Anderson Blocks and RV SnapPads Are A Waste Of Money! | Do This Instead! | Fulltime RV Living!
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- You asked....so we delivered! Many of you have asked where we bought our leveling blocks! Kevin actually came up with the design when we first got our RV and made them himself! In this video, we give you step-by-step instructions on how they are made! Whether you're buying new leveling blocks for your new RV or looking to replace your current blocks, this video is for you! Don't waste your money on Anderson Blocks and SnapPads! With just a little manual labor and time, you can have our exact same blocks for a fraction of the cost of the competitors! Besides the money you'll save, another advantage is that you won't need to carry around any extra wood to place under your leveling blocks anymore, which will save you space!
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We Did it!!! And, WE LOVE THEM, and our neighbors thought these bad boys were awesome as well! They work FANTASTIC!! Thank you all so much!
Awesome!!! So glad they were a great solution for you!
So glad your older videos are still here. We are loving our leveling blocks. Thank you for sharing your construction plan with all of us. Wish I could post a picture!!!
So glad you love your set! You can share your pics on our FB page if you want!
We decided to go to the green store since we had rebate money. Turns out, it was a fantastic choice! Did you know that the green store has a self service saw?!! Neither did we! My husband knocked out all the cuts for our 6 Jack blocks in no time! Thanks for this awesome video. It saved us hundreds of dollars. Hope to see you on the road one day.
Wow that is awesome that they have a self service saw! We looked up the green store and they aren't anywhere near Texas! We will be in Missouri for Thanksgiving and have plans to check the store out when we are there! Let us know how you like your new jack blocks!
@@PavingNewPaths just got ours put under the jacks and I gotta say….WOW! These have made a huge improvement. Thanks again for a great tutorial!
@@NeverEverStopWandering We are so glad you like them!
I made something very similar - 6 pads 12x12 with 4x4s and 2x4s. 3/4in horse stall mat. We used rope for handles with a bicycle grip from Amazon to make them more gentle on the hands. I painted them bright green - we call them mint cookies with the black stall mat. I wanted them to stand out when we packed up so I would not leave them behind. They work great and sit in the truck right behind the tailgate on travel day, otherwise they are on the ground!
Thats to funny mint cookies! We started out storing ours in by the tailgate, but I caught the emergency brake cable once so now I put them in front of the fifth wheel when we travel!
So my cousin and I also spent a few hours building 4 blocks on Labour day. We used a 2x12x12’ pressure treated lumber as I couldn’t find any 4x6 in Ontario anyway .
Cut them 11 1/4” long , and screwed 3 together. Works great, thanks for the idea
You are the second viewer that told us they spent labor day building these! We are glad our video helped you out!
So….. I just spent Labor Day Sunday building six of these puppies. I’m from Texas, but live in Lake Tahoe, just bought a Montana 41’ 5th wheel. These guys are perfect!! Can’t thank you enough.
Total cost: $130.00, approx time: 10 hrs. Beer consumed: 7 beers. My neighbor wants a set. Oh well. Thanks again. Gig’em Aggies.
Thank you! This is the best comment of the day for us! We are glad you enjoy the video and were able to make your own! Go Coogs!
Hookem Horns!
I've used the Anderson Bucket's for over 10 years and the only issues was the magnet's and the manufacturer sent me replacement s at no cost easy to install and remove
Thanks brother!! Just made 4 of them and love how rock solid they are. I have them under my 21,000 lbs 5th wheel. 🤙
No problem! As heavy as these rigs are you need something solid holding them up!
Did you weigh all eight blocks total? Oh, and I have the Snap Pads. They have been on for nine years and over 100,000 miles full timing around the United States. Great work on your blocks! I just prefer the "one and done" over the extra weight and storage space.
In the video we were building two sets for two campers! They weight around 20lbs a piece so 80lbs total for the set! Ours needs 6 blocks so we have about 120Lbs in block weight! They need to have some weight to them as they are supporting a 20,000lb RV, ours have held up great for over 2 years now! We store these in the bed of the truck on travel days, so we are not losing any space as nothing is back there when we are towing!
Love finding solutions to problems, and when you can build yourself you get the satisfaction and pride while doing it !! Nice job !!
Thank you! We love what we came up with and they have served us well over the last 18 months (and counting)!
just saved me some money, got tired of crawling under my super c (light on the super) to set leveling blocks so I added to my amazon shopping 4 sets of leveling blocks, 2 ea for 79. so total of $320 plus tax etc. than before clicking to buy I saw your video. I'm a woodworker so , voilla, I'll have these built before my next trip. thanks so much.
Glad I could help you out! The good thing about building your own is you can make them however works best for your set up!
Love my Andersen buckets, drive on leveler system, wheel chocks, all in a decent bag. Lighter weight stackable buckets can be used in a pinch as something to elevate yourself to work on something at the camp site. But, this is a good video if you need to go this route. All of which I ordered in my air conditioned living room. Brought to me in 24 hours by Amazon. 🤪
While our blocks may not work for you they are perfect for us! When you have a rig this big you don't have to use the anderson levelers as the rig will auto level itself! Also how will you use the buckets work on things around the campsite when they are under your jacks holding the trailer up! It is awesome that you were able to order these, but if you feel like building something with your hands and saving money this is the way to go!
Arguably, there are only two resources...
1.) Time
2.) Money
Spend more of one...
... you will need less of the other.
@George Katsinis Yes, but there are a lot of products out there that are after only your money and don't deliver! I showed you how you can spend some time building something thing yourself, it will be a quality product that will deliver and will cost you half as much!
Exactly.... I'm agreeing with you.
Hopefully you don’t mind suggestions. When cutting the 1x6” boards, if you set all of them into a stack, align one end of all the boards, have someone hold them still or clamp the stack, then you can mark the first cut and drop the saw blade down as far as it will go. Now you cut two parts and marked the next one. Once the top board is gone, the third board is marked and ready for all the cuts.
Possibly more accurate and less marking and work. Best wishes, Kevin
Definitely don't mind the suggestions! Especially if it means less work! Thanks!
@@PavingNewPaths It drives me nuts to watch someone that bought a 12” miter saw and lay 1x4 and 2x4 flat and cut them one at a time and make over 50 cuts. I needed 24 pcs of 1x4 and had 6 boards. With my 12” saw, I set them on edge, clamped one end and with 5 cuts had 24 pieces. 5 because I always cut off factory ends to make square and all even. Same with 2x4’s.
@@KevinCoop1 The 12" saw would have been useful for the 4x6 cuts! I had to make one cut, flip it and make second cut! With my down sized tool collection now I have to work with what I have!
Great suggestion. I personally at my sticks and bricks (so not an option here) have a miter saw that a friend (RIP) had made a table for. I brought it from his wife and I made a stopper for it so I can clamp the stopper on to the table and not need to mark the wood before hand. Makes these sort of cuts much easier as I just slide the material up against the stopper and cut.
Thanks for the video. Couldn't decide what to buy but your video inspired me. Already had the scrap lumber, Tractor Supply and Lowes close, so off I went. Getting ready for our first camping experience and I'm sure because of you and others posting these great videos, that our learning curve will be short and not so painful. Should work great on our Alliance Avenue 30rls. Thanks again.
Thank you! It will be an adventure and hopefully we save you from some of the heartaches we have had! We love it either way as most of our best memories come from not so perfect days!
Thanks for the vid. I'm a new RVer, still figuring things out. RMcCord's comments fit mine perfectly, so I piggybacked. Thanks to both of you!
Great video! The only down side is weight and storage space. Keep up the good work!!!
They weigh roughly 20lbs and ride in the truck on travel day! We have used our set now for almost two years and they are holding up great!
Weight and storage would be my issue as well tho I have Class C so probably wouldn't need as heavy duty as these are.
@@pjmiller3770 For a class C or any driveable RV the snap pads are actually great for them!
I'm actually a green store guy (Menard's)😂, but they don't have stores all over the country. We just started getting Tractor Supply around here, so it was always Farm & Fleet or Rural King for me. Anything plastic (blocks or stacking blocks) does not work well on gravel. The gravel embeds itself in and deforms the plastic, and the wood you put under them always split after a while.. I use the RV SnapPads and HushPads (8x 12"x14"x2"). That has works well for me. I like your blocks, but that is a heck of a lot of bulk & weight to carry! Horse mats are a great idea to keep the wood from getting busted up! If my setup ever doesn't work, I will give this a try!!! Nice job Kevin & Phil!
I am going to have to try the Green Store next time I see one! I wanted to combine the Anderson Block height and the SnapPad Protection, this was my solution! They are heavier than the other two, but they have held up great now for almost 2 years and we have always had these, so all of our scale tickets have shown the weight of these either in the truck or the trailer!
Dang it! Beat me to it.
These re great and I plan on building a set! A few questions for you:
1. How heavy is one of these?
2. How tall is one of these?
3. Would you trust stacking one on top of the other for even more height?
They are about 20lbs a piece when new, they will get lighter as they dry out!
Around 6 inches tall!
You could stack if you needed to but we have never been in a situation where we would need to do this!
Wish I could share the pic of my results! Followed your instructions to the T (except for the part where I started with charged batteries) and they turned out great! Thank you for sharing all your tips and fixes to your troubles!
Thanks for watching! We are glad you enjoyed the video and were able to make your own set!
Thank you for this video. We have a tracer air with the scissor stabilizers & have struggled with using the orange levelers as pads for them. My husband & father created a set of these & they are so much better. More stable & better hight so the stabilizers don't have to come down so far. Happy travels!
We are glad you enjoyed the video! We felt we could make something better and more useful than what was being offered on the market! This was our verison of what works for us! We hope you enjoy your set as much as we do!
We use both homemade blocks and snap pads. Snap pads are great for one night. Boon docking or mooch docking. Great video.
Thats a great Idea! When we stay in rest areas and don't unhook the truck, I usually don't put the blocks down and just put the jacks down on the pavement!
Saw this video over a year ago & funny how I'm building mine today on Labor Day weekend! My other jack blocks I had built out of 2x6 crossed screwed and glued couldn't hold up with the 24,000lb 5th wheel we had , they busted in two in about a year, so I'm trying your design this time! I found plenty of building materials around my in-laws horse farm so other than the cost of 2" deck screws and spray paint, they didn't cost anything but the time to build them! I hope that the rubber will help them hold up better than my other ones did. I'm using some rope for the handles, but we may find the ones you used next time we're at TSC and upgrade. Thanks for sharing the design, hopefully they'll hold up better than my other set I had made!
Ours lasted 3 years of fulltime use and now that we are no longer traveling they are still in use on someone else's RV!
just got done building these for my new trailer, cheap and easy had the wood cut up by the store so it was really easy just had to assemble
So glad you like them and great job on having the store do the cutting for you!
Kevin, great DIY blocks. I never thought about the need to carry additional pieces of wood with the other options. Thank you for sharing. Peace and Safe Travels -Craig
Thank you! Yes with the other options you still need wood blocks!
built mine from 2x10 stacked and same rubber, it's perfect for me ! a bit heavier, but no more plastic blocks penetrating in the grass !
We also like these because they have enough height we could raise our jack mounting positions to allow more ground clearance when traveling! We have been using ours for 2 years now and they have held up great!
Hey, my local Orange 🍊 Store surprised us and made all of the cuts for FREE! They didn’t have the pressure treated lumber so we saved a few bucks there. Free cuts was great!
We bought 12x12 rubber diamond plate sticky backed padding for a few more bucks from Harbor Freight. $4 each.
That is awesome that the cut the wood for you! Hope you enjoy your new jack blocks!
One of my RV compartments has nothing but a stack of 12-inch and 30-inch long 2 x 10 boards. Bulky yes but serves the dual purpose of Jack blocks and recovery boards to go under the wheels and get a start if I get stuck, which has happened twice in 10 years (twice too often).
We travel fulltime so we had to come up with a way to carry what we needed with out taking up to much space from things we don't need! We started with an assortment of boards and after a few trips decided to build these! After 3 years they are still working out great for us!
Made my own, will some minor modifications. Thanks for the video.
Glad you liked it!
BLUE. I built basically the same thing for our Jayco Eagle a couple months ago. I used all 2x6 boards because I already had them. Actually had everything but the handles. Great video, thanks.
Great minds think alike and we know yours is great since you like the blue store! :)
Nearest blue sure to us is over 100 miles away, so for us it's Tractor Supply, Menards & Depot. We get most things at Menards.
I have never seen a Menards around here, but maybe I will check out the Green Store next time I see one! Tractor supply and Lowes are my favorite!
Used your video to make six blocks for our 5th wheel. Total cost was $150. Used left over 4x6 and mat to make support to go on the ground under the step if needed. They are heavier than expected but the handle works great. Using them for the first time this weekend, will let you know how they work.
Glad I could help you out! They are much cheaper than what is available on the market! That's a great idea for the steps! We are in year 3 of using ours they get lighter!
Had you thought about epoxy to secure the horse mats? I imagine the screws are less expensive and more practical.
@@danielfarmer4311 I believe with the environment they live in adhesive wouldn't have held up!
@@PavingNewPaths yeah the hardware is fast too. I’m going to make a set too. We’re using Lynks levelers under our stabilizers now. I like your design. Super easy and probably last forever.
@@danielfarmer4311 Ours are 3 years old and look the same as they did the day I made them!
Those are awesome! I love that idea! It sure beats carrying cinder blocks around to get the added height 👍
Thank you! I wanted the Snappads and the Anderson Block but by themselves they did not meet all the requirements! So I built these to combine the height of the Anderson Block with the Rubber Protections of the snappads!
Blue store. I’ve worked at both the orange and the blue store. Lowe’s is much better to their employees. The work environment is positive and encouraging. I’ve had many customers say the HD doesn’t carry enough product and you can’t find an associate to help
I work for a local amusement company, aka a "carnie" , and this minus the stall mats is what we use to stabilize our rides like the Swinger and the Zipper.
Thanks for the tip on stall mats and folding handles, I'll pass it on to the bosses as a possible winter upgrade project.
We use stall mats for covering our long wire runs in high traffic areas to prevent tripping.
The person who pointed out the greater weight distribution of having the larger surface area of a 16x16 pair for the front makes a valid point.
I would maybe just carry 2 (or 4) 16"x16"x1" pieces of plywood for areas that may have a softer base or when the weather might get really wet for a few days. If for weather you could just raise each jack leg enough to slide the ply under your jack block for added weight distribution.
We have never had an issue with these blocks sinking in the ground! They are 11x11 if you sink that in the ground there is no way your RV is coming out of that spot with out a tow truck! Ours are holding up great after almost 2 years of use!
we love the 114deg days here in NTX with NO rain for the last 3 months..... projects are soooooo much fun 🤠
They sure make for a hot day, and everything takes twice as long to do!
Thank you for sharing your idea. We made them and they are working out great!!
Glad you liked them! Ours have been great going on 3 years now!
Thank you for taking the time to film this. Love this
Thank you! Glad you liked it!
We have snap pads on our coach and love them, we often camp in loose sand, beach or desert or at campgrounds in hot areas which may have asphalt pads which can get soft in desert heat. We have gone the wood blocks and plastic blocks but getting older has made the wood/plastic difficult to handle. We do keep a four pack of pads handy, but just in case we are in an exceptionally off level area. Bottom line is, works for each person is best and to say other methods aren’t good or worthwhile is strictly subjective for each person.
Snap pads are great for a motorized coach! We never said ours was better! We said we built these because we wanted the height of the Anderson blocks, with the rubber protection of the snappads. We get the best of both for half the cost, and these will likely last longer!
Love my snap pads as many locations are gravel or sand.
I have never seen a snap pad owner not put a board down first before putting the jacks down! If you still need boards whats the point!
I try Menards first, I figure I am supporting his race car. We go to Tractor supply often and use the membership for discounts. Glad you all are doing well.
I just looked Menards up the closet one to us is in Missouri! Our future travel plans have us in Missouri for Thanksgiving, so I guess I need to go check the Green Store out!
Thanks Kevin for this video, I am going to try and tackle this project myself. Nice job bro!
Thank you! It should take you an afternoon to build them and a few cold ones!
Great tutorial for anyone wanting to do this, but, since the 4x6's make no ground contact, I would not have used "treated" lumber. That would save a little bit of money.
I also would have used 5/8-3/4" cdx plywood instead of the 1x6. The plywood will never crack or split. Every screw in the 1x6 is a potential split.
Man, it's hot in Texas.
It is so hot in Texas right now! The reason I went with the Treated is because there are a lot of times especially in Florida where the blocks may be sitting in water after a rain! We have had ours now for almost 2 years and they are holding up great!
I was thinking the same thing about using 3/4" CDX treated exterior ply vs. 1x6. I don't know if you can consistently find untreated 1x6 - there aren't any in SW GA/NW FL that I've found.
I wish I knew where the 12x6 x 16 treated board that washed up on our beach after Michael came from. If it doesn't become a really nice bench, it may be leveling blocks.
@@WynneEden We have had good luck woth the treated 1x6 and 4x6 we used! We have been using them for 2 years now and they are holding up great!
@@PavingNewPaths I'm not questioning that - my thought watching was that I could see cutting marine or exterior grade ply as a quicker/simpler/possibly sturdier option. I had the same thoughts of using a waterproof glue/construction adhesive, for example.
There isn't a single way that's 'best' - your solution is absolutely great, and has given me ideas, which is why I liked the video and subbed to your channel. I appreciate the ideas very much.
Oh, I can't vote blue or orange (or red, for Ace), since a couple of them support the organization I work for, but only one is within 50 miles.
@@WynneEden Thank you for subbing! Glad you enjoy the content! We have been hearing such good things about the green store we will have to check them out! Ace is also awesome!
Blue store, orange store, green store. I use whatever is closest and Lowe's are few and far between in my part of the country.
I did something similar with my previous trailer to save time setting the jacks but the rubber idea is a new one and I will definitely be making similar blocks with rubber pads for my new TT.
To save some weight I will use a hole saw on the middle layer to remove some of the mass without losing strength.
We are blue store fans, but they are everywhere down here where we are from! I am excited to find a green store to check out!
Yes Sir, mine came out just as your directions stated! Thank You!
So glad everything worked out for you! Lets us know how they work on your first trip out!
Kevin,
It's a year later that I found your video. First, I love the Blue store because I'm a Veteran and really enjoy the Vet Discount. Yes the Orange store offers a Vet discount but with a $500 cap for the year. Second, This is great. The type of camper that we use, it belongs to our friends, has scissor jacks for stabilization. We, the owner and I, have been talking about this very thing for stabilizing the camper. The camper my wife and I are intending is much smaller, but this is still a great solution to that problem. As you mentioned, adjust the size as needed, these are perfect for large and small trailer/campers. Thank you for sharing and you have a new subscriber. God bless.
Very good idea and nicely done video. But I see one problem. You used screws to attach the rubber pads and the heads of the screws are flush with the surface of the rubber. When weight is put on them the rubber will start to compress then all the weight will be on the heads of the screws. Perhaps instead of screws to attach the rubber pads you could use contact cement.
The screws are sunk into the rubber below the surface so the weight on the rubber not the screw heads! We have been using ours for 2 years now and they are still as good as the day we made them! I am not sure an adhesive would hold up with the elements they are in!
I have never had an Issue with the Anderson Blocks under any conditions !
Glad they work well for you!
We’ve used Anderson Blocks for 2.5 years on all types of surfaces and have never had a problem. Nice build but to each their own. We also appreciate the magnets on the blocks.
Thats great, and we have nothing against them, but if you're thinking about getting the anderson buckets but don't like the price tag! You can build something that will work better, last longer and cost you half of what the buckets cost!
What is the weight of the block?
@@TheBuddyandlilly Around 18lbs a piece!
@@TheBuddyandlilly I’d guess around 5-7lbs.
Have you weighed one of the blocks I'm curious as to the weight of one fully assembled before I go to build them thanks and this was a great video
Thank you! When you build them with fresh treated wood they will weigh around 20lbs a piece!
We use the orange stackable one's. Just for easy use and light weight. But we add 2 jacks in the middle of our trailer for the bounce. Might make a set.but add a piece of rope to the handle,as you get older you'll appreciate not having to crawl around or bend down to pull them out.
I know what you mean! Getting them out of the back of my truck is the part that has me climbing more than I want to!
I dont dislike the blue store. Just in my area, the orange store provides better service and is 10 times cleaner.
Nice video though. Definitely will make a few of these soon.
We're learning from our viewers that in some areas the blue store is best and in others the orange store is best! We are in an area that the blue store has the description of your orange store! We hope you like your jack blocks when you get them built! Let us know if you have any questions once you get started!
Thanks for this. I built some this week. Unfortunately TS was out of the thinner stall mats and only had the 3/4” which was really heavy. I had some dense floor mats all over the garage and flipped one over and it had this really strong tire rubber just like the stall mats, only about 3/8” though. Worked out great for those who may may not have a TS close. Anyway very cool and effective blocks…thanks again.
Thank you! I am glad I could help you out! I wanted the Anderson buckets ad the snap pads but didn't like the price! I said I bet I can build both of them together for way less! 3 years going strong so far!
Those horse mats or heavy foam pads work great under your washer/dryer too.
We have carpet under our washer and dryer, it is also bolted down to the floor so it doesn't move!
Spent the day screwing rubber mats to painted blocks for the hubby. Thanks! lol
I'm sorry! You will love the new jack blocks!
I like the orange store because the people that work there are so helpful. They know where everything is and are always plight!!! Not so at the blue store.
We have found that it matters where you are from! For us it is the opposite the blue store is great, and the orange store is the place to avoid!
Brilliantly thought out ! We will do this as soon as possible! Ty
Thanks! We hope you enjoy your set!
Both stores are within 3 miles of my house. The orange store is easier to get to since no traffic lights, the blue store has four traffic lights, so I usually go to orange for most things, but if I can't find it, then off to blue. It also depends on if I'm buying tools, I tend to steer toward the blue store for hand tools.
I also have two 4 x 6 TSC horse stall mats that I park my trailer wheels on when I am at home.
We prefer the blue store but that doesn't mean we won't go browse at the Orange store if we need something! We used these same horse stall mats to line the floor of our basement storage compartments on the RV!
good Idea , thank You . I have a 36 foot Gulf stream and needed something like this yesterday and didn't have it . Will by the next trip out
Thank you! These are what worked best for us, they are 3 years old now and still look great! The good thing about building your own is you can make it to what works best for your setup!
We built our own blocks also, however since campsites are sloped in some cases we built blocks at different thicknesses by just using a 2x12 cut square and screwing them together. I have a set of 6 1-1/2", 6 3", 2 4-1/2", & 2 6" blocks and they stack neatly in milk crates. And your right, I saved a bunch of money too!
We have a hydraulic auto level system so the jacks will adjust accordingly when leveling! Also I think because of our size the spots we are able to fit in are mostly level. We have only had a few places were the tires were off the ground when level!
Great video. I am a blue store guy because of their support for our vets
Absolutely! Love that they give the veteran discount! If you served, we appreciate your service!
We live in the Midwest so we shop at Menards. Sometimes Lowes is cheaper. Price negates the purchase. We always make what we need. Made our blocks but without the rubber, handle and paint. I'm going paint and add those items to our blocks.
I need to check this green store out! I hear so many good things about it! Maybe on my trip this year I can find one and see for myself!
I built pads just as you described. Can’t Wait to try them. Thanks for the solution. Frank O😊
Awesome! Let us know how they work out for you!
Orange or Red(Ace). Can't stand how (at least our local) Lowes puts wood on one side and fastners cleeeeear on the other side of the the store. I have 6x8 blocks I got from work. Might have to put some handles on them though 🤔
I am a blue fan but at our local store the fasteners are the next aisle over from the wood! It's the local orange store that confuses me nothing is where it should be! You can never go wrong with the red store as they often times have things the big stores don't! It's like a little hidden gem!
Pads/blocks are expensive and while it's a great idea, I'm wondering what the weight is of the treated wood?
Each one of these weigh around 20lbs! It might seem like a lot of weight. but they are holding up a lot of weight!
Great idea ! I made 4 for my self rather than using a bunch of blocking that a normally carry with us. Thanks
I didn't want to carry a bunch of wood either! I liked the snappads and the anderson buckets but I wanted to combine them! Now I have the height of the buckets and the protection of the snappads!
Thanks for your videos. Unfortunately bad experience with snap pads customer service and cannot recommend them.
We don't think they are bad but what's the point of a rubber foot if it adds no height!
I’m in the process of making 4 of the pads now. Waiting for the paint to dry. Tried the snap my fingers trick, didn’t work.😂 I will let you know how they work out up here in the Great Lakes area.
The snap trick doesn't always work, it's very finicky at times!
Thanks for this! We made our own and love them! Don’t know how to share the pic.
You are very welcome! Glad you were able to make you a set! We hope you enjoy them!
I go to the blue store and orange store depending on who has what I need. Prices always almost the same and they across the street from each other
In our town they are in the same parking lot and the stores are laid out exact mirror images of each other! If you go from one to the other, it's so opposite it messes you up!
I’m glad I found this video I didn’t need them this big for my pop up (lol) but will be up grading in the near future. I used rope and PVC pipe for handles. Did you think of using construction adhesive also.
That is great guys. Thanks for putting this up.
Your welcome!
Great idea. I bought the snap pads for our new 5th wheel but wish I would have seen this video first. I think I will make a set like yours and keep the snap pads as back up. We are new to the RV life and about to start a channel and will be sure to give yall a shout out on the block idea.
You could always use these with your snap pads, as our taller blocks will allow your jacks to not need to be extended as far, thereby making your rig shake less.
@@PavingNewPaths I will try that today when we get to our camp spot in Albuquerque, currently in Amarillo.
We have snap pads, and love them. Keeps the steel pads from sliding especially on rock and concrete.
Snap pads are great but they don't offer any height to keep the jacks from extending so far, the Anderson buckets are great at the height but have no rubber protection! So I built my own that combined the two, the height and the rubber!
very nice DYI. I have some left over 4x4s I was thinking about doing a similar thing with, but adding the rubber mats is a great idea. Thanks
Thank You! I wanted the height of the Anderson Blocks and the protection of the SnapPads so this was my idea! It has held up for almost 2 years now!
I love my blocks I bought them they are magnetic Anderson buckets you haven't convinced me
We think the Anderson Blocks are awesome as well, but you still need to carry wood around to use them! Unless you're on perfect concrete RV pads they will warp and bend on you! The biggest reason we didn't go with them was the price, these wood blocks are half the cost of the Anderson Buckets and that was at today's lumber prices! The ones we use were built two years ago and it was even cheaper then!
I like this idea but my issue is the extra weight for my travel trailer. I have a Toy Hauler and when I tow my bikes I'm not over weight but close fully loaded up. These would be great for when I don't haul the bikes. Thanks for sharing this with everyone
They weigh around 18 lbs. a piece, so 108 lbs. total for 6! We put them in the bed of our truck for travel days! The rest of the time they are on the ground holding the RV up!
I am totally sold out to Ryobi power tools. So orange store for me. And Rural King beats Tractor Supply every day.
We don't have Rural Kings where we are from, maybe I need to go find one and check it out!
Primarily a blue store guy, but the orange store does have some good deals every now and then. And I love TSC!!
Blue Store first! Then maybe browse the Orange place! Tractor supply is awesome, there is a lot of stuff there that most people don't know about!
Growing up in central texas, I laugh at people and heat. I start living at 95 and love 110+ Granted I keep enough water in me for three people so..... >< I love sweating!! Thanks for this video man, I'm down to build us a set to match the rig!
Glad you liked it! We are from Texas so we are used to it, but we decided to build these when it was raining daily and it really wasn't that hot temperature wise, but the humidity had us feeling like we were working in a swimming pool!
I don’t get them either. I was born a raised in NYC, on day in the 90s we had a hard winter and I prayed to God that he might make it JUST a little warmer in exchange for me never complaining about the heat again. Let’s just say He heard and made it warmer. Fast FW to 2003 and I in Iraq, I got so use to it that anything lower than 74 and I get cold. People ask me if I am not hot in 100+ with a sweat suit on NOPE!!!! If I were I wouldn’t be wearing it!!!!! I’ll never understand humans and their dumb questions.
Looks like it might be a little warm there!! 😁111Degrees!! WOW!! Well, I still like the Blue store (10 miles) but I have the Orange store 3 1/2 miles from home!! I do have a Tractor Supply close to home!! I also have an "84 Lumber" Store even closer (about 2 miles). but when out camping and need something, Blue store!! Thanks for posting the video!!
Too hot! That's for sure! We appreciate you watching!
Awesome blocks Kevin!
You (and your father-in-law) did an amazing job on these. We use the Andersen as well and I will definitely be making my rounds to Lowes and to Tractor Supply, 5i make my own. Thank you for showing everyone these fantastic blocks and for making great videos for fellow RVers! Keep 'em coming!
Congratulations to you and your wife!
Thank you! I wanted the Anderson Blocks, but everyone told me unless it's perfect ground you're going to hate them of have to carry wood to put down first! This was my idea to get the height of the blocks but the protection of the snappads all in one!
New to 5th wheel and was looking for an alternative to shelling out $300+ for Anderson blocks and snap pads. Caught up with your video and built a set of 4 today. A bit heavy but solid as a rock and will no doubt stand the test of time. One surprise was the odor of the horse stall mats - took a few days of airing out before I started the project. I appreciate the DIY aspect - a few hours of me and my son jawing and cutting was as much fun as saving over $200... -
Thank you! Glad you were able to make your own set! We felt we could build something for less and be more useful than what was on the market! Our are 3 years old now and still holding up fine! They do get a little lighter over time!
Blue store. I liked the veteran discount back when it started and just stuck with them. Thanks for this video!
Thank you! Love the blue store!
Thanks for this video. I’m going to build 8 of these next week.
Awesome, if you have any questions reach out to us! we are going on 3 years with our set!
Cool idea...but I've never run into a campground requiring rubber pads? I'm thinking the wood would work just fine without the rubber stall mats. I made something similar for a previous camper, and the wood outlasted the camper.
Just wood would be fine, we have been to several campgrounds that have concrete pads and they require something down between your jack and the concrete! I added rubber as an extra layer!
You need both blue and orange! I go to whichever one is closer at the time. Sometimes one will have what you need and the other won’t this is why you can have these store right next to each other and both stores do well.
I love the blue store! Here in our hometown, they are next to each other, and the stores are laid out like a mirror image of each other! It's the same but opposite if you know what I mean!
I watched this video about 5 times and went to the blue store and the TSC and bought the material. Great idea and thanks for sharing. Made a video of my own and would like to reference you guys for the idea if you dont mind. Next Im looking at a way to install a tray under the rig to slide them into like we use on our Ladder trucks for the ground plates.
Thats great you are going to make them! Please feel free to reference us! We would love to show the video some love after you make it so be sure to send us the link! That's a great idea for a tray to hold them!
@@PavingNewPaths here is the link to our video. Again thank you so much for the information.
ua-cam.com/video/lQlWxDGNHus/v-deo.html
Now I'm building me a set of Jack blocks!
They are great! We have had ours for 2 years now and they are holding up great!
I'm curious why you like the blue store vs the orange store?
Well because where we are from the Blue store was the only store that existed, also the few times we have tried the orange store the experience has not been so great!
Blue, or Green, we have Menards around here, I have all 3 within 2 miles, and we also have FleetFarm, plus Tractor Supply as well.
I use snap pads. I can't really use blocks of any kind on my DP because it lets all of the air out of the air bags before leveling and that puts the chassis really close to the ground. My DP also weights 46,000 lbs but I think your blocks could handle that amount of weight. Good job.
For you guys the Snap Pads is really the best choice! Who wants to try and put blocks under a Class A! I'm sure they could handle that weight! At least once right!
Same here.
Same deal, blocks on a DP don’t do well. Just put snap pads on my DP
Great video and awesome blocks. I am looking at building these for our 5th wheel and I have one question. Is it safe to put these tall blocks under the front landing gear of a 5th wheel ? I don’t want the camper to slide off and land on my truck when I hook the truck to the camper. Thanks.
We've had no problems in three years, but we also have wheel chocks to keep the trailer from moving during the hitching process. It would take a lot of excessive force to get the trailer to move off these blocks during the hitching process.
@@PavingNewPaths Thank you very much for the quick reply and the answer I was looking for. I also use wheel chocks.
Lowe's doesn't carry Milwaukee tools so it's orange all the way. Nice video.
Thank you! Milwaukee tools are nice!
Blue store mainly,, Orange occasionally. Phil reminds me of my dad.
We love the Blue Store, but mostly because that's all we had where we used to live so we stick with what we know we like!
Agreed!! Beware: SnapPads do NOT work well on the 9 inch Lippert feet on motorhomes. They do not install properly with ease. For us, we were not able to install them as per the website. We even put on brand new Lippert 9 inch jack feet. Customer service at SnapPad is a joke. They know they do not install as well as they do on larger feet yet they still sell them without warnings. So disappointing!! What a waste of money for me. I am out the cost of SnapPads and new Lippert 9 inch feet.
Thanks for the head's up! We've seen some interesting installs of people adding them to the larger feet and it doesn't seem very user friendly or convenient! I hate that you are out the cost of them. Maybe you could resale them online and build our version!
I did the same thing many years ago. It’s the way to go. Great video
Thanks so much!
I usually am a Red Store (Ace/True Valu) then Blue….but love Tractor supply!!! We are parked so when we put a pair down they are there for several months and it rains a LOT here, should we do anything differently? Treated? Thicker horse mats? minor gaps for air circulation?
Glad you finally put this out!
Ace is great and the usually have things the Big Blue and Orange places don't! Tractor Supply is also a hidden gem most people forget about! We have had ours for almost 2 years now and 6 months of that was in wet rainy Florida! They are holding up fine and when you build them, they are not tight there is gaps to let them breathe! This is why I went with treated wood I knew they would be exposed all the time to the elements!
@@PavingNewPaths awesome! Love y'all's content!
Those things would hold up a house. Way more weight and cost than necessary for an RV. Weight is the enemy, and money has limits, too.
A simple 2x6 frame to form the perimeter with a couple 5/4 deck boards (or two more 2x6) on the top will be more than strong enough to hold up an RV. Use the rubber on top if you want, but I don't think it's necessary.
Pro tip: If you're cutting several boards to the same length, measure and cut one as a template (make sure it's good and square), then use its edge to mark the rest. This will save you tons of time and minimize measuring errors.
Great tips!
Can you stack these? Or would you recommend building the block with another row 4x6s ?
I guess you could stack them if you wanted, but they are already pretty tall now! We had to raise our middle and rear jacks a few inches as some campgrounds had the jacks so low the blocks wouldn't fit! They keep the jacks usually at half or less extention when set up at this height!
Thanks for the idea
I took you idea and built some similar blocks for our 5th wheel. I used 2x4’s to reduce the weight and I had some left over rubber mat I used in our front storage bay. All four blocks weight in a total of 45lbs
Safe travels
That's great! Let us know how they work out for you when you get a chance to try them out!
@@PavingNewPaths will be doing so later this week. Couldn’t post a picture but they turned out nice. The test is when we use them.
Have a question did you use 2x4's instead of the 4x6x8 ?
@@TimVanVranken yes
Orange store primarily because being a vet, I have always gotten the 10% discount. My local Blue store only recently started to honor that 365 days a year.
I'm glad the blue store finally started honoring the discount year round! Thank you for your service!
Blue store is generally 10-20% more expensive. Rubber blocks seem like a good idea but seem too heavy.
Our blue store is often cheaper or right around and price as orange store! And the blocks came out to about 20 lbs a piece and just ride in the bed of the truck on travel day.