How To Level a Camper Without Moving It (Leveling a Parked RV)
Not a nice problem to have. Most of your RV’s components need to be level to work right. If the trailer or self-drive RV is not level, then you may experience some food shortage as the fridge may notwork. Being level is essential for a great camping experience.
You will have to move the RV, camper or trailer in some way. But not with a tow vehicle. To level the RV, etc., correctly, you need to lift it off the ground and slip chocks, levelers under the tires or leveling jacks. A jack will always be required for this task
To learn more about this task,just continue to read our article. While your options will be limited our article still has important information for you to know about. Take a few minutes to get this important information.
How To Level a Camper Without Moving It
While only one real tool is involved, there are different steps to follow to make sure you do this task correctly.
1. Ass your level situation and see what needs to be corrected- you can’t start doing any work until you know where to start and where the problem lies.
2. Gather your tools- while the leveling system is built in, you will still need leveling blocks and a strong jack. Pick the leveling blocks that will fit the amount of space you need to work with and can hold your camper’s weight.
Make sure to get a bubble level to help you find level.
3. Start with the low side first- place the leveling blocks near the low spot so they are handy when you lift the camper. You may be able to use your leveling jacks here but if not, get a good hydraulic jack that can handle the weight.
4. Gradually lift the camper- this is more of a trial and error step as you may have to repeat it several times till you find level. Use your blocks to hold the camper at that level while you check with the bubble level. Make any adjustments needed.
5. Check for stability- you do not want your camper to be unstable in its new position.
6. Secure your camper- once you have the camper level, secure it in place so it won’t go anywhere. Stabilizing jacks should help you with this step. If they are not long enough, put some leveling blocks underneath them. These are not weight holding jacks so do not put weight on them.
7. Anchor your camper- once you have all corners level, anchor the corners in place so that they will not move. You can use tension straps or chains to achieve this goal.
Do not rely on your eyes for level. Use a bubble level to make sure your camper is in the right spot and nothing is uneven.
Leveling a Parked RV Trailer
You may find yourself in a similar situation as one owner found himself. Because he was permanently placing his trailer in one spot, and there were a couple boulders in the way, he did not want to hook up his tow vehicle again and move the trailer.
Instead, he simply wanted to level the trailer without moving it. This may not be a common situation but it does happen more than once and when it does, you have limited options to use.
The best and only option will be a bottle jack that is rated for very high weights. While your manual or electric leveling jacks will do the same work, your trailer may not be in the best position to use them to their fullest potential.
In this case, as for that one owner, your only option would be to use a strong bottle jack to lift each corner till the trailer is level. Like the previous method, this is going to be a bit of trial and error as you may have to make several adjustments to get to level.
A bubble level will come in handy here as well. You will want to check it several times as you make your adjustments. Keep in mind that when you level one corner, you may have to adjust another corner to make sure both corners are level.
Check the height underneath your leveling jacks. One or more may be too high when fully extended and can’t help keep your trailer level. In that situation, you will need to add leveling blocks, chocks, wood beams or some other leveling item to make sure the trailer is safe.
If you do not trust your bubble level or do not have one, use a tape measure to help make sure everything is where it should be.
How To Level an RV Side To Side
The best method would be to use your built-in leveling systems. That is if you are on flat and even ground. These jacks will make sure your trailer or RV will become level.
If the ground is not level, then you can use leveling blocks, plywood and 12 by 12s or smaller beam, to help the leveling jacks reach their proper location. The number of blocks you will need will depend on high you have to stack them.
Smaller gaps between the ground and the leveling jacks may only require 1, while larger gaps may require 2 or 3.
You will have to be the judge on how many leveling blocks you will need. Also, do not try to level your camper with its slide out or slide outs. Those will not operate very well when your camper is not level already.
If you try, then you may damage your slides and create a more expensive repair bill that you do not need. One simple method not discussed yet, is to use your wheels and axles.
But this method requires moving your camper which is not what this article is about. Just move your camper back and forth till you find the right level of leveling blocks and flat ground.
No matter what you do, you will be required to move your trailer to find level with this method. Make sure to secure those wheels so that they will not move. Once you have the side to side leveling finished, you can move onto leveling the front and back.
What is The Best Thing To use To Level a Camper?
There are several good tools you can use. The most important one will be common sense. Do not place the jack in any old position, look for the spring pad on the axle.
If you use any other spot, you could damage the axle. That brings us to the next best tool to use, the hydraulic bottle jack. These are rated to hold very high weight limits and one or two will make your trailer leveling a lot easier.
Next up, will be your bubble level. Eyeballing level is not the best option you can use. It is better to make sure and use the bubble level. This make take a few tries to get the level correct but it is worth it in the long run.
After that, you will need patience. Leveling your camper is almost a fine art. It takes a lot of patience to do the job right. The reason for saying that is that you will be checking levels more than once.
Finally, you will need good, strong leveling blocks to rest your camper on. You do not want your camper falling through the blocks in the middle of the night or when you are away from your campground. That damage that could be done is indescribable.
How To Avoid This Situation
The best way to avoid doing all this work and checking, is to pick the best spot that is level already. It goes without saying that finding a good campground hat does not have uneven ground is the best option you can choose.
If you are placing your trailer or camper in a permanent spot, make sure you do not do what they one owner did, and pick a spot where you cannot move the camper.
Prevention is your best tool to use. But if you have no alternative, then use the above methods and tools to help you. When it comes to leveling blocks, you may have to carry more than one size with you.
Side to side level will be different in different campgrounds. Leveling is a serious chore that always needs to be done right.
Some Additional Words
The different RV parts, accessories and supply outlets should have all the equipment you need for this important task. If in doubt, talk to a few experience ed RV owners. They will gladly provide you with some tips and tricks to help you level everything just right.
A little practice with leveling in tight places should help make you an expert and put you in the advice giving side of this task. Once you get used to it, this task is not that hard.
