For travelers, campers, and adventurers, An RV can be the purchase of a lifetime. It can afford you a mobile, traveling lifestyle complete with relaxation, fun, and excitement.
Of course, RVs also have their fair share of challenges, beginning with the battle of finding a suitable parking spot. On average, rigs can weigh between 10,000 and 40,000 pounds. This means they risk sinking, slipping, or shifting when the RV is parked and leveling system is deployed.
While RV jacks are designed to accommodate the pressure from the RV, the ground isn’t. Depending on the nature of the parking space, your jack can either sink into the ground or get damaged without something stable underneath it.
Some RV owners have devised solutions to counter this effect, like placing plastic blocks or rubber mats under their jacks. Other owners prefer simple wooden blocks. None of these solutions seems ideal given the time and energy it takes to carry, store, clean, position, and retrieve them while traveling.
Why invest in quality jack pads?
Any passionate RVer will eventually find out that jack pads are something of a necessity. It doesn’t matter whether you are setting up on asphalt, concrete, gravel, sand, or anything in between. You’re likely to need something that cushions, flattens, or stabilizes the surface between your jacks and the ground.
So why is it important to have quality jack pads? Here are some of the top reasons:
Ground protection
Deploying your automatic leveling system on asphalt and concrete can result in damage to those surfaces, including cracks, rust, stains, and even dents or holes. If you park in a garage, on your driveway, or at campgrounds with poured surfaces, you’ll need jack pads to help reduce the risk of damage.
Stability
Automatic leveling systems can make life a lot easier with their “auto-level” functions. However, your jacks still require a strong, stable surface beneath them to prevent your rig from sinking or shifting. Mud, soft sod, sand, and loose gravel can cause significant challenges and are not uncommon while traveling.
Jack protection
An RV’s metal feet, or jacks, see a lot of wear and tear over time. Not only are they located on the underside of the rig, but they can also end up bearing a lot of weight during leveling. This leveling is often done on terrain that can include rocks, gravel, tree roots, and more. As a result, jacks can end up bent, bowed, scratched, and rusted.
Pads offer that extra layer of protection between your jacks and the elements and help extend their working life.
Types of jack pads
There are a number of different options for jack pads. Anything from a rubber mat to a wooden board or even a set of plastic blocks can act as a jack pad. This depends on the size and weight of your RV, of course.
Permanent jack pads are a new product category recently created by RV SnapPad. “SnapPads” are made from durable recycled rubber and are able to “snap” on the metal jacks, acting like shoes for your RV’s feet.
Unlike typical jack pads, which have to be stored, cleaned, placed, and retrieved during setup and tear down, SnapPads install once and stay on for good. As a result, they are far more convenient to use relative to classic options. Since they are made from recycled rubber tires, they also offer superior jack and ground protection to most other options.
SnapPads also offer reduced slippage on slick or sloped surfaces, especially compared to plastic or wooden jack pads. If they are installed early in the life of the RV, they can act to greatly increase the life of the jacks by reducing harm from the elements and repeated use.
Finally, SnapPads also function as indirect lightning strike insulation as a unique benefit. The thick rubber helps reduce the risk of electricity from a nearby strike moving up from the ground and into the metal jacks, potentially frying your RV’s electronics.
Whatever rig you are running and wherever you camp, jack pads are a necessity for the serious RVer. There is a variety of options out there, from DIY wooden planks to carefully engineered permanent jack pads made to snap on and stay on for good.
The RV SnapPad is crafted from tire rubber. With safety and quality standards ensured by a third-party lab, SnapPad has been shake-tested to 50 G’s (50 times the force of gravity) and against temperatures of 120 and –40 degrees F.
How RV SnapPad was founded
Although RV SnapPad was founded in 2015, the actual genesis of the company dates back to over 20 years earlier. Gordon and his partner came up with an idea for a different kind of RV leveling product. They created a prototype and launched it successfully in the market. That product remains a mainstay in the industry to this day.
Gordon left the company shortly after the product launch due to a falling out with a key investor. He and his family didn’t enjoy the financial success of the product he created, but it did establish him as a big name in the RV industry. By 2015, he decided to enter the RV market again, but this time with a new idea: “permanent jack pads for RVs”.
Gordon still had a wide network of contacts in this industry even after 20 years away. It also helped that he had three grown sons to help him get his new idea off the ground. They decided to bootstrap the new company, working on weekends and in their garage.
This time, it paid off. After securing modest financing from friends and family, testing multiple different versions of the idea, and finding a rubber manufacturer in the US who was willing to take a gamble with them. the family was finally able to launch RV SnapPads on a modest, one-page website.
On 29th September 2015, Gordon and his sons pushed their new website live, with just two different SnapPad packages. The following day, they made their first sale. By The end of that year, they had generated over $10K in revenue. After their first 12 months, they had cracked six figures and were able to roll out the second version of SnapPad thanks to customer demand.
Since then, the company has averaged over 100% growth year-over-year and now boasts a catalog of over 30 different SnapPad packages.
Who the RV SnapPad was made for
This RV leveling pad was designed for all RV owners. Whether you have a motorhome, fifth wheel, or travel trailer, you should take advantage of this product.
Final Take
RV SnapPads is the best investment and the perfect gift for yourself as an RV owner. Thanks to the thick, durable rubber construction, your metal landing gear will be protected from the elements. By absorbing the shock from your RV, these jack pads will make your motor home safer and more comfortable.
That’s why, after just a few years on the market, SnapPad has gathered thousands of positive reviews on both their website and Amazon, with an average rating of 4.8 stars out of 5.
Are you ready to give your RV the premium RV leveling product it deserves? If so, reach out to RV SnapPad and pick the right package for your RV jack. You can also watch the Wilsons’ journey as they grow the business by following the brands’ social platforms on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.