Non-level campsites Class A

[FLHTCI]

I just bought a used class A motor home (30’ Itasca). Some campsites I’ve been in with my TT have hardly been lever to say the least. I noticed that it doesn’t take much of an incline for my leveling jack to lift the coach off the ground.

What do you people do in a situation as I’ve mentioned?

Thank you

[George_Beggs]

I Have four long 2x12 boards and lean them against plastic blocks.

[Krusty]

The blocks I made last, I sandwiched a piece of plywood in between two pieces of 2x12 to keep them from splitting. It has worked well.

[willald]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
The owners manual for our 1990 Bounder had instructions for building the three level ramps discussed earlier in this post. They worked well for me. There was a little problem, however, they were darn heavy....

Yes, they can be heavy. My thoughts on that, though, is it makes for good, forced exercise. My fat butt needs the exercise, haha.

When the kids come with us, I just have them lug those large blocks of wood. The exercise sure won't hurt them, either. 🙂

That said, all the examples here deal with FRONT of the RV being low. The manuals for the Bounder and the Winnie note that when leveling when the rear is low, that blocks must go under all the rear tires not just one on each side.

I've wondered about that, too, and seem to recall some discussions some time ago about whether or not both dually tires (inner and outer) need to be supported.

What I've found (through many discussions, and many years experience doing it this way) is that NO, you do not need to support both the inner and outer dually tire when pulling the back end up on blocks. The outers are enough. That is, as long as you deploy your jacks as well.

Main reason being, the rear jacks will be supporting a good bit of the weight. Especially since you would typically raise it a good bit more with the jacks even after putting back end on blocks, if you are that far off level.

The tires will not have the entire weight of the back end on them. The jacks will be shouldering a good bit. You are mainly using the blocks under the outer tires to provide more lateral stability. One tire on each side gives you that in the back, just like it will in the front.

Now, you *DO* need to get the entire (outer) tire tread supported/covered on the block, you don't want even a little bit hanging off the edge of the block. That can cause some premature tire failure. That is true for both the rear outer tire as well as the front tire, if you're raising the front.

While it wouldn't be a bad idea to support both the inner and outer dually and would make things even more solid.....Not sure it'd be worth it to lug that many heavy pieces of wood around.

[D_E_Bishop]

Personally I won't level with any tire off the ground, structurally I do not feel it is safe.

The owners manual for our 1990 Bounder had instructions for building the three level ramps discussed earlier in this post. They worked well for me. There was a little problem, however, they were darn heavy. That is why we have a RV with hydraulic levelers.

That said, all the examples here deal with FRONT of the RV being low. The manuals for the Bounder and the Winnie note that when leveling when the rear is low, that blocks must go under all the rear tires not just one on each side.

[willald]

JRscooby wrote:
The blocks I built where for Dad's trailer. He had made some (I re-used the boards) He had laid out the holes, drove inch long screws drove halfway in and then holes for the heads to fit in. They bothered me because I know boards split, and wood screws, with their points, can flatten a tire. The carriage bolts, if split out of wood will have a round head on 1 end, and a nut on the other. If it does go thru a tire, tire is ruined, but the ends are large enough not likely to stick in tread.

Yes, I know all too well how boards can split, and how the sharp pointy side of a wood screw could flatten a tire. I thought about that a lot, when I was figuring out how to build these boards/ramps several years ago.

That was why I made sure all wood screws holding it together have pretty large, flat heads, and are pointing DOWN. Also, they are all located near the outside edges of the boards. This way, even if a board cracks, its very, very unlikely a screw would find its way into a tire.

Been using these boards for several years with two different Motorhomes now, never had a problem yet. Welll, except for the groaning and complaining I get from teenage kids whenever I ask them to help me get them out, and put them away when we leave. 🙂

.... Another idea would be sandwich rubber belt (Mud flap?) between the bottom 2 layers, with a tongue sticking out long enough to be under the tire before it hits the ramp. This would make sure they did not slide as you pull on.

Hey, I like that idea! Sometimes I do have a problem with the board sliding out when driving up onto it. Rubber flap sandwiched in like you describe here would definitely fix that problem. Just might have to look into doing that.

[willald]

Walaby wrote:
This guy seemed to have no problem for past two days where Im at.

This particular spot was the worst in the entire park. All kinds of roots busting up the asphalt. Camp host said it is only used when someone is desperate and all slots are taken.

I wasnt here when he was leveling but my wife and our friends cringed as he was trying to get things level. At one point they swore it was going to tip over

Mike

Wow. I bet it felt like walking on a swinging bridge inside that Motorhome, with one end raised that high on just jacks. Looks like a real good way to bend a jack and have a very inconvenient and expensive repair bill.

I would've just drove the front end up onto the third level of the wood blocks I've built for this that was just discussing. If that wasn't enough, in some extreme cases I've been known to also whip out the portable shovel, and dig a hole for the tires on the high side, and drive them into it.

[JRscooby]

willald wrote:


Yeah, I quit using the plastic blocks when we got the motorhome. Those plastic one work OK for towable RVs, but don’t trust them to handle the weight of a class A.

Good idea on the carriage bolts. I just screwed all 3 on mine together somewhat permanent, with long wood screws.

The blocks I built where for Dad's trailer. He had made some (I re-used the boards) He had laid out the holes, drove inch long screws drove halfway in and then holes for the heads to fit in. They bothered me because I know boards split, and wood screws, with their points, can flatten a tire. The carriage bolts, if split out of wood will have a round head on 1 end, and a nut on the other. If it does go thru a tire, tire is ruined, but the ends are large enough not likely to stick in tread.
If you decide to replace your screws with bolts, you might want to countersink the nuts into the bottom of boards, if you use them on pavement. Will slide, or damage pavement (All-thread and nuts much cheaper than bolts long enough to reach thru 3 2bys) Another idea would be sandwich rubber belt (Mud flap?) between the bottom 2 layers, with a tongue sticking out long enough to be under the tire before it hits the ramp. This would make sure they did not slide as you pull on.
For a MH, would want shorter boards, because the top board doesn't need to be long enough for tires on 2 axles. But with a trailer you only need 1 ramp, because only need to put 1 side on ramp. MH, OTOH, might need to ramp 3 corners to 3 different heights.
My single axle trailer is light enough for plastic. The 30 I carry are lighter, and easier to pack then the lumber. And I often use them to level other things around the site.

[Walaby]

This guy seemed to have no problem for past two days where Im at.

This particular spot was the worst in the entire park. All kinds of roots busting up the asphalt. Camp host said it is only used when someone is desperate and all slots are taken.

I wasnt here when he was leveling but my wife and our friends cringed as he was trying to get things level. At one point they swore it was going to tip over

Mike

[willald]

JRscooby wrote:

willald wrote:

JRscooby wrote:

willald wrote:
Go to a lumber store, buy you a 2x12 or two, and cut it up into a bunch of squares. Throw a bunch of them in your outside storage.

I'm not real smart. Instead of cutting squares, would it be better to cut different lengths so you can stack short on long, drive up a ramp?

Good point. I should have been more specific about how I cut up the boards.

I actually bolted a total of 3 pieces of 2x12 together, stacked 3 high. Top piece is about 12” long, 2nd piece is about 24” long, and bottom piece is about 3’ long. Provides stair steps to drive up, basically - 3 different steps/levels I can drive the wheels up on, depending on how far off level. I built two of them, carry those as well as a handful of square pieces for the jacks.

I cut some 2X8s with 6 inches different lengths. Then drilled pilot holes thru the stack for alinement. Used 7/8 paddle bit top of half the holes, and 3/8 thru the others. I put carriage bolts thru with nuts and washers. Decide how tall stack, the nuts drop in the large holes to keep boards in line.
Now plastic blocks use similar idea. But I have never seen plastic long enough for a tandem.

Yeah, I quit using the plastic blocks when we got the motorhome. Those plastic one work OK for towable RVs, but don’t trust them to handle the weight of a class A.

Good idea on the carriage bolts. I just screwed all 3 on mine together somewhat permanent, with long wood screws.

[JRscooby]

willald wrote:

JRscooby wrote:

willald wrote:
Go to a lumber store, buy you a 2x12 or two, and cut it up into a bunch of squares. Throw a bunch of them in your outside storage.

I'm not real smart. Instead of cutting squares, would it be better to cut different lengths so you can stack short on long, drive up a ramp?

Good point. I should have been more specific about how I cut up the boards.

I actually bolted a total of 3 pieces of 2x12 together, stacked 3 high. Top piece is about 12” long, 2nd piece is about 24” long, and bottom piece is about 3’ long. Provides stair steps to drive up, basically - 3 different steps/levels I can drive the wheels up on, depending on how far off level. I built two of them, carry those as well as a handful of square pieces for the jacks.

I cut some 2X8s with 6 inches different lengths. Then drilled pilot holes thru the stack for alinement. Used 7/8 paddle bit top of half the holes, and 3/8 thru the others. I put carriage bolts thru with nuts and washers. Decide how tall stack, the nuts drop in the large holes to keep boards in line.
Now plastic blocks use similar idea. But I have never seen plastic long enough for a tandem.

[willald]

JRscooby wrote:

willald wrote:
Go to a lumber store, buy you a 2x12 or two, and cut it up into a bunch of squares. Throw a bunch of them in your outside storage.

I'm not real smart. Instead of cutting squares, would it be better to cut different lengths so you can stack short on long, drive up a ramp?

Good point. I should have been more specific about how I cut up the boards.

I actually bolted a total of 3 pieces of 2x12 together, stacked 3 high. Top piece is about 12” long, 2nd piece is about 24” long, and bottom piece is about 3’ long. Provides stair steps to drive up, basically - 3 different steps/levels I can drive the wheels up on, depending on how far off level. I built two of them, carry those as well as a handful of square pieces for the jacks.

[LandYacht35dies]

NON level sites ? ... hope it’s not very expensive!

I’m a major fan of Wally Worlding it !

[JRscooby]

willald wrote:
Go to a lumber store, buy you a 2x12 or two, and cut it up into a bunch of squares. Throw a bunch of them in your outside storage.

I'm not real smart. Instead of cutting squares, would it be better to cut different lengths so you can stack short on long, drive up a ramp?

[willald]

Go to a lumber store, buy you a 2x12 or two, and cut it up into a bunch of squares. Throw a bunch of them in your outside storage.

When you first get to a site, check how level you are before turning on the hydraulic jacks. If you are way off level, set some blocks up and drive whichever side is lowest onto some blocks. Get it as close to level as you can with blocks, first. Use rest of the blocks under the jacks to limit how far they have to extend.

I don’t like to ever lift any wheel off the ground, front or back. Can put too much lateral stress on jacks, and makes the RV more shaky inside. Tires (all of them) being on the ground (or on blocks) gives you more lateral stability.

Oh, and expect that every so often, your blocks will crack and become firewood. That’s why you cut up several blocks, so you have some spares when that happens.