Levelling the van

Steve11 · Senior Member

Levelling the van

SouthernComfort · Guru

I use my Trail-a-mate hydraulic jack. It was supplied with the van from new for wheel changing. It's a great piece of kit with multiple uses, so to me it's a must-carry item.

peter_s · Veteran Member

you can get small ramps made for dual wheel vans we have a set and they work fine

Eaglemax · Guru

While holding a cuppa in one hand I lean on my 450kg van and wife puts wood under the wheel. ....lol

aussie_paul · Guru

Steve11 wrote:
Hi all, just pulled into a site yesterday and needed levelling the van across the width. we put the levelling ramp on one of the wheels but didnt make much difference. Then I put a couple of pieces of wood on top of the ramp, which lifted it a bit more and it was good enough to sleep ok without rolling over onto swmbo...lol. What is the best way considering you cant get two ramps in use on the one side, because they dont fit in between the wheels on a tandem axle. I also put a level gauge on the A frame which isnt showing level atm, but I wonder how good they actually are considering you are only looking at a small distance where the gauge is sitting. How far out can the bubble be to still be ok to live in the van? I know someone will say use a haudraulic jack, but I try to carry only what is necessary. Still learning here so any advice welcome.
thanks
Steve.

My ramps fit between the tandem wheels Steve.

Aussie Paul. smile

KJB · Guru

Or ....3 or 4 offcuts of pine from a building site will work pretty good - just mix and match to suit height .

jrg · Senior Member

I also get my levellers from building sites who are happy to get rid of the off cuts. Then cut to size so one fits between the wheels easy and extremely cheap. We use a $2 spirit level from a cheap shop and place on the bench top for sidways and fore and aft level.

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

I have a pair of yellow levellers that fit between my tandem wheels. They look like this -

Levelers 02.JPG

I have a pair and they fit between the tandem wheels so I can raise both wheels. I think they are Fiamma.

However, there are these too -

Levelers 01.JPG

From this site -

https://www.caravansplus.com.au/guides/how-to-level-your-caravan-or-trailer-a-52.html

or this site -

https://www.autoelec.com.au/4-piece-leveling-ramps-wheel-chocks-caravan-tandem

Cheers - John

Kendo · Senior Member

I use the tandem one Rocklizard has shown. Very happy with them

-- Edited by Kendo on Saturday 10th of February 2018 02:06:22 PM

TheHeaths · Guru

Steve,

as with others here, it is possible to get levellers that will fit in your tandem wheels.

I would persevere to find some (we have the yellow ones), as they do make levelling much easier.

-- Edited by TheHeaths on Saturday 10th of February 2018 02:53:36 PM

SouthernComfort · Guru

Steve, I should clarify my earlier comment about the Trail-a-mate hydraulic jack. I wasn't directly addressing your need to level the van properly, although I have used it to lift the A bar higher than my jockey will allow to get blocks underneath for levelling front/back on a sloping site. It was really more to say you need a jack on board regardless, and if you don't have one, the Trailer-a-mate is great.

Steve11 · Senior Member

thanks everyone for your comments, looks like i need a new style of ramps for dual axle. Always something new you need! Southern comfort, I do have a trailmate jack supplied with the van, but I didnt think to use that for sideways levelling. It would have probably worked, but it is darn heavy thing to be playing with while trying to reverse into a site. I would have liked to use it as a permanent alternative for a standard jockey wheel, but the jack they supplied has a 60 mm shaft and the standard jockey wheel has a 50 mm shaft, so the clamp is no good for the trailamate. I wish the salesmen would tell you of this before the build takes place!

thanks again everyone,

Steve

Stuart-Jan · Veteran Member

Steve. The 2 piece ramps are available at most large camping stores such as Rays outdoors. I believe I got mine at Super-Cheap Auto.

skins · Senior Member

Hi there everyone, sorry don't wish to hijack the thread but, does anyone use the above Andersen curved levellers to level their van. I also notice they (Titan Brakes Qld distributer) have a bigger type one that can be used instead of a jack for twin axles. Is supposed to be able to fit in between the tyres & raises the side up about 6 inches or so, so a tyre can be changed. Thought it was a pretty good idea in theory anyway.

Stephcott · Member

As others have said you can get levellers to fit tandem axles, but if they arent enough you can let down the tyres on the high side of van.
Phil

Cupie · Guru

Stephcott wrote:
As others have said you can get levellers to fit tandem axles, but if they arent enough you can let down the tyres on the high side of van.
Phil

Good one. Now that's thinking outside the square. I would have never thought of that approach.

My yellow ones just fit between the wheels ... sometimes have to give them a thump to get them in position.

StewG · Senior Member

I keep a couple of thick planks about 1.5 metres long in the boot of the van to boost the ramp height or deal with soft ground. Lay down a plank and put the ramp(s) on top. Fortunately I only have a single axle so one ramp is good.

StewG · Senior Member

As for spirit levels, the pictured one can be bought most hardware or trailer shops for less than $10 (or ebay for $2). Screwed to the A frame on my van and normally covered with a hinged plastic lid, it does a fine job in leveling to my satisfaction. Incidentally, having my van level or slightly higher on the RH side helps keep the bathroom door shut. biggrin

WP_20180212_17_46_07_Pro[1].jpg

Cupie · Guru

StewG wrote:
As for spirit levels, the pictured one can be bought most hardware or trailer shops for less than $10 (or ebay for $2). Screwed to the A frame on my van and normally covered with a hinged plastic lid, it does a fine job in leveling to my satisfaction. Incidentally, having my van level or slightly higher on the RH side helps keep the bathroom door shut.

I have always used one of these too. Probably the first mod that I did in 1999 and perhaps the best too.

How I did it ..

Just set up the van perfectly level, measured NS & EW with a spirit level at the fridge.

Then set the level (with the bubbles perfectly centred) in a bed of adhesive on the A frame.

After the adhesive set hard, I put in a couple of self tappers to be sure that it remained in place & cut away the excess adhesive to make it look nice.

I check it every few years & have never needed to adjust it.

meetoo · Guru

Before I put the 2 way 'T' level on the aframe it used to drive me nuts going back and forward into the van checking with spirit levels in there. Buying the 'T' level for the aframe was one of the best $5.00 I ever spent.

Cheers, John.

iana · Guru

A few months ago, we arrived at Wave Rock wa, a bit annoying that someone had parked their van in my booked site, which was a spot next to our friends. So I parked beside, (supposably their spot), and thought no more of it. Time for this site pinching van to move on, and watched a very professional team Husband and wife, or partners go about their business, including removing the levelling ramps.
It was only then I realized why they took my site, as theirs (the site I was then on) had quite a slope on it, and the ramps would not have worked.
I level the van using a jack, blocks of wood and axle stands off the chassis, and on this occasion went about the business of leveling as I have before, noting the wheels on the RH side were off the ground, and wishing I could do the wheel bearing service, I park at home like this, so nothing out of the ordinary.
Why do I level the van like this, well if I can get into a site with our van, I am doing well, without having to worry about ramps, I intend to do my servicing myself on the road as I will be full time traveling, and so will need the axle stands and wooden blocks anyway, and last it steadies the van firmer than still using the vans suspension.