leveling blocks - pros and cons

[Steve Carlson]

Originally Posted by Captain Dave

Hi folks! I have a 17 ft 2014 Casita and I was wondering where I should place a level to check proper level when camping. I do hace a very small level on the front of the trailer and another on one side but am not certain if they are correct. Should I use the belly band or the floor inside or elsewhere. Thanks in advance, Dave in Tonawanda, NY. Love my Casita!!!!

You can get a bubble level app on your smart phone. I just put it on the floor of the camper.

[floyd]

These are multiple times stronger than the ones shown below them....




>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>

These are fragile compared to the lego style ones shown above....

[George Lauver]

Anderson easy level; worth every penny!

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Captain Dave

Hi folks! I have a 17 ft 2014 Casita and I was wondering where I should place a level to check proper level when camping. I do hace a very small level on the front of the trailer and another on one side but am not certain if they are correct. Should I use the belly band or the floor inside or elsewhere. Thanks in advance, Dave in Tonawanda, NY. Love my Casita!!!!

Dave, I've used a round bubble level on the freezer or refers floor for level. I discovered on a cabover camper I had 25+ years ago, that the refer was not plumb with the counter top that I was using. Couldn't see that it was off but sure made a difference to the refer. It was a unit made long before they redesigned them to be a lot more forgiving for level. If you should level it from the refer, check the outside locations you mention to see if they are the same. There are also levels that use double sided tape that you could mount on the shell.

[Carl Pa]

I have a front bath Scamp, a lot of times I open the bath door, if it stays put open, it is level side to side. I then use a level to cross check. Carl

[stevebaz]

I have orange blocks in the blue bags. I have 2 sets of them. I also have 2 sets of the flat toppers for them. 2 toppers will fit in the extra space of the blue leggo bags. I use them under the tires, the stabilazers and the tongue jack so I dont have to crank it so far when I get ready to travel. Its not common to need more than one bag, but when you need the extra bag you just plain need it and you will be glad you have it.

When I didn't have my bag awning I could use a stack of leggo under the legs of a pop up canopy on the trailer side and clear the opening door of the trailer. Dont forget to still chock your tires though you do need 2 sets of those too.

I am told the orange blocks are the best. The hunter orange blocks scare the zombies away. Something about hunter orange and guns I guess. Any way since I have the orange blocks I personally have never seen any Zombies.

[Keith2000]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

I am told the orange blocks are the best. The hunter orange blocks scare the zombies away. Something about hunter orange and guns I guess. Any way since I have the orange blocks I personally have never seen any Zombies.

That is probably the best advice in the whole thread. Changes my whole outlook. Thanks for putting a little science in the conversation.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Captain Dave

Hi folks! I have a 17 ft 2014 Casita and I was wondering where I should place a level to check proper level when camping. I do hace a very small level on the front of the trailer and another on one side but am not certain if they are correct. Should I use the belly band or the floor inside or elsewhere. Thanks in advance, Dave in Tonawanda, NY. Love my Casita!!!!

I use an app on my smart phone that I place on the floor. I then put on my bluetooth ear buds. The smart phone verbally app announces what the angle is and I hear it on the earbuds. That means I don't have to run back and forth to see the screen or check a standard physical type of level.

[Brian G.]

The thing that really drives me crazy …. Our Hunter Compact II sits low to the ground. Sometimes, after leveling, my screw-type aluminum stabilizers won't fit under the frame. Sometimes I have to excavate a bit to get them to fit. Next time, maybe I'll try raising the frame by pulling the tires onto those plastic leveling pads.

And I'm coming to realize from this thread that different methods of leveling are called for in different conditions. I had hoped to develop one system that would work every time.

[Perryb67]

We have a pack of Lego blocks, the Andersen Leveler and Andersen Rapid Jack for our double axle trailer. We just returned from a five week trip out west. We always used the Andersen levelers and never used the Legos. It's almost impossible to chock the Legos properly, and the Andersens chock perfectly.

We also have a Camco Curved Leveler and found it just slid every time we tried to use it. It will be left home from now on. Perhaps it will work with a lighter camper, but not with our heavy rig.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Kai in Seattle]

When we were setting up Peanut, Paul had access to some 1" thick plastic refrigerator truck liner material, and not only did he cut us a "mess" of levelling blocks (and they work for all kinds of things where you need a larger base for something) but also he made Peanut's galley shelf with it. It's food safe, in case you want to hunker down and eat near the 6,000 pound capacity screw-type scissors jacks he got out of wrecked trucks at a "reckon" yard for a few bucks each. He keeps jacks and "jack stick" and his plastic pads all in a milk carton in the back of the car for easy deployment. He put a hole in one corner of each pad and attached a yellow nylon rope grab loop in each one. We use them all the time, in campsites, in parking lots, and in the driveway for long-term sitting. We use one under each jack wherever we park and put down the jacks no matter what, mud, gravel, asphalt, even on concrete.

Our blocks are about 12" square and he rounded all the edges and corners slightly. They are very strong.

Even at Emigrant Springs State Park in Oregon, where the campsite was about as steep as a ski slope, we got Peanut level. Though Paul relied more on the scissors jacks and less on the levelling pads to get it that way.

You do need some kind of levelling pads that are strong and durable -- and in the case of these, washable and food safe, too. Though you could do without the food-safe part if you had to, I guess.


I've often admired the "Lego" type because they wouldn't slip against each other, but I've wondered what the bumps do to your tires when sitting on them for long, and how you deploy the kind of scissors jacks Paul uses with the bumps on them.


So far, we haven't seen any slippage with ours, and they are flat top and bottom so no bump problem there.

BEST
Kai

[ZachO]

Oh I don't think there's "no one solution for each situation". You're just hearing from people, myself included, who happen to have a few different ways.

The yellow leveling blocks will work in every situation, depending on where you camp and how many blocks you have.

I had the same problem of sometimes not enough space to use stabilizers with my Chinook. I agree that getting up on the blocks would help. My Bigfoot has the opposite problem. It sat higher than the Chinook to begin with, then I put a straight axle under it and now it's pretty high. Which is why I bought the yellow blocks. Sometimes the frame is too high, and I need the height for the stabilizers. But always I'm happy for the level, dry surface they provide. I'm rarely camped on pavement.

It just happens to be that since I have the blocks, I'll go ahead and use them for leveling if I'm only off by an inch. It's not that sometimes the Andersen won't work; it's that sometimes the blocks are a little less work, and since I have them, I use them.

[Brian G.]

Last time we camped, we pulled the trailer onto a wood block to level and then chocked the opposite wheel. That got us level. But maybe it also put some pressure at the coupler / hitch. Because when I tried to disconnect, the coupler would not turn loose of the ball mount. I ended up spraying the mechanism with lubricant and giving it a whack with a rubber mallet. Did I do something wrong? There must be a better way?

[Darral T.]

If you're parked on an incline of any type, the trailer hitch is going to be either pushing or pulling against the ball of the tow and naturally "locking" itself on. Did you see the trailer rock back or forward when it released. I've noticed even on mine, if the trailer is slightly in one direction I can see it lurch back a bit or forward...have to watch out for the tag on my bumper pull.

If yours does it all the time, sounds like it needs cleaning and greasing!! Alot of people never think of this but it's important. I also bought a rubber ball cover that stays on my truck as well. It works very well to keep from rubbing up against the bumper/ball and getting grease on your clothes when the trailer is not hitched! Plus, it keeps dirt from gathering on the ball when it's exposed. This has worked REALLY well for me. The ball cover I got from a local RV dealer for like $5.

Originally Posted by Brian G.

Last time we camped, we pulled the trailer onto a wood block to level and then chocked the opposite wheel. That got us level. But maybe it also put some pressure at the coupler / hitch. Because when I tried to disconnect, the coupler would not turn loose of the ball mount. I ended up spraying the mechanism with lubricant and giving it a whack with a rubber mallet. Did I do something wrong? There must be a better way?

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Captain Dave

Hi folks! I have a 17 ft 2014 Casita and I was wondering where I should place a level to check proper level when camping. I do hace a very small level on the front of the trailer and another on one side but am not certain if they are correct. Should I use the belly band or the floor inside or elsewhere. Thanks in advance, Dave in Tonawanda, NY. Love my Casita!!!!

The bubble levels on my Casita was so far off I used a small 9 inch level on the belly band instead.



Worked fine so I had Escape not install the little bubbles. Stuck them on myself with VHB tape - once I leveled the trailer so that the bottom of the fridge was perfectly level.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Brian G.

Last time we camped, we pulled the trailer onto a wood block to level and then chocked the opposite wheel. That got us level. But maybe it also put some pressure at the coupler / hitch. Because when I tried to disconnect, the coupler would not turn loose of the ball mount. I ended up spraying the mechanism with lubricant and giving it a whack with a rubber mallet. Did I do something wrong? There must be a better way?

You really want to chock both sides to prevent pivoting movement when you unhitch.

Even then, shifting of the trailer or tow vehicle can cause the ball to bind in the coupler. Occasionally I have to move the tow vehicle slightly to release the pressure. You can usually guess based on the slope which direction is binding.

I lubricate the ball lightly with lithium grease before every trip, so that probably helps, too.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Brian G.

Last time we camped, we pulled the trailer onto a wood block to level and then chocked the opposite wheel. That got us level. But maybe it also put some pressure at the coupler / hitch. Because when I tried to disconnect, the coupler would not turn loose of the ball mount. I ended up spraying the mechanism with lubricant and giving it a whack with a rubber mallet. Did I do something wrong? There must be a better way?

It's just the "angle of the dangle" Brian, that can happen even with a lubed up ball sometimes. I keep an old school L shaped lug wrench in the truck to pop the coupler off the ball when it happens.

[ZachO]

Definitely do take this as a very nice, gentle learning experience. We never hear about it, so it probably rarely happens, but it seems to me this could be a very dangerous thing. I've had my trailer tongue jump up 3-4" when it finally released from the ball, and move quite a bit forward or back.

It may be because of all the different places I camp. Sometimes I'm quite a bit off level. The most extreme motion seems to be front to back movement, rather than up & down, but both could be dangerous if it moves far enough. Do what you can to chock the tire really well, do what you can to release a little of the pressure like Jon describes, then keep your face out of the way and have an escape path behind you when you crank up the tongue.

I know it probably sounds silly but because of extreme angles I've been on, I've finally popped the hitch apart and had the trailer move 6" towards me. That's me, perfectly positioned to be pinned between my truck and trailer. I've also had the stand almost tip over. I stack a couple 2x6s under the tongue jack for extra height, and I've had it almost come off those when on uneven ground.

No need to stress about it. Just think of the worst that could happen. What can you do to avoid it? If it pops up at you, is your face 2" from it? If the trailer rolls forward, can you simply step back three feet and get out of its way, or are you going to trip over whatever you just set down right behind you?

Some years working in higher-danger jobs and a general will not to be killed or crippled has made me plan carefully. Hasn't made me paranoid, but definitely made me look for hazards and easy ways to avoid them.

It's impossible to plan for everything, so I especially like to take little things like this as learning experiences. "Whoa, that could have been bad. How can I keep that from happening again" etc.

[Brian G.]

Originally Posted by ZachO

. . . look for hazards and easy ways to avoid them . . .

Thank you Zach for this good advice. And thank you Dave and Jon as well. I'll chock both wheels next time, and lubricate the ball.

[stevebarbsmn]

Been using them for years. Only problem I ever had, broke 1 on uneven ground. My fault. I still fit it back together and still use it on trailer stabilizer jacks.