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Old 08-06-2020, 07:03 PM   #1
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Leveling Question

My wife and I are weekend warriors - we want to take out our Aspect 28B every weekend if possible. My issue is, our driveway slopes 7-8% so when we're home the front of the RV is some 12-14 inches lower in the front (I always back in). I know the self leveling system can't correct for that amount of slope, but I was wondering if it's safe to chock the rear tires so the RV can't roll, and then use 12" of leveling blocks under the front leveling jacks to bring it level? This would definitely raise th front wheels off the ground. I definitely need some advice from the more experienced RVers on this matter...


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Old 08-06-2020, 07:09 PM   #2
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I go with the idea that I never want the rear wheels off the ground as those are the ones which are held in place both by transmission and parking brake. But the front has n effect on rolling in a rear wheel drive, so I don't mind them floating.
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Old 08-06-2020, 07:47 PM   #3
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That was my thinking as well. I just wanted to hear several experienced RVers say the same thing... :-) :-) :-)


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Old 08-06-2020, 08:03 PM   #4
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Sorry but I'm going to go opposite Morich on this one.
I would not "float" any wheels using the levelers and blocks. It's obviously dangerous, and if it were safe, the manuals would say so. Have a look through the manual and see if you can locate a specific mention of "it's ok to lift either end of the vehicle off the ground with the hydraulic jacks for storage". I doubt you'll find it. Ask the hydraulic jacks manufacturer what they recommend.
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Old 08-06-2020, 08:37 PM   #5
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Appreciate the input. I've read the RV manual and must admit, they aren't written as clearly as they could be. Now I'm new to all this, but I'm not sure I understand the concept of the leveling jacks if they're not supposed to lift the RV off the ground as necessary to level the vehicle. If the wheels remain on the ground at all times, how does the leveling jacks actually work?

Like I said, we just came off our shakedown trip in a KOA full service campground, and as we walked the dogs, I noticed easily more than a dozen class A's and Class C's with wheels off the ground on minor sloped parking spots. Granted, none were more than a few inches off the ground, but still, as long as the rear wheels were grounded and chocked, they seemed secure...
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Old 08-06-2020, 10:13 PM   #6
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Ask the Mfg, and it might even be in the manual.

I have about 9 inches of slope and don't forget that the measurement of the slope is the wheel base, center of rear tires to center of front tires. How much do you have between those tires?

I use 2" x 10" boards with 3/4"plywood on each board. The plywood keeps the (treated) 2" x 10"'s from cracking and if the do crack holds them together. I used screws on the edges to hold the plywood to the board. So in my case I have 3 different length boards where the bottom one is the longest and the top one the shortest. I stack them and they are anchored with 1/2" fence bolts in pre-drilled holes. Keeps them from slipping.

The tricky part is backing up onto them and my wife is my perfect ground guide. So with 3 2 x 10's at 1-1/2 inches thiick I have 4-1/2 inches. then add the 19mm thickness of ply wood (2.25 inches) I'm almost a 7 inches. One inch of difference between 7 and 8 inches does not have us running downhill when coming back to front. All the appliances and slides don't mind either.

So in your case if you were to use the boards you would be at about 7 inches and only have to raise 5 inches with the jacks but I would use blocks made of wood and never put them tight against the jacks. The frame will settle and when you retract you may not be able to remove the blocks.

That's my 2 cents worth.

My previous MH on ramps.(they were 2 x 8's or close and plywood was not 3/4 so 4 where necessary)
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Old 08-07-2020, 06:17 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JDHarrin View Post
Appreciate the input. I've read the RV manual and must admit, they aren't written as clearly as they could be. Now I'm new to all this, but I'm not sure I understand the concept of the leveling jacks if they're not supposed to lift the RV off the ground as necessary to level the vehicle. If the wheels remain on the ground at all times, how does the leveling jacks actually work?

Like I said, we just came off our shakedown trip in a KOA full service campground, and as we walked the dogs, I noticed easily more than a dozen class A's and Class C's with wheels off the ground on minor sloped parking spots. Granted, none were more than a few inches off the ground, but still, as long as the rear wheels were grounded and chocked, they seemed secure...
I think you might find some caveats in the manuals that suggest the jacks aren't there to lift the vehicle for access to the underside of the coach, and from that, I would think lifting the wheels off the ground isn't a good idea in any case, for any length of time. Perhaps long enough to place your blocks, might be OK, but 12" is a lot higher than I would feel comfortable with.
There are many opinions, "ok to do" and "do not do", so I guess it comes down to your tolerance for risk, if something bad happens.
This thread has many varied opinions.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/whe...us-426628.html
Consider the insurance ramifications and personal injury or worse.
Personally, I wouldn't do it. I'd find a more level surface to park on. The closest I've come to lifting the wheels off the ground for storage, is to further level the coach on an almost level driveway, to take some weight off the tires, while it was idle. All 4 corners were still on the ground.
Here's some more discussion...there's plenty out there - try using "lift wheels off ground with leveling jacks" as a keyword search.
https://community.fmca.com/topic/482...fter-leveling/
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Old 08-07-2020, 08:29 AM   #8
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Leveling Question

Appreciate all the input. Finding another location will be extremely difficult and would complicate restocking on a weekly basis. Still I fully understand the wisdom you folks are sharing. I won't lift it for now. Thanks again...
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Old 08-07-2020, 10:12 AM   #9
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We have a similar slope to our driveway.

For the first 2 1/2 years I used the manual control of the front leveling jacks to raise the front as high as possible. I wasn't exactly level but close enough. Over time I've noticed that this is not good for the front jacks and one seal has started to leak when I retract the jacks in the front.

So, recently I've stopped even trying to level in the driveway. I only extend one slide and only when we're actively loading a day or so before we leave on a trip.

I found some heavy duty 10,000 lb truck ramps that raise the front 6 1/2" but decided against that plan. I just didn't trust it. The front of my RV weight ~8k lbs, but still. I couldn't get that plan to seem right in my head.
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Old 08-12-2020, 04:48 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wayne M View Post
I use 2" x 10" boards with 3/4"plywood on each board. The plywood keeps the (treated) 2" x 10"'s from cracking and if the do crack holds them together. I used screws on the edges to hold the plywood to the board. So in my case I have 3 different length boards where the bottom one is the longest and the top one the shortest. I stack them and they are anchored with 1/2" fence bolts in pre-drilled holes. Keeps them from slipping.
I'm only at 3 degrees, which is too much for the slides and fridge, but with a 20' wheelbase so I built ramps almost identically to what and how Wayne did. They're heavy as heck so I got some large wheels from Home Depot and screwed them to one side and also added some fence gate handles to the other side.

When I need to move them I flip the ramps up on their side, grab the handle, and tug them around.

The only difference is I pull forward on to mine because the height of the ramp would interfere with the electric Kwikee steps.

I used 2x12's instead of 2x10's because I wanted as wide a platform as possible for the front tires. The motorhome does well on the ramps even when one of those pop-up high-wind thunderstorms rolls through.

I also built a second set using just three 2x12's in a pyramid shape. When we're leaving on a trip, we take the slides in, back the motorhome off the big ramps, put the pyramid ones down the driveway, and pull the motorhome up on to the top of the pyramid.

That keeps us at about 1.5 degrees for the fridge and also allows me to hook up the tow dolly and car the night before. When we go to leave, my wife drives off the other side of the pyramid, I put them in the garage, and away we go.

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Old 08-12-2020, 05:43 PM   #11
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Leveling your RV

Quote:
Originally Posted by JDHarrin View Post
My wife and I are weekend warriors - we want to take out our Aspect 28B every weekend if possible. My issue is, our driveway slopes 7-8% so when we're home the front of the RV is some 12-14 inches lower in the front (I always back in). I know the self leveling system can't correct for that amount of slope, but I was wondering if it's safe to chock the rear tires so the RV can't roll, and then use 12" of leveling blocks under the front leveling jacks to bring it level? This would definitely raise th front wheels off the ground. I definitely need some advice from the more experienced RVers on this matter...


JD
You don't]want to raise the rear wheels off the ground , because those are the wheels that prevent the RV from rolling by action of the emergency brake and Park function.
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Old 08-12-2020, 08:07 PM   #12
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For that much lift I use ramps. Either pre made if you can find one with the weight rating you need, or make blocks to do it. Be sure any chocks are very secure--and that emergency brake really works. The vehicle below was one of the very first , if not the first Winnie Diesel pusher. The only "emergency brake" was a pawl in the transmission!

I had an experience 40 years ago, where I thought the wheels were adequate blocked and chocked...About 1 AM, I felt this shaking and yelled to my wife "earthquake" (being from Calif.). Nope the RV had somehow come loose from the chocks and rolled down a slope about 100 feet lodging between two pine trees. No damage! We went back to sleep, and in the morning found a wrecker with a 100"+ winch cable. I asked him if he saw this happen often. Response it happens more than you might think!
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Old 08-12-2020, 09:10 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JDHarrin View Post
Appreciate the input. I've read the RV manual and must admit, they aren't written as clearly as they could be. Now I'm new to all this, but I'm not sure I understand the concept of the leveling jacks if they're not supposed to lift the RV off the ground as necessary to level the vehicle. If the wheels remain on the ground at all times, how does the leveling jacks actually work? ...
They’re supposed to be used for minor adjustments. When I level ours, all my tires usually stay on the ground, but with less weight on them.

We use ramps at home too. Not SUPPOSED to use more than four stacked (1” each).
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Old 08-12-2020, 10:17 PM   #14
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I too strongly advise you not to attempt to level your unit via the leveling jacks. I have the same problem with a sloping driveway. For my last unit (22M on E450 chassis) I built ramps out of 2” x !2” , stacking 6 high to lift the front end approximately 9”. Even that wasn’t enough to get me level enough to attempt running the fridge or pushing out a slide.
Now with the 27PE I wanted to see if I could somehow safely level it out in the driveway.
I contacted Winnebago to get their input on if I could use the leveling system in conjunction with stacked pads under the front rams to give enough lift get the front end high enough to allow me to lower the front wheels onto a stack of cross hatched 4” x 4”’s (imagine supports under a house being raised).
My thoughts were both sets of tires would be supporting the chassis and no load would be on the leveling jacks.
But…… as I said, I contacted Winnebago ; they told me in no uncertain terms DO NOT CONSIDER DOING THIS. The stress and possibility of things going horribly wrong while lifting before the front end could be blocked was simply unacceptable.
The agent I talked to also reiterated their stance that even in normal operations neither axle should ever be lifted off the ground - rear especially as pointed out earlier in this thread are your brakes. I typically block both axles in any case.

As to your question as to how do the levelers actually work? They raise the unit within the lift and travel of the suspension. The wheels stay (or should) on the ground continuing to take the lion's share of the units weight.
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Old 08-13-2020, 09:12 AM   #15
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Use leveling jacks to raise front coach wheels. Slide wood blocks under wheels. Then raise levelers a little and place blocks under them. Lower levelers and insert blocks on top of those already there. Repeat this until you are fairly level.
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Old 08-13-2020, 12:10 PM   #16
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Leveling

I have the same issue you have with the slope of my driveway. I did not like hanging my wheels off the ground or being on such a slope with the jacks. What I did was build two ramps using 4-2x8’s cut at verifying lengths with a 45 degree cuts on the end you would drive up. Each board is a little shorter than the first to allow for steps. I also sandwiched a 1” piece of plywood in the center to get proper height for my particular driveway, glued and screwed them all together and added 2 strap handles with clip handles to each block that I bought off amazon. I painted the whole thing with several coats of primer And than outdoor paint. They are a bit heavy but work great. You just don,t want to drive off the front so I spot them while my wife pulls the MH up on them.
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Old 08-14-2020, 09:02 AM   #17
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Well, here's an interesting twist. If I back the RV into the driveway and plug in, the refrigerator won't work, but if I drive straight into the driveway and plug in, the refrigerator works fine. Granted, I inflated the rear air bags last week to 50 lbs which raised the rear an inch or so, but still don't feel comfortable opening the slides at this angle...
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Old 08-14-2020, 02:27 PM   #18
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Our driveway slopes to the street. When we back the 21VD onto the driveway and level, the front wheels are a few inches off the ground, so we put wheel chocks on the back wheels.

And so far, we haven't had any issues with our HWH levelers...
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Old 08-15-2020, 11:16 PM   #19
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I’d be very hesitant operating the fridge while on your sloped driveway. Absorption fridges have a nasty habit of overheating when not level. The specifications tend to state they should be within 6 degrees front to back and three degrees side to side for safe efficient operation. Of course as most fridges are mounted facing inboard this means the rig must be within 3 degrees front to back - not really a large degree of error.
I did come across this interesting read over on “The RV Forum Community”. Granted this was written in 2013, but I am not too sure if we’ve seen a complete reinvention of the “RV Fridge wheel” since then, so I believe it is still relevant.

Certainly worth a read in any case.

Fridge: How Level is "enough"?

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