How Many Wheel Chocks Do I Need?

Two chocks for a single-axle trailer and four for a tandem axle, each tire chocked on the downhill side, and both directions covered on at least one tire per side. In practice that means buying two pairs for a tandem-axle travel trailer rather than the one pair most people start with. Chocks are among the cheapest items you will buy for a trailer, and the only reason to own fewer than you need is that nobody told you the number.

This is part of our leveling and chocks guide. Our wheel chock roundup answers which to buy; this page answers how many, which is the question people actually get wrong.

Where the number comes from

A chock is a wedge that stops a tire rolling in one direction. That is a precise statement and the word that matters is “one.” A chock placed behind a tire stops the trailer rolling backward. It does nothing at all about the trailer rolling forward. So a single chock on a trailer is half a solution, and the half it covers is whichever one you happened to guess.

That is why the baseline is a pair per axle per side, placed so that the tire cannot move either way. On a slope, the chock on the downhill side is doing the real work and the uphill one is insurance; on a flat pad there is no downhill side, so both matter equally.

Why two pairs rather than one for a tandem

A tandem-axle trailer has two tires per side, and they do not necessarily sit on the same surface. One may be on a block, one on gravel; one on the edge of a concrete pad and one off it. Chocking a single tire per side relies on the trailer being a rigid body that cannot move at all if one wheel is held, which is broadly true and not something worth betting a trailer on when the alternative costs the price of a sandwich.

The practical version: chock the rear tire on each side as your default, because that is where you can reach, and chock the front tire as well on any site with a perceptible slope.

Where to put them

Firmly against the tire, square to it, on the ground rather than on the edge of a leveling block. Three details are worth getting right.

Push the chock in until it touches. A chock two inches from the tire is not a chock; it is a thing the trailer rolls into. The trailer should not be able to pick up any speed at all before the chock engages.

Chock before you unhitch, not after. While the trailer is still coupled to the tow vehicle it cannot go anywhere. That is the moment to place the chocks. Unhitching first and then crouching behind the tires is the sequence that produces the stories.

Do not chock onto a leveling block. If a tire is up on a block stack, the chock wants to be on the ground in front of or behind the stack, bearing against the tire, not perched on the top layer where it can slide off the plastic. A chock on a smooth plastic surface is relying on friction that is not there.

What to buy, by the number

Two pairs of wedge chocks covers a tandem-axle trailer properly. The locking chock is a separate product for a separate problem, and only works on a tandem axle.

Best for The non-negotiable basics

Camco Heavy-Duty Wheel Chocks (pair)

The chock that stops the trailer rolling. Not the one that stops it rocking, which is a different product, and you need both.

Check price on Amazon#ad we may earn a commission

Best for Smooth concrete pads

MaxxHaul Solid Rubber Wheel Chocks (pair)

Rubber rather than plastic: the version that does not slide when the pad is smooth and slightly damp.

$12.98 - View on Amazon#ad we may earn a commission - price as of November 12, 2026

Best for Tandem-axle rigs that rock

BAL X-Chock Tire Locking Chock

The standard answer to a trailer that rocks when you walk across it, and only useful if you have two axles per side.

$43.63 - View on Amazon#ad we may earn a commission - price as of November 12, 2026

Which chock material, given you are buying several

Since the honest answer is “buy four,” the material question becomes a cost question. Molded plastic wedges are the cheap default and they are genuinely fine on gravel, grass and dry concrete. Where they let you down is smooth, slightly damp concrete, where a plastic wedge can skate rather than bite.

Solid rubber chocks grip that surface properly and are heavier to carry and store. A reasonable compromise for someone who uses both kinds of site is a pair of each: rubber for the paved pads, plastic for everything else. Full comparison in the roundup.

What about a single-axle trailer?

A single-axle trailer has one tire per side and therefore no gap for a locking chock to work in — that product is useless here, which catches people out. The answer for a single axle is wedge chocks, in pairs, on both sides, and the rocking is addressed through the stabilizer jacks instead. That case has its own page: best wheel chocks for a single-axle trailer.

Keeping track of four chocks

The practical problem with owning four chocks rather than two is that chocks are the item most often left at a campsite. They are small, dark, on the ground, behind a tire, on the side of the trailer you did not walk around. Two habits solve it: buy a bright color, and make “collect the chocks” a line on the departure walk-around rather than something you remember. Our setup checklist includes both directions.