corner steady question???

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M

maxtherotti

Jan 14, 2009
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hi all

right i have a proper newbie question for you here !!!!!

how much should a corner steady be wound down?

is is it just touches the floor with van level or do you then go round and give them all another 2 turns for luck???

is it the same for twin and single axle vans?

sorry if this is a silly question but i have never seen it raised

thanks rob
 
L

Lakey

Feb 25, 2010
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good question! i keep winding until my cordless drill won't go anymore! I start at the back cos the jockey wheel stops any lifting. If it's too slack the van will soon wobble! but i don't have a technical answer as i don't know! in my case, it's just practice over many years (10) which allows me to gauge what is right!

Gareth
 
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BalintoreBoy

Oct 22, 2008
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what i do is get van almost into position then place spirit level on worktop, get an idea of how much 'off' you are place pieces of wood 200mmx150mmx18mm under wheel that needs it and level from front to rear with jockey wheel, put down steadies on timber as well, just enough to take bounce out of van,works for me anyway.
 
W

WatsonJohnG

Mar 14, 2005
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This raises the JW up or down debate --an old chestnut

People fall into 2 camps

UP or DOWN(Like Gulliver with big end and little end )

Alko say that the steadies will take 1500kg each so are OK on their own to use without the JW at all

Many people don't agree

Personally I just have the JW touching the ground but for years raised it and attached the Sat dish

I usually wind my steadies down until the drill torque setting on max clicks off
 
R

raccoon

Jul 25, 2010
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Hi rob and welcome to the caravan world. Not such a daft question really. You will be asking more in the future until experience helps you.

We like to set the caravan up by using the jockey wheel to level it first off. Then I use my spirit level on the floor of the van where I know its flat. Then lowering the rear steadies first take them down till they just take the weight first. Then we do the same with the front ones.

Side to side is slightly harder. If you cannot get a nice level pitch then this is where you need some wood to pull the caravan onto to help level it that way.

Happy caravanning
 
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Wendy-Norfolk

Jan 21, 2014
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A word of warning, under no circumstances are steadies to be used for levelling the 'van!

We have witnessed this so many times - people cranking the corner steady winder to level up, goodness knows what damage they may have done to the chassis!!
 
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Sproket

Apr 7, 2008
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For side to side leveling use a 18" spirit level on the side of the van ( about a foot above the wheel ) whilst moving it up a plastic wedge then chock it when vertical, then move to the Jockey wheel for front to back leveling, place the spirit level on the aluminium extrusion which is used for the awning draught skirt ( mid way between wheel & jockey wheel ).....

Or to make thing simple use one of EZ-Level's just open the van door & place it in the middle of the floor.......
 
C

ChristineandAlan

Aug 6, 2008
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i agree with wendy,you dont use the steadies for levelling,mind you i was on a site many years ago,i had to laugh the steadies were blocked up so high the caravan wheel was off the ground lol cheers alan p/t
 
Parksy

Parksy

Moderator
Nov 12, 2009
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To make things even simpler Rob and to save you from buying silly electronic gadgets a typical caravan level gauge is
 
Dustydog

Dustydog

Jun 20, 2005
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It's also worth noting that if on a pitch, grass in particular , for more than a few days , you may have to adjust the steadies to allow for ground settlement .

I'm of the school that likes the jockey wheel to bear some of the frontal weight. Sorry John W but that's just me.

Cheers

Dustydog
 
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WatsonJohnG

Mar 14, 2005
4,638
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It's also worth noting that if on a pitch, grass in particular , for more than a few days , you may have to adjust the steadies to allow for ground settlement .

I'm of the school that likes the jockey wheel to bear some of the frontal weight. Sorry John W but that's just me.

Cheers

Dustydog
Click to expand...
Ifit suits you Ok !!!
 
G

Guest

More info on steadies on the Caravan Wiki at caravanwiki.org.uk

If I have something wrong or incomplete please correct it yourself or let me know and I will correct it.

Thanks.
 
Lutz

Lutz

Mar 14, 2005
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Whether you give the steadies another couple of turns or not once they've touched the ground depends a bit on how much they have had to be lowered first. If the gap between the floor of the caravan and the ground is relatively small and the steadies only extended a lttle, they will be subjected to much higher forces than if they have had to be wound almost fully down. In that case, any further turns could result in damage.
 
G

Guest

Lutz, I don't follow understand what you said... why would the steadies be subject to higher foce just because they had to be extended further to touch the ground? Surely the force is dependent on the weight they are supporting which is not changed by having a bigger gap between the caravan and the ground?

I do agree though that steadies work best when only extended 75% of their travel as it makes them more stable but it should damage them should it?

Not trying to be agumentative... just trying to understand!
 
E

Entwood

Nov 24, 2009
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I'm guessing that he is refering to the "lever arm" produced when the steady is only slightly extended. In this case the horizantal distance between the foot in contact with the ground and the pivot point is relatively large. When the leg is vertical (the other extreme) the horizantal distance is relatively small. As the moment of force applied to the pivot point is mass x distance, then the load is greater with the leg only slightly extended.

That is the theory .. in practice I would hazard a guess that the leg is quite capable of taking all normal loads applied throughout the operating "arc" .. so unless forced with extreme heavyhandedness .. :)
 
Lutz

Lutz

Mar 14, 2005
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If the steady is extended only a short distance, the vertical force in contact with the ground translates into a much higher horizontal (axial) component and bending moment in the screw thread than if the steady is extended a lot. In the extreme, this bending moment and axial force could cause damage to all three major components of the steady, the leg, the screw thread, and the strut.
 
G

Guest

Thanks. I can see now... I misunderstood! When you spoke of damage lutz I assumed you meant damage to the caravan (perhaps the floor). Now I realise you meant damage to the steadies I can see what you are getting at.

Thanks again :)
 
W

WatsonJohnG

Mar 14, 2005
4,638
0
0
This raises the JW up or down debate --an old chestnut

People fall into 2 camps

UP or DOWN(Like Gulliver with big end and little end )

Alko say that the steadies will take 1500kg each so are OK on their own to use without the JW at all

Many people don't agree

Personally I just have the JW touching the ground but for years raised it and attached the Sat dish

I usually wind my steadies down until the drill torque setting on max clicks off
Click to expand...
That should read 500kg
 
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