Since I flipped my axles for extra ground clearance, my
stabilizers don’t reach the ground; I usually bring a stack of big wooden
blocks to make up the difference. But
the blocks are a little bit unsteady. So
I made some collapsible tripods, and they really get the job done.
They are 16 inches high, with legs made of 1 3/8” closet
pole dowels. Both ends of each dowel are rounded. The base is made up of four
pieces of 8x8 3/4” plywood squares, screwed together to make a block three
inches thick. Using a 1 3/8” Forstner
bit and a drill press, I drilled three holes in the block, angled at 30
degrees. The legs slip into the holes,
and the whole thing is easily disassembled for storage and transport.
Here is what it looks like in action:
Here is the bottom of the base block, showing the slanted
holes:
Here is a side view of the block:
We used it in soft soil, rocky soil, and on pavement, and it
worked perfectly. Since the tripod is higher than the blocks but does not wobble at all, the stabilizer jack is not overextended and seems to provide much better support and stability.
