In the winter do I have to put down (jacks stabilizer)

Harolo

I live in NH and yesterday I winterized my 2021 TAB 400 BDL…i also bought a Allpro cover to protect my trailer from bad weather! My question is do I have to put down the jacks stabilizer for the winter? 

Thanks for your help! 

Harolo ! 

pthomas745

Why not?  I leave mine down when it is parked for any length of time.

tabiphile

Ahhh...the question is "do you have to" and the answer is no. They are not necessary for parking, storage etc. The purpose they serve is to keep things from rocking around when you are in the trailer. Unless you really care about that or plan to spend time in it while it is parked, there is no need to use them. There have been niights where we just uncoupled and left them up in the air for a quick overnight. The rigs is a bit bouncy but it's not a big deal.
Some folks think they can take pressure off of the wheels/tires with the stabilizers. That is not their function. They are not jacks. If you want to lift the tires, do that with a proper jack (a floor jack is the best for this) and use the jacking points to prop it up. It's not really necessary to do that but some folks really agonize over the weight of the trailer sitting on the static tires. 
If you have indoor storage, roll it up on some old pieces of carpet. If you have outside storage, roll it up on a few pieces of plywood and then cover the sidewalls with wheel covers. Dry rot and weathering are the biggest problems with outside winter storage. 

Verna

Depending on the year of your T@B, putting the stabilizers down could be a theft deterrent. The 2021’s gave a 3/4” bolt head to raise/lower the stabilizers, which is just another socket in a tool box. Previous years have the slotted head that is not as easily sourced for thieves.