Options for leveling??

[GrandRover]

I searched our threads but did not see a thread that specifically addressed or answered this.
Our 2023 Thor Axis 24.1 has no levelers but has only rear stabilizers. Most parks we go do have fairly level parking spaces but not all and usually not perfect. Last year I considered getting Big Foot levelers installed but decided the cost was more than we wanted to spend. I am curious as to what others are doing for leveling. I know I can probably use mechanical hydraulic or scissor jacks but need to research where the jack points are plus manually jacking sounds like a lot of work

Thanks, Mike

 

[007matman]

I use the Blue logic LevelMate Pro and just the standard leveling blocks. The device will tell you exactly how much lift you need and the blocks are roughly 1"high. The caps are approximately 1/2". Using that, I can usually get level left to right in a few minutes. Front to back, the app will tell you that too.

 

[ducksface]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV9TYFVX/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams

If expense is an issue
Labor is the answer.

These are an easy 15minute setup and 7 minute pack-up.

And
If you're leveling for comfort, we don't do that and we adapted easily.

If you're levelling due to refrigerator horror stories,
I've posted the math in another thread.

I want to start a new thread about nothing, and let it run...

I was involved, indirectly, and in the shut down of a power plant. Epa said to build a billion dollar scrubber or shut down. Plant borrowed 2billion Negotiated ten years to finalize the build. Stalled for ten years Shut down(a lock out as they literally 'threw the switch) the plant the very day...

www.thorforums.com

You'd have to be unlevel by over a foot on a 24.1 to even begin to begin to affect the fridge.

It's up to 30" on longer rvs.

 

[GrandRover]

If expense is an issue
Labor is the answer.

These are an easy 15minute setup and 7 minute pack-up.

And
If you're leveling for comfort, we don't do that and we adapted easily.

If you're levelling due to refrigerator horror stories,

Duck, thanks for your reply. Our fridge is a 12V compressor fridge so I am thinking leveling does not affect it? Our reason to level would be comfort if we do level.

 

[ghnl]

Leveling and stabilizing are two different issues. Even with leveling jacks I like to get the rig fairly level so the jacks are more for fine tuning and stabilizing. If the lot is not close to level I use a combination of 2x8 planks and the ubiquitous plastic leveling blocks. If the rig is level enough to comfortably walk around, it is likely level enough.

10 Best RV Leveling Blocks

 

[16ACE27]

I am curious as to what others are doing for leveling

If your MH does not have levelers, level it the same way we did with travel trailers - drive the wheels onto leveling blocks, then deploy the stabilizers.

 

[GrandRover]

Leveling and stabilizing are two different issues. Even with leveling jacks I like to get the rig fairly level so the jacks are more for fine tuning and stabilizing. If the lot is not close to level I use a combination of 2x8 planks and the ubiquitous plastic leveling blocks. If the rig is level enough to comfortably walk around, it is likely level enough.

10 Best RV Leveling Blocks

I do have a set of these but never tried driving up on them. My RV is a motorhome and not a pull behind.

 

[ducksface]

My rv came with 30 of those blocks.
I tried to drive up on a stack of three once and they skidded along the ground.
There are some things that I am very weak in doing. Maybe this is a skill, I have no need to learn.

We've found very few sites where we couldn't get level enough by using an app and rolling the rv around the site a bit until we were
'Happily tolerant'
Of the outcome.

I still carry the blocks.
First guy who needs them in a campsite...inherits what he needs.

I'd use one or two if the need arose.
40,000 miles and we've never used blocks or stablizers.

 

[ghnl]

My RV is a motorhome and not a pull behind.

As is ours. If you need to stack them more than one block high they will lock together (like oversized Lego blocks).

I also carry some 2x8 planks, beveled on one end with a stop on the other end. They are sized to fit two of the plastic blocks. So two blocks high on top of the 2x8 gives me almost 3" in height.

 

[GrandRover]

40,000 miles and we've never used blocks or stabilizers.

Just over 10000 miles for us and we also have never used blocks. Used the stabilizers once or twice but they then needed the microswitch adjusted. Most sites have been tolerably level but there were a couple that made it hard to walk from back to front inside without losing our balance. I will look for an app.

Thanks, Mike

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

Been in your exact position. We "graduated" from a travel trailer, which we used the orange Lynx levelers. Those worked great for the trailer

The reason we got the class C (similar chassis to yours) is because the TT was just becoming too much work... Loading the truck, hitching/unhitching and all that.

Our class C came with probably the same stab jacks as yours... scissor jacks on a bar across the rear... two rocker switches inside the entry door.

The extent of leveling you do depends on:
Do you have slides?
WHERE you camp. For example, we boondock extensively... often in mountains. Moving to find a respectably level spot is often not an option.... you MUST do a fair amount of leveling, ESPECIALLY since our MH slide is a requirement. I NEVER move it until I'm level.

Sounds like your refer is a non-issue being compressor.

The Lynx leveling blocks slid (like Duck said) and after I crushed a couple, I gave up on those.

Next I tried pressure treated 2x6 method. That turned into a fiasco... too much weight and storing all the various lengths... I never had the right combination.

Next I read about someone using stall mats from Tractor Supply... heavy duty mats for horse stalls. So I got several of those and sawed them into 1' squares. They stack just like the Lynx, but don't slide at all... they're nearly indestructible, but fairly heavy.

I used those for one season... crawling around and stacking them as needed. Then used the stab jacks to stabilize.

Approaching 70 years old, that crawling around was getting old faster than me! So I bit the bullet, swallowed hard and dropped about $3,100 on the Big Foot Platinum (manual leveling). BEST INVESTMENT EVER.

I have since removed the scissor jacks for weight savings. I STILL carry the stall mat squares... they're often needed to stack under the leveler feet if we're REALLY off level. The hydraulic levelers only give maybe 4" lift (??), but stacking the stall mats under the jack feet I can easily lift all wheels of the ground... think flat tire.

So... in your case it probably depends on if you have a Schwintek slide. If so... you need to be pretty level, or it's a matter of time until something breaks.

Otherwise, it's a comfort thing!

 

[ducksface]

Rv level is the app we settled on.
I turn on the app
Set my phone on the floor next to the drivers seat
Squirm around the site until we're level.

A glass of water sitting on the kitchen counter works just as well if you don't mind screaming at each other

 

[GrandRover]

Approaching 70 years old, that crawling around was getting old faster than me! So I bit the bullet, swallowed hard and dropped about $3,100 on the Big Foot Platinum (manual leveling). BEST INVESTMENT EVER.

So... in your case it probably depends on if you have a Schwintek slide. If so... you need to be pretty level, or it's a matter of time until something breaks.

Chateau_Nomad, your post is great information! Wife and I are a bit over 70 and crawling around is not our forte.

Did you get the Big Foot Platinum installed at their Michigan location? We were in Elkhart, Indiana last summer and seriously considered getting the Big Foot system installed. Cost was a bit prohibitive but not majorly. I was concerned that getting the add on leveling system would somehow void our Thor warranty. Plus there was some information that indicated our generator position would be in the way for one of the jacks.
We live in Florida and there is a Big Foot distributor in Florida that I got a quote from.

Our slide is a Schwintek slide

Mike

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

Yes they installed at their White Pigeon MI facility. I definitely wanted it welded. I overnighted in the motorhome behind their shop... electric hookup only. They start early... I got a 7:00 a.m. knock!!

I designed and developed a little gadget - basically a knockoff of two other Bluetooth leveling devices. Below is a pic of it installed in our motorhome inside the entry door. Just like the others, you install an app on your phone. Use it to find a level spot, level you rig... just like the others.

It was a fun little project... I'm considering making a limited number of them for the community. Anyone interested let me know. It's still in testing stage now. It has internal battery and can be charged via USB.

 

[Lt Keefer]

When I had an RV without levelers, I did as duck does. For the rare occurrence I couldn't level, I had a couple of 2 x 8s in the basement.

 

[dkoldman]

If you wanted levelers there must have been a reason, don't let the cost stop you. Make it happen. Go with the Big foots, you will be happier. My bet is that you will eventually buy a leveling system anyway, so do it now to maximize your returns.

For fun.... the reasons I level, in order of importance to me. Note I have hydraulic levelers by Power Gear.

1. To let out slide ( doesn't matter if I am on level ground or not. I always auto level the jacks. the real reason is to stabilize for slide.
2. So water will drain from the shower floor properly. In a pinch we will shower and squeegee water down the drain, but that cut into my time when I could have been drinking beer.
3. So the bathroom door can stay open and not swing into the hallway
4. For comfort when just walking around
5. Just so I know everything is working
6. To show off when my friends are in the RV it is just a cool thing to do. Everyone always get quiet and still when they feel the RV leveling itself. My wife is scared to move. Not my fault, it was the PDI Tech in Florida.

 

[PreCambrian]

I use the yellow plastic leveling blocks from Camco. I rarely have a problem with them sliding. If they slide you drive uphill onto the steepest one, not downhill. The highest that I ever stack them is four high. I use a bubble level app on my iPhone to get the degrees out of level both fore and aft, and athwartships (I used to sail). I used the wheelbase and the wheel track distance to calculate how many degrees each block will raise my motorhome. I get it right the first time almost every time even when the slant is at a diagonal. That said if the site is severely out of level then you can't raise it high enough. I haven't wanted to spend the money to buy leveling jacks. No it isn't stabilized. There was one site that we left because it was too much out of level (Great Basin National Park). I really wouldn't want to use those electric jacks linked from Amazon. I would be afraid that one might fall off and I definitely don't want to be crawling around on the ground to reach the jack points. I am 69 years old and I don't feel like crawling every time either.

 

[GrandRover]

I use the yellow plastic leveling blocks from Camco.

I see Camco has a large selection of leveling blocks. Which do you use? The ramp style or the stackable block style?

 

[changali]

Chateau_Nomad, your post is great information! Wife and I are a bit over 70 and crawling around is not our forte.

Did you get the Big Foot Platinum installed at their Michigan location? We were in Elkhart, Indiana last summer and seriously considered getting the Big Foot system installed. Cost was a bit prohibitive but not majorly. I was concerned that getting the add on leveling system would somehow void our Thor warranty. Plus there was some information that indicated our generator position would be in the way for one of the jacks.
We live in Florida and there is a Big Foot distributor in Florida that I got a quote from.

Our slide is a Schwintek slide

Mike

I also have a 2023 Axis 24.1 and added the Big Foot Platinum levelers. Installed at the White Pigeon location as well 2 years ago. Never looked back and never had a problem with them. There was no issue with the generator location or with the installation. While we were there I got a phone call that my grandson was about to join the world a month early in Chicago. They moved up my install time and had the install completed in 90 minutes so we could divert to Chicago.

Well worth the money IMHO.

 

[phalexander]

We used to use plastic leveling blocks (because gets muddy and waterlogged). But eventually decided not to mess with it. We just part as level as we can and it’s usually fine. I still carry the Lego blacks but rarely use them. It’s all good.