How do you level a twin axle van ?

[topshelf]

Hi all, I was reading the post on caravan jacks, and may have got the wrong end of the stick but I seam to think some people level there vans off with a jack while staying on sites, at the moment I carry two lengths of timber to run the wheels over to get in a ball park area of level. ( it does wee me of when the water stays in the sink )
Your thoughts ideas please.

 

[Parksy]

I think that the caravan jacks are used so that Alko wheel locks can be lined up correctly.
Fortunately my t/a caravan is not fitted with these Alko locks so I just use normal levelling ramps, I drive over the rearmost one with the front caravan wheel and up the foremost so that the back wheel climbs an equal distance as the front until the caravan is side-to-side level- simple!
Fore and aft levelling is done as normal via the jockey wheel.

 

[Martin24]

I line up to use just one lock then level up using a pair of Milenco aluminium levellers.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Here is how to level a T/A as supplied by Steve in Leo.You need two of the large yellow Fiamma levellers .now take a measurement from between the two centres of the wheels. Keep this measurement safe cos it save measuring again Now postion caravan roughly where you are going to pitch andlay the two levellers back to back but remember the measurement space the levellers back to back and carefully drw forwards over the levellersas the two wheels are sitting level on the levellers you should now be spot on and the just level up on the jockey from front to back. Ihope this helps and once again thanks to Steve in Leo Ive used this method for a long time now.
Sir Roger

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

and lay the two levellers back to back

Do you actually mean back to back (ie facing in opposite directions), which would make a pyramid, or do you mean nose to tail, ie both facing in the same direction?

 

[SirRogerFFS]

W.C. Yes back to back like a pyramid its the measurement between them that must be right as well Steve posted this idea some time ago and as I didnt want to carry lumps of wood about I gave the idea a go.Never looked back.As I said asyou go up and over the first one the second axle is on its way up so when they actually get to the middle of each leveller you should be about smack on. If you want more help ask Parksy for my email address only too happy to help.(Parksy if WC asks for my email its ok )
Sir Roger

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

If you want more help ask Parksy for my email address only too happy to help.(Parksy if WC asks for my email its ok )

Sir Roger
Thank you for the offer but email address not needed as I was just trying to visualise your words (which you have now clarified)
I guess your method means that the van is stable with each wheel trying to go down an opposite slope. If the ramps were nose to tail then each wheel would need a chock.

 

[Gybe]

I think we've only needed to level ours side to side 3 times this year. We have jacking points fitted to the caravan and a neat hydraulic jack that only ever takes a few pumps of the lever to level the van in seconds. Park the caravan exactly where we want it and in a few seconds the jack has it level without shuffling it and back and forth over ramp the ramps.

 

[Dustydog]

Gybe

Do you mean the jack stays in place? Does that mean in some situations the wheel could be airborne?

If yes I'd be worried the jack may fail and that in turn may seriously stress the steadies.

 

[Gybe]

Gybe

Do you mean the jack stays in place? Does that mean in some situations the wheel could be airborne?

If yes I'd be worried the jack may fail and that in turn may seriously stress the steadies.

That's a rather negative point of view

I know where the wheels sit when parked so just use the jack and slip the ramps in place, when we first had a t/a I frigeed about with planks and driving on ramps that could have a mind of their own.
No dithering around now. Parkit, Pumpit. Plonkit job done.
The day my caravan ends up dumped on its steadies I'd eat my hat and the caravan

We're not all daft!

 

[Sproket]

No dithering around now. Parkit, Pumpit. Plonkit job done.
The day my caravan ends up dumped on its steadies I'd eat my hat and the caravan

We're not all daft!

So Obviously your van must have a ridged axle with no movement in the drop arm for the suspension & taking all of that into account the amount that the wheel will drop when jacked just to get it clear of the ground,

never mind the extra few inches or so needed to slide the ramp under & hope that the magic words of Parkit, Pumpit. Plonkit job done come into play...........

Think i would sooner use a ramp or ramps i could be leveled before the jack was even plonked under the van

 

[Parksy]

My caravan is T/A and it takes just a few seconds to drive up and over the levelling ramps, absolutely no shuffling back and forth is required.
I wouldn't trust the jack on soft ground, and to lift both axles enough to place ramps under each wheel the jack would have to be positioned twice which would mean rather too much Parkit, Pumpit. Plonkit for me, not to mention the undignified scrabbling around on possibly wet grass to position the jack.

 

[Gybe]

My caravan is T/A and it takes just a few seconds to drive up and over the levelling ramps, absolutely no shuffling back and forth is required.
I wouldn't trust the jack on soft ground, and to lift both axles enough to place ramps under each wheel the jack would have to be positioned twice which would mean rather too much Parkit, Pumpit. Plonkit for me, not to mention the undignified scrabbling around on possibly wet grass to position the jack.

Shuffling back and forth is exactly what we see.
Driving forwards over ramps assumes there is room on the pitch to do that, reversing bacwards on a short pitch you need to position the ramps carefully ot evevn measure out where you need to place them.
We are normally on coastal sites and often find that our long twin axle is parked as far back as possible and on some sites just parking the van and unhitching quickly where we go is a must to allow other vehicles to pass.at times.

I don't ever ever do "undignified"

jack slots in the jacking point and the van can't fall off, base plate prevents it sinking. No scrabbling, nothing undignified and both wheels are lifted. Have tried other methods, but prefer to just park the van and not move it again.

 

[Boulty]

Hi All,

This thread is most intriguing! We have recently purchased a T/A van and I have been wondering about this for a while. My issue isn't so much levelling side to side but more how would you chock the van? We stay on a campsite once a year which has quite an incline towards the bottom where the van would be pitched - it's never been a problem before as this will be the first year we are taking the van there.

I was thinking of buying the Milenco levelling blocks (2 for each side) and placing them back to back to create a pull-push effect and then chock them - do you think that would work?

Also, would this then effect standard wheel clamps?

Thanks in advance for your help with this! :cheer:

 

[Parksy]

Shuffling back and forth is exactly what we see.
Driving forwards over ramps assumes there is room on the pitch to do that, reversing bacwards on a short pitch you need to position the ramps carefully ot evevn measure out where you need to place them.
We are normally on coastal sites and often find that our long twin axle is parked as far back as possible and on some sites just parking the van and unhitching quickly where we go is a must to allow other vehicles to pass.at times.

I don't ever ever do "undignified"

jack slots in the jacking point and the van can't fall off, base plate prevents it sinking. No scrabbling, nothing undignified and both wheels are lifted. Have tried other methods, but prefer to just park the van and not move it again.

On pitches where there is no possibility of driving over the ramps it's a doddle to position the ramps so that if need be you can reverse over the first ramp and some way down the second with the rear wheel to level the caravan but it does involve some shuffling back and forth on short pitches.
I simply reverse the caravan to where I want to pitch it, position the ramps at the side of the wheels to be raised and when I pull forward Herself moves the ramps across keeping the same distance between them so that I can reverse over them.
Often the tyre track is visible in the grass to use as a guide for placing the ramps.
Wheel chocks are available at caravan accessory shops, they should do the trick Boulty

 

[Highlander09]

A question that shows I might be a bit dim but... If the ramps are back to back and you drive over them then the effective height that the you have used to raise that side of the van is always going to be the same because the distance between the axles is constant. If you pull one axle further up the ramp then the second wheel will not be taking the full weight. Please help me get my head round this as is seems to me that it would be impossible to raise the side of the van anything other than the same height whatever the slope of the pitch is.

 

[Parksy]

Good Reply
The distance is the same unless one wheel is further up than the other but to my mind wherever up the ramp a wheel is it is still in contact with the ground via the ramp, and the jockey wheel and corner steadies also bear part of the load.
I used to place the ramps in the same direction but on soft ground (rally fields for example) at least one ramp would kick up when the wheel reached the high end so I stopped using that method to avoid potential damage to the wheel arches.

 

[SwingLowJim]

Start on level ground ! !

 

[Dustydog]

Gybe.

Negative or sensible?
Back in the annuls of time I posted pics on here of my failed Al-ko jacking point bracket..
Levelling as described by Parksy et al is reliable, accurate and safe.
I also carry four long planks which have proved very useful.
I am not convinced the chassis is designed to carry the weight as you describe for long lengths of time.
perhaps our Prof knows.

 

[Sproket]

DD .....You mean this one ( the link to the original thread is here hmy: )

Top is N/S Kojack brackets, centre O/S Kojack brackets. Note they sandwich the Al-Ko chassis and are substantial heavy engineered jacking brackets.
Bottom left is undamaged Al-ko bracket, right is the damaged one which has bent through 90degs!!

 

[Dustydog]

DD .....You mean this one ( the link to the original thread is here hmy: )

Top is N/S Kojack brackets, centre O/S Kojack brackets. Note they sandwich the Al-Ko chassis and are substantial heavy engineered jacking brackets.
Bottom left is undamaged Al-ko bracket, right is the damaged one which has bent through 90degs!!

Thanks Sprocket You are so brilliant at the search stuff.

The pics prove the point imo that jacking points should not be relied on for any length of time

 

[andyp1]

I guess we all have different ways of doing things , mine is parkit pumpit and plonkit , largely because to get both of the diamond wheel locks on I can only do it with both wheels off the ground.

I only carry two planks so that is the highest I can go anyway - it has worked for me.

So I end up with the wheels level on one or two planks and both wheel locks fitted

Andy