“Are you on the level?” She asked me with a twinkle in her eyes. My bad habit of parking now and doing the chores later had gotten me again. I went for the leveling controls and in only a few seconds things were on the level making my child bride happy. Now I know that I’m dating myself here, but I remember when RV leveling used to be an art that required carrying stacks of lumber and homemade ramps everywhere you went no matter what type of RV you had. Times have indeed changed so that now the questions is, do you want a powered or manual leveling system.
Now is the time to talk safety. We are raising a rolling vehicle that may weigh the same as a small house. Most motorhomes are designed to be lifted for leveling, However, never lift the RV so high that any of the tires are off of the ground. If you find yourself putting blocks of wood, plastic pads or rocks under the jacks to get them high enough for leveling move to a more level parking spot. That goes double for all trailers. Towables are not designed to be lifted off the tires by their standard jacks. The frame can actually bend or break by over stressing it with improper lifting. If you add after market jacks that have greater lifting power you must be careful to not “over lift” the trailer.
Power Levelers work as either a 3-point lift system with two lift cylinders at the rear of the RV and one lift cylinder at the front or as 4-point system with lift cylinders at each corner of the RV. Lift cylinders can be hydraulic, air or electric. Hydraulic models use electric pumps to move oil to and from the lift cylinders. Air actuated models use the vehicle’s own suspension air-bags to independently raise or lower the four corners of the RV until the rig is level. Some versions use a combination of air-bag leveling and hydraulic leveling. Electric systems are common on 5thwheel and some travel trailers, however electric leveling jacks have been making inroads in the traditional motorhome market due to their light weight, simple installation and lifting ability.
Lifting jacks are either straight cylinders or “kick-down” legs” used where space or ground clearance is too limited for standard jacks. Kick-down legs have a hinge on the lower part of the leg. When the jack is extended the leg straightens and acts like a single cylinder. Retracting the leg folds it into travel position once the foot-pad is lifted off of the ground. Campfire and manufacturer arguments over which system is best are akin to the old questions of Diesel or Gas engines. You, as the user, need to decide.
If powered jacks are impractical or unavailable for your RV there are several companies that offer manual leveling solutions without having to carry a heavy lumber pile to put under the tires. As with any under-the-tire leveling system the tires need to be completely supported so the levelers need to be slightly wider then the width of the tires so that the tire tread does not hang-over the leveler’s sides and hurt the tire. If your RV, or pickup camper for that matter, has dual wheels make sure that both tires are supported with the levelers, not just one. That means two stacks of leveling blocks or ramps.
The normal procedure for leveling a trailer is:
-
Walk the space that you are going to park in. Look for the most level spots for your tire and the distance from where your RV will be parked to the support tower so that your sure all your hoses and cables will reach the RV.
-
For some reason folks seem to think that just because they have been together for a while the can read each others minds so if you you have a teammate to help in parking make sure that you both agree on what the signals mean.
-
Pull forward into your parking space wherever possible. Backing in will garner several spectators who will rate your backing performance and announce your score to the entire campground.
-
When you are at the desired location look at the bubble levels on the RV and see how much out-of -level you are from side to side. Most levels have tick-marks on them that somehow relate to the number of inches the RV must be raised or lowered to be level. Depending on the levels placement on the rig the reading will be different from RV to RV. Experience with them will help.
-
Mark the location of your tires on the ground and push the RV back a foot or so. It is much easier to keep the trailer straight when pulling forward onto the leveling blocks than pushing back on them. Lay the leveling blocks where you want the tire to rest. If the rise is more than 1 ½ to 2 inches you will want a smaller block in front of the main leveling block to act as a ramp.
-
Gently pull up on the blocks. Have your assistant check that the tires are fully up on the blocks and that the tires are centered on them while you hold the brakes. Recheck the bubble levels. If you are level go to the next step. If not, repeat steps four through six.
-
Put the tow vehicle into park, set the parking brake and turn off the motor. Immediately put chock blocks under the trailer tires or apply wheel locks and chock blocks if you have tandem wheels.
-
After the RV is secured unhitch the tow vehicle and move it away from the trailer.
-
Using the front jacks, level the RV front to rear. If you have rear stabilizing jacks remember that they are built to stabilize side-to-side motion – not to lift the RV.
Leveling a motorhome without jacks follows the same general procedures with the exception that you must use blocks to level from front to rear also and that you don’t disconnect the tow vehicle. I have a source list of manufacturers with phone numbers and websites . If you want it leave a comment and I will email it to you.
The RV lifestyle is wonderful. We can travel, meet and make friends as we go. The little things like proper leveling equipment makes sure that we can concentrate on the important things, like having fun !
Later – –
The Old Ranger