D.E.Bishop
Eagle Rock, CA
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Desert Captain wrote:Under the heading of "opinions vary"...
Auto leveler systems are: expensive, problematic and for the most part totally unnecessary... basically a solution for which there is no known problem. ![[emoticon]](https://forums.goodsamclub.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/scratchead.gif "scratchead")
Their weight comes right off of your payload {and most Class C's, especially any 26 - 30' + are already short of}. Most sites in CG's and especially RV parks are dead level to begin with. Walk around any CG or RV Park and count the number of folks with auto levelers deployed... that are using leggo blocks or good ole 2 X 6's. ![[emoticon]](https://forums.goodsamclub.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/doh.gif "doh")
Levelers are about as reilable as slides and auto steps {as in not very} and provide little if any benefit in most locations. Oh, did I mention that they are ridiculously expensive? All salesmen highly recommend them as in "You have got to get these..." which tells you a lot about the relative mark up involved.
Other than that {Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?}
Like I said.... Opinions and YMMV.
![[emoticon]](https://forums.goodsamclub.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/cool.gif "cool")
Wow, that sure is an opinion, abet one I don't think many have. I love my levelers, slides and my steps. Maybe I just camp at the wrong places but there aren't many with the view in my signature photo that are dead level, in fact, the fact that most sites aren't dead level is why we have levelers. We enjoyed our non-slide and levelers rig but they sure make life easier for us.
"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to go". R. L. Stevenson
David Bishop
2002 Winnebago Adventurer 32V
95 Suzuki Sidekick 4X4
Stowmaster 5000
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Dusty R
Charlotte Michigan 48813
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I glue a round level to the dog house where it is easy to see from the drivers seat.
Often times I just jockey the mo around a little to find a level spot.
If I need to add some boards under the tires, I usually can tell where and how many just by looking at the level.
I use 2x6's and 4x6's. The 4x6's I have cut a 30* angle on one end.
I have been doing this for about 30 years.
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klutchdust
Orange, California
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Joined: 06/09/2004
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Bumpyroad wrote:levelers, a great addition, well worth the money. if they weigh too much, buy a better RV.
bumpy
I agree. We camp out in the desert and leveling is always required. I stay in the parking lots of racing venues and level areas are not usually available. I travel solo many times and have no one to keep moving blocks while i sit and sip my coffee looking at a level.
I use my slides in my driveway without leveling and have no issues, usually on the return trip when the rig gets a nose to tail cleaning.
Your rig will perform better and be more trouble free if you perform regular and even non-regular maintenance. My step,slides and levelers get lube or cleaning where they need it and they work fine, although not trouble free, I would not be without them.
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maillemaker
office
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The biggest benefit to leveling jacks is not getting level, though that is nice.
The biggest benefit is that they make the house rock solid stable as it is no longer floating on the RV's suspension. Otherwise, every time someone rolls over in bed at night or gets up to pee the entire RV goes BOINGY BOINGY BOINGY.
Leveling jacks make the house as stable as...a house.
1990 Winnebago Warrior. "She may not look like much but she's got it where it counts!"
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ndrorder
Southwest
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I have a smaller Class C (24' on Chevy chassis).
1) The lego's have worked most places I've been in the desert and mountains following the off-road motorcycle circuit around New Mexico. I looked into levelers for convenience, but don't have the frame space for them unless I give up ground clearance. Ground clearance takes priority where I go. I'm now considering stabilizers on the rear to reduce the bouncy-bouncy.
2) Take some time and test drive the chassis available for your floor plan and decide best riding/driving for yourself. The Ford performance looked best on paper. Sprinter/MB and Transit had better mileage. The salesmen pushed the Ford. I was able to make a definitive decision after test drives and haven't been disappointed yet.
3) I carry a 230 lb motorcycle on an 80 lb rack plugged into the receiver. Yes, I am 10 lbs over the hitch rating. The bicycle hangs off a rack on the ladder. No, I feel no difference in the ride or handling while driving.
4) Gas or diesel is a personal question. I couldn't find a cost/benefit to justify a diesel and didn't like the house built on them.
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Cliff
2011 Four Winds Chateau 23U
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suprz
rhode island
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I have a 2006 Jayco Greyhawk 31ss. Without levelers, we have a small bubble level that we put on the floor in front of the fridge (thats where level really counts) when we pull into a site and that's how we determine level. Not many times have we been so unlevel that we couldnt level the coach using the 2X6's and lego blocks we carry
Proud father of a US Marine
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pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Our 24 foot Class C is on an overkill E450 chassis with frequency-sensitive-damping shocks in the rear, so it doesn't rock or sway when we walk around in it. Stabilization jacks are not required and would only be just one more thing to mess with when making/breaking camp.
We have camped/parked in many off-highway places and in many campgrounds over the years and I can count on one hand the spots that were level enough so as to not require extra work when setting up. Also, we like to keep our Class C's ground clearance at a maximum and things to mess with (or trust to always work) at a minimum. We even have oversize tires on our RV for better ground clearance. We never know where we might wind up wanting to camp, so must be ready for anything.
I made five (5) 3-step leveling blocks out of 2X8 treated lumber, plus we carry additional pieces of treated 2X8 lumber. This makes us ready for the maximum three-point leveling situation of raising of the two rear dual tire sets and one front tire - all by different amounts if necessary using the step blocks and lumber pieces. IMHO ... this is a simple, cheap, and light weight method that will never break. (We also carry a shovel for the worst case scenario of having to dig holes for some of the tires!)
Shortly after buying our RV, I placed a bubble circle level on the floor next to the refrigerator and drove around until the bubble was centered in the circle. While parked there, I then glued a small graduated linear bubble level on the dash in front of the steering wheel and another small graduated linear bubble level on the driver's side door close to the steering wheel - of course carefully glueing them such that both bubbles were exacting centered in these small levels. Ever since doing that, I can now get the floor of the RV level merely by driving back and forth enough to get the bubbles centered in these two small graduated linear levels that I mounted in the cab on the driver's side.
However, we often do not "level" the RV level on purpose. We sometimes want the rear bed such that the head is slightly higher than the foot. When parking in a camping spot, I just jocky back and forth until the level on the driver's side door shows as "one bubble or one-half bubble high" in the rear. Doing leveling adjustments like this couldn't be easier or more reliable!
Phil, 2005 E450 Itasca 324V Spirit
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Bumpyroad
Virginia
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when I added levelers on my Bounder I had to use kick down jacks because of space issues. when I ordered my chieftain, I ordered them from the factory.
but as far as "wasting" money, I'd rather "waste" $4,000 for levelers than $8,000 for FBP.
and with the use of boards, since you will need doubles for the rear I think they would be a lot closer to the weight of levelers. are 8 inch boards wide enough to support the edges of the tire treads?
bumpy
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pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Bumpyroad wrote:are 8 inch boards wide enough to support the edges of the tire treads?
Yep.
BTW #1 - I fit all 5 step blocks plus the 5 other wood pieces in only one of our 2005 model year 24 foot Class C's seven outside storage cabinets! They don't build/design em' like they used to.
BTW #2 - The tread on my Class C's non-stock 215/85/R16 tires is "slightly" narrower than the tread on the stock 225/75/R16 tires that came on it because I wanted a taller tire for better ground clearance without having to change rims to fit fatter tires ... or reduce spacing between rear dual sidewalls by using fatter tires on stock rims, thus reducing cooling air flow between the tires in the dual sets.
* This post was
edited 06/15/18 06:21pm by pnichols *
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Desert Captain
Tucson
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"Wow, that sure is an opinion, abet one I don't think many have. I love my levelers, slides and my steps. Maybe I just camp at the wrong places but there aren't many with the view in my signature photo that are dead level, in fact, the fact that most sites aren't dead level is why we have levelers. We enjoyed our non-slide and levelers rig but they sure make life easier for us."
Delighted to hear that what you have works for you.... that's one. LMAO
When levelers stop taking hundreds of pounds off of your payload, stop costing thousands of dollars and become anything even close to reliable {spend a little time reading about all of the leveler issues on this and other Forums} and perhaps I will rethink my opinion... but I'm sure we both doubt it. LMAO {again}.
My 8 year old yellow Leggo blocks are still working just fine {cost me less than $40} and I never have had to use more than two high anywhere. Also please explain why so many with levelers have to reach under their rigs to place Leggo's under their levelers? Come on now, what's up with that?
I can sit in my rig and know very accurately what I need to get level enough to keep my refrigeration happy. Beyond that not much is needed especially at about $4,000 a set to provide a solution for which there is no known problem. {Still LMAO}.
Use whatever works for you but wasting several hundred pounds of payload and thousands of dollars for a system that may or may not work when you need it the most is just something that I have no interest, much less need to do.
Like I said... Opinions and YMMV.
![[emoticon]](https://forums.goodsamclub.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/biggrin.gif "biggrin")
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