There was recently a thread on leveling the truck but I have one on leveling the camper. We are going to make our first boondocking trip and I have heard both ways that when leveling you do not need to level both axles. Either argument makes sense to me, and leveling just one would certainly be easier when the space may not be super level to start. However, it seems to me that by leveling just one it might stress the undercarriage more than necessary.

Am I over thinking this? What do you all do?

 

I always try and make sure that the axles are somewhat level with each other. I usually carry long 2x12's to help.

 

I level both and use those pads that look like giant Legos. They work quite well and I carry enough so I can also use them on the back stabilizers if the space is way out of level. What is the advantage to leveling only one axle?

Steve

 

I level both axles. I can just let the leveling system do it itself, but then I can end up with tires suspended in mid-air. I don't like that.

 

That is my biggest regret on this rig - I did not spring for the self leveling system.

None that I can see, other than laziness. I don't like the idea of leaving the axles "off" each other for long. Funny thing is even the Anderson Camper Leveler site suggests in an indirect way that leveling one axle is enough. I'll continue to level both as I always have.

 

So a bit a follow up. Went dry camping this weekend and tried the Anderson camper levelers for the first time. Wow! Just wow! Took me more time to get them out of the boxes than it did to level the trailer. I'm sold on them for sure now. And yes, I did level both axles.

 

Those camper levelers look very interesting.


I am not sure I would drive forward off them though. I don't like the way the small end flips up like a spear toward the bottom of the trailer. I fear if we don't get them just right when we put them down, when I drive forward, they could spear the trim on the bottom of the trailer. If you freeze the video when they drive off, that back leveler comes very close to hitting the trim behind the rear wheel. But just backing off should work. Pull forward a bit to release the chock, then back down the leveler.

How did you use them?

 

Those leveled look really nice. I need a pair now

2013 F20XLT SC SB 6.2L

 

I pulled forward off of them very slowly. They did not flip up, at least, not that my wife and son noticed.

 

My guess is that would not be an issue with fivers, which have a good bit of clearance. It might be an issue with some travel trailers I can think of that are very low to the ground, unless care was taken.

Steve

 

I carried 2 ea 2x8 that was about a 18-24 longer than the 2 tires to pull up on if way off. I also carried 2x8 about 14" long that I could stack to level the trailer and used them on the long boards if they were needed. 4 inches would usually level the trailer enough to then use the stabilizers to finish up. The long boards I carried in the truck bed, also if need be some of the smaller blocks. The boards always seemed to work better than the lego blocks as they had a larger footprint to work with, plus theya re way cheaper to get and maintain!

 

I am sure you know this, but someone new to RVing may not. The front and rear stabilizers are not designed to level, just to stabilize the RV once it is level. It is quite easy to destroy them, if they are used as levelers.

My dealers simply toss things like lego levelers, spare tire racks, battery boxes, and anything that is left in the trade-ins or auction purchases into the scrap pile, so I pick up a lot of stuff at no cost. It is really amazing what folks sometimes leave in repo units. I think planks work fine for leveling. I have gotten pretty good with the legos and it seldom takes me more than one try and they work well in varied terrain.

Steve

 

You can use the levelers to fine tune your camper, cant pick it up but they are usable. Yes some will try to pick up a low side, but that is not how to work them. Get it close than with tongue jack and levelers finish it up. Once used to it takes just a couple of minutes. trailer is stable and level at same time.

 

We are not in disagreement. What I see folks do is attempt to lift the entire camper. I think there is some kind of warning about this on the box they come in. I have actually seen folks who wanted more height put a concrete block under the stabilizer to get more height and then lift the entire back end. I had to replace all the jacks on that one. On the really long travel trailers, there is also a good deal of frame deflection when the lifting gets out of hand. I worked on one where a wall was sprung the trailer got so cocked.

I also see folks try to level side-to-side on fivers by just using the landing gear, when parked on very steep slopes.

People just do crazy stuff, usually because they don't know. I'm not sure how to get the word out. The dealers don't educate, that's for sure.

Steve

 

Here's the actual warning, in the event some folks are not familiar with it -

"These jacks are designed to stabilize a portion of your trailer's weight, not to support the full GVWR of your trailer. Do not use these jacks to lift your trailer or RV. Doing so will exceed the capacity of these jacks."