RV Jack Pads vs Wood Blocks
A plank under a jack foot solves the sinking problem for free. It also splits, slides, and has nothing locating the jack on it. Here is where that matters and where it does not.
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The verdict
For normal use on grass and gravel, buy molded jack pads. They cost very little, they nest flat so they do not take storage, and they are wide enough to stop a jack foot burying itself overnight — which is the only job here. Scrap timber does the same job acceptably until it splits or slides out from under a jack, and it has no load rating you can point to. Where you need height rather than footprint — a jack that will not reach the ground — buy a load-rated jack block, not a taller pile of anything.
Part of our leveling and chocks guide, and the honest version of a question our jack pads roundup only touches on. “Why not just use a bit of wood?” is a fair question with a real answer, and the answer is not “because you should buy something.”
Our picks at a glance
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up.
| # | Product | Best for | Beginner fit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Camco FasTen RV Stabilizer Jack Pads (4-pack)The pad to buy if your leveling blocks are Camco FasTen: the two systems lock together, so a tall stack under a jack stays a stack. | Pads that stack with your leveling blocks | Strong | |
| 2 |  Andersen Hitches EZ Block Jack Block (3621)Height, not just a footprint. The block to buy when a jack will not reach the ground, rather than the one to buy four of. | A jack that cannot reach the ground | Strong | |
| 3 | Valterra Stabilizer Jack PadsFunctionally interchangeable with any other jack pad. Buy whichever is in stock, but do buy a spare for the tongue jack. | A second set for the tongue jack | Strong |
Prices come from Amazon and were last checked November 12, 2026. They change constantly, so a price older than 48 hours is withdrawn rather than shown stale — those rows read “Check price on Amazon” instead and go straight to the current listing. #ad — these are affiliate links.
What the thing under the jack is actually doing
A stabilizer jack foot is small — a few square inches. The weight it carries is modest compared to the axles, but it is concentrated, and soft ground does not care how modest the load is if the area is small enough. On wet grass, a bare jack foot sinks. Not dramatically, and not all at once: it sinks an inch overnight, which is exactly enough to take the tension out of the jack and let the trailer rock again by morning.
So the thing under the jack has one job: spread that load over a wider area. Anything flat and rigid does it. A 6-inch square of plastic does it, a cut piece of 2x8 does it, a paving slab does it. The format argument is about the three ways each option fails, not about whether the physics works.
The three failure modes, and which option avoids them
How each one goes wrong
| Failure | Molded pad | Scrap timber | Load-rated jack block |
|---|---|---|---|
| Splits under load | Flexes, and cracks eventually if abused | Softwood splits along the grain, often without warning | Rated by the maker, and the rating is published |
| Slides out sideways | Flat on flat, so it can slip on a slope | The common one. Smooth timber on wet grass squirts out | Recessed post hole locates the jack so it cannot |
| Gets left behind | Nests flat, so it lives in one compartment | No home, so it ends up in the grass at the last site | Light enough to live in the truck |
| Not tall enough | Roughly an inch of lift per pad | Whatever you happened to cut | 8 in, or 14 in stacked - the reason to buy one |
The one that actually gets people is sliding, not splitting
Everybody expects wood to split and it rarely does under a stabilizer jack. What it does instead is slide. A smooth-sawn board on wet grass or a gravel pad has very little keeping it in place, and a jack foot bearing on the middle of it is a point load with no location. You crank the jack down, the board shifts a half inch, and either the jack ends up on the edge of it or the board exits sideways. That is the moment worth avoiding, and the recessed post hole in a proper jack block is the feature that avoids it.
The same risk exists with a pad on a slope, which is why pads are a grass-and-gravel answer rather than a universal one.
The picks
1. Best for Pads that stack with your leveling blocks
Camco FasTen RV Stabilizer Jack Pads (4-pack)
The pad to buy if your leveling blocks are Camco FasTen: the two systems lock together, so a tall stack under a jack stays a stack.
- Specification
- Four pads per pack
- Specification
- Each pad about 11 x 8.5 in, giving roughly 1 in of lift
- Specification
- Interlocks with the FasTen leveling block system
- Specification
- Molded plastic, nests flat for storage
What it does well
- Interlocks with FasTen leveling blocks, so a jack that needs more height gets a proper stack instead of a tower of loose pieces
- Nests flat, which is the difference between pads you keep and pads you lose
- Wide enough to make a real difference on grass, which is the only reason to own them
The real tradeoff
- Only interlocks with Camco's own FasTen blocks, so it is a weaker match if your blocks are another brand
- Plastic, so it will flex on a stone and eventually crack if you abuse it
- Does nothing for a jack that is already extended to its limit
How it measures up
These are judgments from published specifications and what we see at the lodge, not laboratory results. How we choose.
- Beginner fit
- Strong — One pad under each foot, before you crank.
- Stability once set
- Strong — The interlock stops a stack walking apart.
- Speed to level
- Strong — Seconds per jack.
- Value
- Strong — Small money for a problem that ruins a night.
Specifications from Camco.
2. Best for A jack that cannot reach the ground
Andersen Hitches EZ Block Jack Block (3621)
Height, not just a footprint. The block to buy when a jack will not reach the ground, rather than the one to buy four of.
- Specification
- Rated by Andersen at 2,000 lb per block
- Specification
- 8 in tall, or 14 in when two are stacked
- Specification
- Base 12 x 8.5 in, top pad 8 x 4.5 in
- Specification
- About 3.1 lb each, sold singly
- Specification
- Recessed 2.5-in post hole; fits scissor, post and pad jacks
What it does well
- Solves the problem a thin pad cannot: a jack with nothing under it, on a site where the pad has been dug out or the trailer is sitting high
- Stacks to two blocks for 14 inches of height, with the rating held at 2,000 lb
- The recessed post hole locates a post or scissor jack so the block cannot squirt out sideways
- Light enough at 3.1 lb that two of them live in the truck without comment
The real tradeoff
- Several times the price of a four-pack of thin plastic pads, per block
- Sold singly, so covering four stabilizer jacks gets expensive quickly
- 2,000 lb per block is plenty for a tongue or stabilizer jack and is not a rating to take liberties with
- Overkill if your jacks already reach the ground comfortably
How it measures up
These are judgments from published specifications and what we see at the lodge, not laboratory results. How we choose.
- Beginner fit
- Strong — Set it down, lower the jack into the recess.
- Stability once set
- Strong — 2,000 lb per block, and the post hole locates it.
- Speed to level
- Strong — Faster than stacking loose blocks.
- Value
- Adequate — Expensive per block. Buy it where height is the problem.
Specifications from Andersen Hitches.
3. Best for A second set for the tongue jack
Valterra Stabilizer Jack Pads
Functionally interchangeable with any other jack pad. Buy whichever is in stock, but do buy a spare for the tongue jack.
- Specification
- Molded pad set
- Specification
- Fits standard jack feet
- Specification
- Nestable for storage
What it does well
- Nest flat, so a second set costs almost no storage space
- Covers the tongue jack, which the standard four-pack often does not
The real tradeoff
- Functionally very close to every other jack pad on the market
How it measures up
These are judgments from published specifications and what we see at the lodge, not laboratory results. How we choose.
- Beginner fit
- Strong — Put it under the foot.
- Stability once set
- Good — Same spread-the-load job.
- Speed to level
- Strong — Seconds.
- Value
- Good — Buy on price. They are equivalent.
Specifications from Valterra.
When wood is genuinely fine
We are not going to pretend otherwise. If you are parked on a firm gravel pad for a weekend, a single flat offcut of 2x8 under each stabilizer jack foot is a sensible, free solution and there is nothing wrong with it. Plenty of experienced owners carry exactly that.
The conditions under which it stops being fine are specific:
Soft or wet ground. Not because the wood fails, but because a board on soft ground needs to be big to work, and a board big enough to spread load properly is a board too big to want in the compartment. Pads are designed around that trade-off.
Any slope. Smooth timber on a slope slides. A molded pad with some texture does better and a located block does better still.
Any time you need more than one layer. Covered above. This is the real line.
Under the tongue jack carrying the hitch weight. This is the heaviest point load on the trailer and the one it is least sensible to improvise. Use something with a published rating.
How many do you need?
One per jack foot, plus one for the tongue jack. Most trailers have four stabilizer jacks and one tongue jack, which is five — and almost every pad set is sold in fours. That is why a second set, or a single jack block for the tongue, is the usual real-world answer. The tongue jack is also the one most likely to need height rather than just footprint, because it is the jack with the furthest to travel.
The practical combination
A four-pack of molded pads for the stabilizer jacks, and one load-rated block for the tongue jack, which carries the most and has the furthest to reach.
Best for Pads that stack with your leveling blocks
Camco FasTen RV Stabilizer Jack Pads (4-pack)
The pad to buy if your leveling blocks are Camco FasTen: the two systems lock together, so a tall stack under a jack stays a stack.
Best for A jack that cannot reach the ground
Andersen Hitches EZ Block Jack Block (3621)
Height, not just a footprint. The block to buy when a jack will not reach the ground, rather than the one to buy four of.
What pads do not fix
Jack pads stop a jack sinking. They do not stop a trailer rocking, and they do not level anything. If the trailer moves when you walk across it, the problem is almost always the tires rather than the jacks — see stabilizers versus levelers for why those are different jobs, and our wheel chock roundup for the gear that addresses it.
Questions people actually ask
Can I use wood instead of RV jack pads?
For a single flat offcut on a firm pad, yes, and plenty of experienced owners do. It stops being a good answer on soft ground, on any slope, and any time you need more than one layer, because loose stacked timber can rack sideways under load.
Why do my wood blocks slide out from under the jack?
Because a smooth-sawn board has very little grip on wet grass or gravel and nothing locating the jack foot on it. A molded pad with surface texture does better, and a jack block with a recessed post hole locates the jack so it cannot wander.
How many jack pads do I need for a travel trailer?
One per jack foot plus one for the tongue jack, which is usually five. Pads are sold in fours, so most people buy a second set or add one load-rated block for the tongue jack.
What is the difference between a jack pad and a jack block?
A pad gives you footprint - roughly an inch of lift and a much wider bearing area. A block gives you height, typically 8 inches or 14 inches stacked, with a published load rating. Buy a pad to stop sinking and a block when the jack cannot reach the ground.
Sources
Read next
Leveling & Chocks
Best RV Jack Pads for a Travel Trailer
Jack pads and jack blocks compared on the one number that matters: how much ground they spread the load across.
Leveling & Chocks
RV Stabilizers vs Levelers: What Each One Is For
The difference between leveling gear and stabilizing gear, and why using a stabilizer jack to lift can damage the frame.
Leveling & Chocks
RV Leveling Blocks vs Wood: An Honest Comparison
Blocks against lumber on cost, weight, stacking, storage and safety, plus the ramp trick that makes wood work.
Leveling & Chocks
How to Keep a Travel Trailer From Rocking
Why a parked trailer still moves, and the order of operations plus gear that stops it.
Reviewed October 11, 2026. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.