level on level ground and towing

[joshkendrick]

Hello

First time posting on the forum, so please be patient with me 🙂

We have a 2017 Jayco WhiteHawk 25BHS. It's a travel trailer, not a 5th wheel. Our tow vehicle is a 2019 Ram 2500, gas, Tradesman trim. We've taken it out on probably 20? camping trips, including we just got back from living in it for 2 weeks in Colorado.

I have 2 questions that are kind of related to the same issue: just from looking at the RV head on, it appears that it kind of leans to the left. It's not a lot, maybe an inch rise from left to right looking at it head-on.

I know it's important to have it level when you have it set up and youre using it, for the appliances, comfort, for the slideouts, etc. What I'm trying to determine is

1) how important is it that the travel trailer be "level" when towing?

2) how important is it that the travel trailer be level when it's just sitting unused on level ground?

Of note, we got 2 new axles and all new tires replaced in the last month, but this lean was there before that work was done. It may have been like this since we owned it and I'm just now noticing it..

Thanks!!

[dodge_guy]

It’s good you are so aware that you actually notice something like that. With that said, that small of a lean is a non issue when towing.

[Gdetrailer]

Take it to a place that specializes in trailers like cargo, flatbed and Horse trailer repair or custom builder.

Have them measure and check the axle stubs for straightness along with the springs.

Axles have a natural "bend" upwards in the middle of the axle tube that a lot of places that do not know better will tell you that the axle is bent.

That bend is intentional and flattens out under a heavy load to maintain proper camber of the wheels..

I suspect the "lean" you have may be coming from the springs, you can roughly measure that by measuring the distance between the spring at each axle to the bottom of the trailer frame. Those measurements should be nearly identical for both sides. If not then you have a weak spring.

Not unusual to have a spring flatten out under normal use.

As far as storing it with a lean, no harm there as long as you are not operating the fridge in storage.. If you want to run the fridge in storage then simply add a board under the wheels of the side which is leaning..

[joshkendrick]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback!

As a lot of people mentioned, it’s probably a little silly or unrealistic to assume it will be level while towing it, considering various wind and road conditions, etc.

My questions were mainly around trying to determine if this is something I should bug someone about trying to get corrected. Essentially how big of a deal is this when it’s not in use. I know when I’m parked and using it, I should try to get it as level as possible for appliance operation, drainage, etc. But I’m mostly asking around if I’ve got it parked in storage in my shed and I’m noticing it.

To provide more information, when we took it out early this spring, we had a few people drive by us on one trip and tell us it looked like we had a flat tire, one person drove by and held up a sign that said danger, bad axle.

We took it in to gander rv (I know, I know, but they were the only ones who had decent availability to get it fixed). They said both axles were bent and the springs needed to be replaced. He said it looked like we had towed it overweighted for a long while..? I donno, I’m still not sure how they got bent, but I had noticed what he was talking about, just had no knowledge of trailers really..

Anyway, I went out and measured today and the front passenger side sits about 3/4” to 1” lower than the driver side. It could be due to weight as mentioned, the fridge, oven, mini fridge, outdoor kitchen, 2 bunks are all on that side. And a slide out. There’s a slide out on the other side too, but it’s just the U dinette.

[JRscooby]

valhalla360 wrote:

bukhrn wrote:
Most roads are "crowned", especially non-interstates, .... Plus 1 inch is Not a whole lot off.
Over the years, I've probably had not more perfectly level sites than I can count on one hand, I do try to get close.

All public roads are crowned. If that is all the OP is seeing, then it's a non-issue. Typically modern roads use straight line 1.5% cross slope (about 1.4 inches over an 8ft wide trailer). Shoulders are typically 2.0-2.5%. Older roads may use hyperbolic crown but those aren't very common anymore. You may see them on older back roads. In curves, the road will be superelevated with a cross slope all to one direction that will vary based on speed and radius (think race track banking on a much more modest level). A truly level road is almost never found.

So the question is when the OP says it's out of level, does he mean relative to gravity or relative to the road surface?

Take a tape measure and on smooth (relatively) level concrete and measure from ground to frame on both sides at the axles. It should be pretty close. 1/2 inch, I'm probably chalking it up to inconsistencies in the concrete.

If it's really off by 1", I would want to look into it. See if you can shift some weight to level it out. Probably not the end of the world but in an emergency maneuver a balanced load will handle better.

It won't bother the fridge but I will be told to put a board under it if we are off by that much when parked.

While at it, measure axle to frame.
BTW, more likely to find level pavement in a driveway.

[ford_truck_guy]

I agree with Lynnmor,

I would be focusing on the spring packs.... especially if you had the axles replaced .. Why were they replaced anyway?

[Lynnmor]

joshkendrick wrote:


Of note, we got 2 new axles and all new tires replaced in the last month, but this lean was there before that work was done. It may have been like this since we owned it and I'm just now noticing it..

Did you check the springs at that time? Why were the axles replaced?

[valhalla360]

bukhrn wrote:
Most roads are "crowned", especially non-interstates, .... Plus 1 inch is Not a whole lot off.
Over the years, I've probably had not more perfectly level sites than I can count on one hand, I do try to get close.

All public roads are crowned. If that is all the OP is seeing, then it's a non-issue. Typically modern roads use straight line 1.5% cross slope (about 1.4 inches over an 8ft wide trailer). Shoulders are typically 2.0-2.5%. Older roads may use hyperbolic crown but those aren't very common anymore. You may see them on older back roads. In curves, the road will be superelevated with a cross slope all to one direction that will vary based on speed and radius (think race track banking on a much more modest level). A truly level road is almost never found.

So the question is when the OP says it's out of level, does he mean relative to gravity or relative to the road surface?

Take a tape measure and on smooth (relatively) level concrete and measure from ground to frame on both sides at the axles. It should be pretty close. 1/2 inch, I'm probably chalking it up to inconsistencies in the concrete.

If it's really off by 1", I would want to look into it. See if you can shift some weight to level it out. Probably not the end of the world but in an emergency maneuver a balanced load will handle better.

It won't bother the fridge but I will be told to put a board under it if we are off by that much when parked.

[NamMedevac_70]

My storage lots in Texas and Nevada were all level concrete, asphalt or gravel however my TT was not until I adjusted the air in my tires for all 4 to be same.

[joshkendrick]

Thanks all for the quick and helpful responses!! A good sanity check is always appreciated

[Grit_dog]

OP, if the lean is that noticeable, imo, figure it out.
If you’ve already trashed the axles then they were probably loaded to max or more and you may have sagging springs on one side. Especially, since it’s not normal to need new axles.

Regarding level, it’s whatever is comfortable for you and the only appliance that it really matters for is the fridge and the specs are generally 3deg one direction 6 deg the other +\- Read the spec for your fridge. As long as you don’t exceed that you’re not harming anything.
Those specs are “way” out of level too. 3deg 3/4” per foot.

Note that is for static operation. Won’t prevent you from towing up or down a steeper slope.

[QCMan]

Our storage pad is ten feet wide and is sloped with one side about an inch high for drainage. None of our trailers cared even if the fridge was on. You might also be seeing the effects of one side having all or most of the storage for heavy items. Fridge and pantry on one side can throw it off a bit. I would not be concerned about an inch difference.

[Sandia_Man]

While underway level doesn't matter and would be virtually impossible to achieve anyway. When TT is not in motion and you have a RV absorption fridge it is good to be as level as possible, although a couple of degrees either way is OK, compressor fridges level is not as critical.

As for comfort how level your rig ends up being is totally your call with fridge concerns aside, with our 33' TT we do like a bit of front end tilt on entry door side to promote runoff. There has been a few times where being unlevel for a short period was something we could not control, our Dometic survived.

I will say that on our TT there is a slight lean as well, we have been down many a logging road and across plenty of dips over the past decade. We can't remember noticing it when we purchased new, after all these years it tows great going down the interstate so I don't give it much thought.

[wanderingbob]

It would be kinda impossible to tow level , movement is good for absolution refrigerators ! When parked the manufacturer sez if you can walk around comfortably
, that is close enough !

[bukhrn]

Most roads are "crowned", especially non-interstates, plus with rocking, swaying and bouncing you're not likely to be perfectly level while traveling. Plus 1 inch is Not a whole lot off.
Over the years, I've probably had not more perfectly level sites than I can count on one hand, I do try to get close.