To level or not to level that is the question...

[Paul Rutley]

Being a novice can anyone suggest the best way to level the camper. Not being very ambulant, uneven ground get's me falling down faster than whisky and I travel solo. Do you use a spirit level then the levelling blocks? Where I stayed last week on a gravelled pitch it sloped gently forward and sideways. Hard to make out till you lie down, or is that part of the game?! I can't run to inbuilt levellers as I hear they run into thousands.

 

[Katie]

We use levelling ramps when really necessary like where we are at the moment in Alsace.
Normally try to find a way to park the van as level as poss without the faff of ramps but not always possible if you don’t like all the blood running to your head at night
As the wheels are 245 wide it was difficult to find ramps that were wider but not incredibly over sized. In the end I got some from Fiamma which are 260 wide and do a good job although rather cumbersome
You could try camping without ramps at first and see if you need them - they are not actually required at all and although the mp handbook instructs that lowering the roof should be on a level surface I don’t think they mean spirit level degree

 

[Paul Rutley]

Thanks for the tip Katie, did have a bit of the involuntary roll to one side of the sleeping area. It's always surprising, at night, how cold some surfaces are if you have a bare arm pressing against it.
You mention bulky and I know exactly what you mean re stowing cumbersome accessories. Will look up the Fiamma, thanks again. Paul
Had to look up where Alsace was
I have great nephews in Munich, not a million miles away, who I want to visit in the foreseeable future. Hope you're having a great time

 

[Paul Rutley]

How easy it is to digress when interneting! I was looking at Kate's Fiamma levelling blocks and hit on this thread of a similar group but motorhome owners https://motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/which-levelling-blocks-are-best.51880/. They exhaust the subject with some saying just accept it and get use to the angles to others with weird gadgets! For me the accept it school is not an option as I wobble around too much but an interesting thought arose which I'd like to share with the technical and non technical, a category I find myself in is in the use of a scissor jack or pair of. Bearing in mind there is already one on board, is it to far fetched to consider jacking up the appropriate sides and ends with obvious precaution taking and suitable plate under the jack. I will relate in a separate thread the experience I had with my blow out on Dartmoor returning home last Thursday.

 

[Paul Mc]

We use levelling ramps when really necessary like where we are at the moment in Alsace.
Normally try to find a way to park the van as level as poss without the faff of ramps but not always possible if you don’t like all the blood running to your head at night
As the wheels are 245 wide it was difficult to find ramps that were wider but not incredibly over sized. In the end I got some from Fiamma which are 260 wide and do a good job although rather cumbersome
You could try camping without ramps at first and see if you need them - they are not actually required at all and although the mp handbook instructs that lowering the roof should be on a level surface I don’t think they mean spirit level degree

Katie,
Where do you store your 260 wide Fiamma levelling blocks when on the road?
I have a set of standard (200WIDE) Fiamma ramps which will probably do for my smaller winter wheel/tyres but I wouldn’t be happy using them on the 245 summer tyres.
I can store the standard 200cm ramps in a 64L “really useful” box under the rear bed extension.
Just wondering if the Fiamma 260’s could be used as a little stool for the passenger area, when not needed for levelling.
I believe they come with a very tight fit carry bag, which I guess could sit on the floor behind the passenger and drivers seats on a not slip mat.
I have only had my van for a few weeks and am still trying to work out the best storage solutions for the essentials.
Thanks

 

[Katie]

I store my ramps separately right at the back of the boot storage with my boxes in front.
Very rarely used so far but I will keep them here as I really hate a van on quite a slope

 

[Method7]

a category I find myself in is in the use of a scissor jack or pair of. Bearing in mind there is already one on board, is it to far fetched to consider jacking up the appropriate sides and ends with obvious precaution taking and suitable plate under the jack.

Paul a scissor jack has almost zero lateral support, they are precarious at the best of times. I wouldn’t use one, let alone two, when you raise the body like that you reduce the friction the tyres are relying on to prevent the vehicle rolling or sliding down the hill. If its on the jack when this happens the vehicle will fall off the jacks causing all sorts of damage. It’s a crazy idea.