Levelling your camper

[ronerjones]

I went to Wal-Mart today and they carry the Lynx Leverers ($30.00) I think I have reconsidered and will be buying a set (10 per pack). They only weight a few pounds and take up little to no room for storage. Best yet there is no prep time in making something.

ONE MORE QUESTION ON LEVELING??
If I lift one side of the trailer do I need to worry much about the trailer rolling off the lift. The Lynx system has a new product that will add wheel stops to the lift. Wal-Mart did not have them. I am hopeing that they will get them. If I put wheel stops on the opposite side that will not necessarily keep the trailer from shifting especially if I am on a slant.

[AustinBoston]

ONE MORE QUESTION ON LEVELING??
If I lift one side of the trailer do I need to worry much about the trailer rolling off the lift. The Lynx system has a new product that will add wheel stops to the lift. Wal-Mart did not have them. I am hopeing that they will get them. If I put wheel stops on the opposite side that will not necessarily keep the trailer from shifting especially if I am on a slant.

You really need to block at least two points - both wheels, or one wheel and the tongue jack.  This is especially true if the tongue jack is a wheel.

However, even this is not adequate if the trailer is parked on a slope where it can roll forward or backward down the slope.  In that case, you must reliably chock both wheels, or bad things may happen.

When using Lynx, sometimes extra Lynx can be built up to form a crude chock, but the best choice is their Lynx Chock-N-Block, which is very solid.

Austin

[austinado16]

Man, for 12 more bucks you could have the real deal!  Oh well.....

As AB says, chock both sides!  That's the other nice thing about the BAL Leveler, it locks one wheel up nicely.

[Camping Coxes]

ONE MORE QUESTION ON LEVELING??
If I lift one side of the trailer do I need to worry much about the trailer rolling off the lift. The Lynx system has a new product that will add wheel stops to the lift. Wal-Mart did not have them. I am hopeing that they will get them. If I put wheel stops on the opposite side that will not necessarily keep the trailer from shifting especially if I am on a slant.

Which is where the BAL leveler comes in so handy.
 
Christmas is coming, so put it on your list!!  We asked for it for Christmas -- my mom always asks what we need for camping and either she gets it or my family goes together to get it for us.  Great way to get these more expensive toys.  
 
Since we've had it, DH has sung it's praises.  When we camped in Lake Tahoe, we  had to dig out one tire and had the other one way up in the air.  Wouldn't have been able to level if we didn't have the BAL leveler.  IMHO, it's worth the money.

[austinado16]

[High-Jack mode on]
Camping Coxes, I'm digging your turbo diesel 'burb!  
[High-Jack mode off]

At the risk of sounding like a BAL ad, I just like the fact that I can park the PUP anywhere I want.  When we were at the Grand Canyon we wound up in a tent site, so there was just a short parking area.  There's no way we could have used that site with a PUP.

Not a problem.  Disco the PUP, spin it sideways on the tongue jack, toss the BAL under the low side and a minute later it's level, we're popping up, and there's all kinds of room for the Suburban to back in.  2 weeks later we had the same situation in Kings Canyon, again, not a problem.  Wouldn't have been possible without the BAL.

Here's the Kings Canyon site.  Take a look at the steep angle the truck is parked at, and how high the right rear of the PUP is.  You can see the BAL under the right wheel.

[campdaddy]

I got mine from Camping World and they work great. I later saw them at WalMart.

What I did was get my PUP perfectly level with a 2' level in the center of the floor inside. I then added clear 100% silicone on the back of the levels around the edges (not over the adhesive). I pressed the levels on (reading level of course) and spread the silicone smooth with my finger where it had squeezed out around the edges. Check again that they are reading level and adjust if necessary before the caulk cures. The silicone helps the levels stay put even better than just the factory installed double-sided tape.

I too use these and I set them up originally the same way you did with a two foot level. Good idea with the sealant around the edges.

I use wood planks both 2X6s (actually 1-5/8X 5-5/8) and some 5/4 X 6 cut to various lengths that I had left over from a deck I put on the house a few years ago. I pull the pup and stop on the spot I want. Then DW get out and reads the level. I back up about 2 feet and get out and place the wood in front of the pup's tire that needs lifting. I already know how many pieces and thickness are needed by what DW told me the level was reading. Pull the pup forward and stop with the tire on the wood. DW pulls chocks and chocks PS tire and hands me two chocks and I chock the DS tire. Then just a matter of disconnecting from TV and leveling front to rear. Any wood not used for leveling can be used under the stabilizers and/or the tongue jack. Ready for setup.

[AustinBoston]

I already know how many pieces and thickness are needed by what DW told me the level was reading.

It always amazes me how complicated some people make this.  Even without markings on the level, you can quickly learn how much leveling is needed just by remembering what you've done before.

I can usually (more than 95% of the time) tell what I will need to do to level (direction and how much) before I even look at my bubble level.

Austin

[wavery]

It always amazes me how complicated some people make this.  Even without markings on the level, you can quickly learn how much leveling is needed just by remembering what you've done before.

I can usually (more than 95% of the time) tell what I will need to do to level (direction and how much) before I even look at my bubble level.

Austin

Hey AB......are you trying to convince us that you are, "On the level"?? :p

[AustinBoston]

Hey AB......are you trying to convince us that you are, "On the level"?? :p

Let me level with you...there are some things that come to me flat out.  I don't have to plumb the depths to be able to do them well.

Austin

Well...I had to try...

[CamperGirl]

This has not been much of an issue for me so far but I have a very important question about leveling. Up until now I have only camped at specified camp grounds that provide a nice level pad to park on. I have only had to wory about leveling front to back and up we go.

I am planning to camp in November in an area that is just ground by the side of a lake. I could find an area that is pretty level but most likely it will be on a slight slant. I have seen the things you clamp to the wheel of the trailer to jack it up. Is this actuall going to be necessary, and/or is there another solution for levelling? Other than having a trailer on a slant do I risk any damage to the PUP if I am not level?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks.

I am a single woman whose yard doesn't have a level spot on it.  I usually have to tow, level and set up by myself.  I first purchased the Lynx blocks and then the Bal leveler.  I LOVE the bal leveler.  I hand crank it and have no problem.  I just set it crank it and done!  I use my Lynx for the stablizers.

[austinado16]

I am a single woman ....  I LOVE the bal leveler.  I hand crank it and have no problem.  I just set it crank it and done!  I use my Lynx for the stablizers.

You go CamperGirl!

.........now who's the manly-man who deploys a power drill to operate his BAL?

[flyfisherman]

You go CamperGirl!

.........now who's the manly-man who deploys a power drill to operate his BAL?

Yes ... But ...

Having life that simple makes one more subject to fall into stodgy thinking; one begins to lose their mental agility, whereas using old wooden blocks that have been scrounged up here and there,  keeps one's inventiveness alive!



Fly

[austinado16]

Yes ... But ...

Having life that simple makes one more subject to fall into stodgy thinking; one begins to lose their mental agility, whereas using old wooden blocks that have been scrounged up here and there,  keeps one's inventiveness alive!



Fly

'cept that a single mom with kidlets already has her "inventiveness" meter pegged and with no end in site.  Picture, if you will, the little indians circling her wagon as she tries to set up camp single-hood.

[Mike Up]

I use lynx levelers. I have 2 sets of the 10 packs. They are awesome and I can't think of using anything else. I use them with my stabilizer's sand pads for extra stability. I use them to level my picnic table and previously, even used them under the tongue jack wheel. I have 2 lynx leveler chocks that also snap right on to the lynx levelers. That way I can back onto the levelers and have a stop so that I know when I'm on completely and don't overshoot the levelers.
 
I have 2 just incase both wheels need to be raised, as to make up for a front jack that can go no lower. Only had this happen to me once where the ground at the rear of the camper was a lot lower than the front, and just made it with enough lynx levelers. That's why I purchased a second 10 pack set. I don't know what I would had done if I had a BAL leveler.
 
I was going to buy the Bal leveler but heard of the failures where the screws stripped out, the wheel plate welds cracking, or even tires not fitting. Bal has great customer service by the praise from all the owners who had Bal failures, but that doesn't help when you can't level your camper because of a failure. I was afraid to use them, in the fear that the trailer would fall if the wheel plate broke off or if the screw stripped, dropping the trailer. This possibly causing some movement that would damage the camper or even jar the chocks loose.
 
For me, the lynx are awesome and offer benefits I can't find with the Bal leveler or cut wood plank lengths. They're not cheap but not that expensive either. They are also very easy to use. They snap together so they don't separate easily and all that's required is backing on them, take a bubble level and putting it on the frame to see if another is needed. Very simple and easy. I don't use those stick on levels, I use a standard magnetic level and attach it directly to the frame.
 
Each to their own likes, but it's lynx for me.
 
Have a good one.

[campdaddy]

It always amazes me how complicated some people make this.  
Austin

Actually after re-reading my description of our leveling technique it reads a LOT more complicated than it really is. Once we have pulled into the spot, with DW and I working together it goes like teamwork and normally takes us less than 2 minutes to get the S2S level. Now next month we're planning a camping trip where it will be just DD'03 and me setting up camp -mom will join us later. I will have to do the entire locating, leveling, and setup with just the "help" from the 4YO. I may be cursing (silently of course) that I didn't invest in a Ball-Leveler before this little exercise is over.
 :yikes: