Don! think that bare wood will look good with your new Million Dollar RV?
You might have to paint it RED.
Sam

[ChiefMechanicMark]

Nice shelf ideas as well as lighting. There is a manufacturer called Magnum of LED strip lights. They are adhesive backed tape lights that come in different lengths and flexible with different wiring ends for water tight connections or just two blunt wires. I use them in firetruck compartments and have had no issues with them coming loose. I did use alcohol swabs to clean the mounting surface prior to installation.
As far as the original question on plate size, the plates for our ladder truck are 18" x 18" X 3/8" stainless steel. They're not very heavy and are stored in two pieces of 1/2" channel mounted under compartment at an angle so as to want to fall in (About 3/4" drop from outboard to inboard on channel.) and has a small clip to act as a safety to keep them from falling outboard. If I had to guess on weight I'd say less than 10lbs. each. There is a small u shaped handle welded at a small angle to make it easy to grab and pick up. We face the handle inboard to avoid trip hazard but that's just because our outriggers extend out 5' from side of truck. Obviously that would not be the case on these style jacks. I would think for the weight factor of a conversion versus Ladder Truck 12" X 12" X 1/4" stainless plates would be plenty.

[samcrimm]

i thought about that set up Mark, but was thinking someone had a different set up. If I welded a tray I will have to pull up the carpet so it wouldn't burn, and welding up side down is not my best. Here is our ladder truck and I took the image for the web page.
Sam

[ChiefMechanicMark]

I understand. That's what's great about this forum is seeing what is out there. Our ladder truck is only a 75' and only has one pad per side and the bracket is bolted to the truck body. From the picture I'd say that the truck is a Platform so it has four outriggers instead of just two, hence the double stack of pads. Now I gotta get back outside to fab together a basket for the back of my wife's van to fit in the receiver so she can haul a lawn mower to Seattle Tuesday. I looked at one from Lowes and was not impressed. Figure I can build one out of aluminum angle, expanded screen and flat stock in a couple of hours. Just remembered I have no 2" tubing to mount it on though.

[samcrimm]

Yep it is a platform.

Sam

[bushpilot]

Originally Posted by samcrimm

...If I welded a tray I will have to pull up the carpet so it wouldn't burn, and welding up side down is not my best.
Sam

Why not just Screw Firing Strip (or something similar) to hold the boards in place, its a lot less permanent than welding

personally I have enough stuff crammed into the bins to help hold everything in place.

[samcrimm]

Originally Posted by bushpilot

Why not just Screw Firing Strip (or something similar) to hold the boards in place, its a lot less permanent than welding

personally I have enough stuff crammed into the bins to help hold everything in place.

You might not have understood, I was going to mount them under the basement storage so it would not take up any room in the box.

Sam