Newbie Leveling Equipment Question

[woodlandcottage]

We've only taken our new-to-us TM out once so far and it was parked on a level pad. Our home driveway isn't very level so to park it safely we used a variety of scrap wood under the jacks to keep it from listing. We figure we need to have a set of leveling blocks for use at home and in campgrounds that aren't paved with those deluxe sites. I'm content for now to make a homemade set from scraps( 2"X6"x6" and 1"x6"X"6"). It certainly wouldn't weigh any more than the plastic ones and it's pretty much free since I have the materials already.
Here comes the newbie question: Do I need to make levelers for the tires? I see people around online(and the leveler block ads) driving their trailers onto levelers. I never saw my dad put anything under the tires when leveling our pop-up, just the stabilizers. Should I make a few 2"x"6"x12" levelers for the tires as well?

[MT Camper]

We bought our 2010 2619 from the Car Show and we were specifically told by them that the 4 jacks are for leveling, not just stabalizers when we went thru the training on use and set up. I asked the question and repeated it. I don't know if the year makes a difference, but we can level with our 4 scissor jacks. I also take 2 x 6 pieces to put under the jacks for stability if there is soft ground or a big difference in ground height where the jacks are.

Like I said maybe the year makes a difference so I am not saying this is for every TM out there.

[ELM-JLM]

Originally Posted by woodlandcottage

Here comes the newbie question: Do I need to make levelers for the tires? I see people around online(and the leveler block ads) driving their trailers onto levelers. I never saw my dad put anything under the tires when leveling our pop-up, just the stabilizers. Should I make a few 2"x"6"x12" levelers for the tires as well?

The board under the wheel is to get close to level by sight! Set up is much easier and quicker if side to side is close! Also it prevents having one wheel off the ground!

[Redtail Cruiser]

We do a lot of mountain/desert boondocking and beach camping. I carry a Camco tri-level ramp for when the ground is unlevel and to hard to dig in. I also carry a small folding military style shovel to dig a hole for a tire to roll into for leveling. I usually fine tune level using the stabilizers, but never try to just use the stabilizers to level my TM. Everybody does things a little different and this is what I do.

[wbmiller3]

We just carry a bunch of sawed off 2x6 sections. If the campsite is very unlevel side to side it's a lot easier to drive up on one or two of the 2x6s than to try and level it with the jacks.

[LoveToCamp]

I prefer to get close to level side-to-side by using Lynx Levelers if street-side is high, and dig a small trench (under the street-side wheel) if the curb (door) side is high. If you put blocks under the door side, then your steps are much higher. Even if you don't use blocks to get close to level, if you raise the door side, you have a big step.

The reason I get close to level with blocks is due to frame twist. Maybe you don't notice it, but if you level using jacks, sometimes the door may be a bit more difficult to latch or unlatch, or even close, depending on how much you raise a corner. I much prefer to keep most of the weight on the axle/tires, and just stabilize with the corner jacks and tongue jack.

Just my preference.

[tentcamper]

For years I have used the 2x6 blocks for side to side. The last 3 or so years, I have used the lago blocks. We get the side to side level within 1/2 inch across the 7+ feet (1/16" per foot). Which for us is just fine and we almost never do any further leveling on the side-to-side. Maybe an extra turn or so on the low side stab.

The fridge is the key thing to be as close to level. If you operated the fridge standing still and it too much off level it can be permanently damage by developing crystals in the coolant,

So what we do, the first time with any new camper. We level the camper using the fridge. We then apply the stick on levels on the side and front of the camper so the fridge is level. Out of my 5 campers the fridge has always been at a different level then the camper.

[woodlandcottage]

Thanks for all the input! I think this is one of those things we're just going to have to learn by doing. :P

[Riwright]

This quote from the manual for my fridge was very useful:

"The refrigerator is made to operate within 3° off level side-to-side and 6° off level front-to-back (as looking at the front of the refrigerator). Operating it at more than these limits can cause damage to the cooling system and create a risk of personal injury or property damage. Make sure the vehicle is level before you operate the refrigerator."

I have an app for my iPad caller "Clinometer". I load it up and put the iPad on top of the counter above the frig. It tells me exactly how many degrees off level I am. When I started doing it this way I realized I was working a lot harder than I needed to to level the trailer.


I use Lynx Levelers although wood blocks work fine. I do a lot of camping in primitive campgrounds so I need a lot of blocks. Some of the sites are crazy unlevel. The Lynx are lighter and easier to carry.

You can also build a ramp out of them. They make a wheel chock that fits into the blocks.

I also use them to make a step if my door side is too high. They make a cap for the blocks that make them easy to walk on.

I think if I got a few more I could make a little house with the lynx blocks and just camp in that

If I see that I am unlevel side-to-side I will build a ramp and drive onto it. Then I use the tongue jack to level front-to-back. I have a stick-on level on the tongue which is very useful.

I find that with this method I can get as close to level as I need to be without the stabilizers. I just use the stabilizers to steady the trailer. Using the stabilizers to correct the level the trailer is a lot of hard work.

[Kidkraz]

Woodlandcottage,

Are your levelers attached to the frame or the bottom of the box? If to the frame, than you could actually lift the camper some. If mounted to the camper box; as I believe the older versions are. You could cause damage to your camper floor. In reading old posts in this forum, TM did change the way and where they were placed; what year....I don't know.