Too weird... At least to me - RV-Dreams Community Forum

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Too weird... At least to me

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

The leveler's level wasn't level?

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

They must of forgot what blocks are for......raising a coach off its axles with levelers is bad for the levelers and they stand a chance of twisting the frame or damaging a slideout.

but there answer would be... "Ive done this a hundred times"........."everybody else does it". and they definitely havnt read their manuals!! confuse confuse

-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Wednesday 11th of December 2013 07:39:02 AM

el Rojo and Pam · RV-Dreams Family Member

The park brake on a motor home is only applied to the rear wheels. Therefore the jacks ore the only thing holding it in place. It would take a lot of force to knock it off the jacks but I this is not the safest parking solution.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Mike and el Rojo, that' vsorta what I thought but since we've never had had a MH I didn't know for sure. (Good one Jim!)

I'm not saying a word (we're on a military base after all and it seems everyone was an officer so I'm keeping quiet)..... but was curious.

Sherry

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We put blocks under the rear wheels if they are going to be in the air for the reason el Rojo said, the parking brakes need to touch the ground. Our Spartan chassis can be raised on its jacks, both Spartan and Newmar told us it is OK. We have been to campgrounds with really bad side to side level, where one side needed to be raised in the air, but we still put the rear wheel on blocks.

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our Truck Conversion has Big Foot Levelers, the frame of a TC can happily sit all wheels off the ground according to Freightliner. Often a site can be more out of level than it appears, occasionally we will lift a wheel or two off the ground to get sitting level, this all happens Automatically with the Levelers if you have the system calibrated correctly.....i am not sure about the wisdom in lifting a Diesel pusher all wheels up, I think I remember Camp Frieghtliner saying it is not ok for all there chassis......

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dumb question - if your rig has an automatic leveling system, do you still need to put it on blocks? Clearly, I have SO MUCH to learn!!!

el Rojo and Pam · RV-Dreams Family Member

Even with auto leveling your jacks can run out of throw. Many times I raised the front wheels off the ground with blocks but not the back. I was on a frieghtliner chasis.

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

I can pretty much tell from a quick site survey how far my Jacks will extend...I always carry four pieces of 2x12 with me, I will put them down first if the site is really out of level or if the site is soft...The Bigfoot system has very large square landing pads, I really like that about Bigfoot, some of the other brands will have smaller, round pads that easily sink into softer surfaces....

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

There are campgrounds that require blocks under the levelers, mostly for the small round pads GENECOP was talking about. Our HWH pads are also large rectangles, but we have blocks if we need them. All four of our jacks can raise the tires in the air, if the back ones need to go that high we drive the tires on blocks first so we have parking brakes.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I carry 4 LTL beam cutoffs and 4 poly cutting boards ......dont like to drop my pods without them!!

Hdrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

We carry the plastic stacking pads and use them often. Probably more than we need to but once we had a jack go bad and was told it must have been extended to the fullest which made it the weakest point.
I also have plywood pads with 1x2's attached to them so the stacking pads fit firmly between the 1x2's and the plywood has eye hooks on all 4 sides so I can snag them with my hook without getting on the ground.
More to the point we have lifted the front wheels off the ground to get level a few times but NEVER the rear tires. And as a rule I will even run the front tires up on blocks if they are wanting to leave contact with the ground.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Another consideration to think about, and I wonder what those who are involved with them think is best. Last Saturday, Jo and I were sitting in our coach when that 4.5 (some reported it at 4.8) earthquake hit Oklahoma. It definitely "boomed" a bit and shook things around. Oddly enough, even though we've had some earthquakes here, Jo had never experienced one when she was awake.

Anyway, the question to be considered would be this: Should one be "only" on leveling jacks at a time like that, or would it be better to have wheels on something as well as the jacks?

We've got both wooden blocks and I have sections cut from a barn stall mat to serve as "filler" if needed to get a wheel up a bit higher.

Terry

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Good question Terry! Especially as the MH I was wondering about is herein prime earthquake territory!

Tell Jo wait till you ride out a 7+, that's excitement! 😉

Sherry

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

WestWardHo wrote:
Good question Terry! Especially as the MH I was wondering about is herein prime earthquake territory!

Tell Jo wait till you ride out a 7+, that's excitement! 😉

Sherry

Heh.....Jo says, "NO WAY!!!!!!"

Terry

el Rojo and Pam · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry, I would want to be off the jacks and let the suspension ride out the earthquake.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

el Rojo wrote:
Terry, I would want to be off the jacks and let the suspension ride out the earthquake.

By the time you got to the controls to lift the jacks it would be too late. Quakes do not warn they are coming and don't last that long.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hence the reason I prefer a Nor'easter for bad weather!!!!!

el Rojo and Pam · RV-Dreams Family Member

OK, you got me! I shouldn't post without at least 1 cup of coffee.

FritzandCheryl · RV-Dreams Community Member

Maybe they were using those quick fancy levels---- you all know, the ones that are about 9 inches long and can get them in those $ 1.99 cases at certain stores. I worked at a KOA this past summer and I could not believe how many MH, 5th Wheels and travel trailer owners were using those levels. One owner I did ask why he was using a 99 cent level on a $200,000 MH? He could not answer.

Fritz