leveler plans for do-it-myself? June 15, 2009, 04:15:31 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103331Hi I have some of those yellow things that come in the bag but they keep breaking at the corners & really don't do the job. I see others that are home-made & look like they do the job better. Does anyone have some plans for such things that they are really happy with? thanks, Pat
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #1 – June 15, 2009, 04:30:58 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103333Say What? ? ? ? ?
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #2 – June 15, 2009, 05:38:35 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103336Let me be clear...perhaps I wasn't. I'm looking for some plans to make levelers (those things you place under the tires to level the motorhome when camped on uneven surfaces). The yellow, plastic ones that come
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #3 – June 15, 2009, 05:53:54 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103338I made mine out of 2" x 6" pine. 2" x 8" might be better, but would add some weight. I cut two pieces 36", two pieces 24" and two pieces 12". Bevel one end of each piece 45 degrees. Make two sets with a 36" on the bottom, a 24" above that, and a 12" on top. Butt the unbeveled ends even, and nail all three together. You will end up with a ramp that raises the tire 12" on each step. Worked for me.Dick
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #4 – June 15, 2009, 05:55:33 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103339Quote Let me be clear...perhaps I wasn't. I'm looking for some plans to make levelers (those things you place under the tires to level the motorhome when camped on uneven surfaces). The yellow, plastic ones that come in the black bag, that I have, break at the edges & don't really do the job. Can someone help? When I was on the road a couple of years ago my hydraulic levelers had a problem that made them unusable. At a friends house I made some wooden ramps out of 2x12s by 24 inches long. I made 6 of these, one for each wheel if needed. When leveling if the thickness wasn't enough to make the coach level I put a piece of 2x4 under the far end of the ramp raising it another 2 inches. Then drive up the ramp until level. Use more 2x4s if needed. These are heavy but worked great until I got my hydraulic levelers fixed (4000 miles later)Jerry2000 30IB (with lots of expensive options)
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #5 – June 15, 2009, 06:04:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103340Camping World has some plastic ones that offer 2 heights. They are strong and lite weight. I believe Andy uses some that are put together like Legos and stack at most heights to level out the rig.
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #6 – June 15, 2009, 06:22:59 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103341Quote Let me be clear...perhaps I wasn't. I'm looking for some plans to make levelers (those things you place under the tires to level the motorhome when camped on uneven surfaces). The yellow, plastic ones that come in the black bag, that I have, break at the edges & don't really do the job. Can someone help? These Fiamma levelers will not break. I place them on a 2 x 12 board with a block on the end so they will not push-off the back. http://www.fiammausa.com/products/accessories.asp?Fam=A6Joe Hamm
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #7 – June 15, 2009, 06:34:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103343Of course that should be raising the tire in 2" increments, not 12" Raising one side of the motorhome 36" would be very exciting indeed! :-)Dick
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #8 – June 15, 2009, 06:45:12 pm Yahoo Message Number: 10334536" Wow!!! Thanks everyone!! Those are all great ideas & are very much appreciated! Pat
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #9 – June 15, 2009, 06:48:05 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103346QuoteThe yellow, plastic ones that come in the black bag, that I have, break at the edges & don't really do the job. Can someone help? Yea...don't get the yellow ones...they're pretty crappy and break easily. If you want to use plastic levelers, use the ORANGE Lynx Levelers, instead. They'll last.Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #10 – June 15, 2009, 07:53:55 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103348I second that, Three years and not a crack!
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #11 – June 15, 2009, 08:02:12 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103349For what it's worth, here's my take on leveling devices. Electric or hydraulic levelers are wonderfully convenient, but they subtract hundreds of pounds from your rig's payload capacity and thousands of dollars from your wallet. Still, you may find those to be worthwhile tradeoffs. There's a lot to be said for being able to pull into a campsite and level without getting out of the coach. Well, sometimes. You will still need leveling blocks (see below) in addition, because automatic levelers don't have enough "lift" for all situations. The plastic Fiamma ramps that Joe mentioned work well, are lightweight, and don't break. Make sure you buy ramps that are at least 8" wide, so they will fully support your tires. It's very unhealthy for a tire's sidewalls to have one edge of the tire hanging off a ramp! Beware of Camping World's ramps, which are too narrow for our tires. You'll need three ramps, in case you need to lift one side of the coach (two back tires and one front tire). Never, ever, put a ramp or leveling blocks under just one of a pair of dual rear wheels--that puts double the intended load on the supported tire, which is a Very Bad Idea. I used Fiamma ramps for some years, but eventually switched to Lynx blocks because they're more versatile. Lynx leveling blocks--the orange ones with the honeycomb structure--are slightly less convenient than ramps, but much more flexible. You can build any ramp configuration you want for one, two or three wheels. Lynx levelers are almost indestructible; only once in all my years of RVing have I seen a broken one. They're sold in Walmart's RVing department for $30 per bag of ten. I carry three bags (30 blocks)--enough to raise all three wheels on one side by 4-5"--but many folks get by with two bags. (You can still raise three wheels if necessary--just not as high. This is what I mean about blocks being flexible.) Because the Lynx storage bags are more or less cubical, Lynx blocks are easier to store than ramps, which require a longish space. I keep two bags in a compartment on one side of the coach, and the third bag on the other side. As you've already found out, the yellow leveling blocks sold by Camping World are worthless, because they shatter easily--especially on soft ground, and especially in cold weather. I bought a set of those some years back. Boy, was I sorry! The first time I used them, several blocks shattered into hundreds of tiny yellow fragments. Finally, I know that some RVers use homemade wooden ramps, but I see many drawbacks to this method of leveling. To begin with, they're heavy. A pair of Fiamma ramps weighs 6.6 pounds. Two bags of Lynx blocks weigh 12.4 pounds. Twelve feet of 2 x 8 pressure-treated lumber--the amount required to build two of the ramps Bob described--weigh upwards of 50 pounds, according to the lumber weight calculators I've found online. In other words, wooden ramps weigh *eight times* as much as plastic ones with the same amount of lift (about 5"). So... would you rather handle a 3.3-pound plastic ramp or a 26-pound wooden one when setting up camp after a long drive? Would you rather find storage space for a 23" plastic ramp or a 36" wooden one? Wooden ramps just don't seem to be the optimum way to tackle this chore. That's just my opinion, of course. :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #12 – June 15, 2009, 08:04:24 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103350Yes, the Lynx Levelers are great! I got two containers in the blue zip pouch at Wal-Mart RV section. http://www.lynxlevelers.com/Marti in Seattle Yea...don't get the yellow ones...they're pretty crappy and break easily. If you want to use plastic levelers, use the ORANGE Lynx Levelers, instead. They'll last.Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #13 – June 15, 2009, 10:15:57 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103351Speaking of ORANGE Lynx Levelers. We were at a campground near Edmonton, AB with some ORANGE Lynx Levelers under the front Bigfoot hydraulic levelers (that don't always have enough play). Over comes a guy with a box of 4 caps for the ORANGE Lynx Levelers. I did not know there were caps that fit on these levelers. It was a gift. Turns out he is the sales guy for these levelers in Canada and was happy to see ours. He said Camping World tried to get them to drop the price to match the knock-offs made in China and they couldn't and wouldn't. Hence, no more Lynx at Camping World.As Linda says, you get what you pay for.Alex Rutchka '05 MB
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #14 – June 15, 2009, 10:33:46 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103352Andy, I suppose a dedicated DIY'er could halve the weight of wood ramp blocks through the judicious use of "lightening holes". Just drill a bunch of 1" holes with a paddle bit. The blocks only need to be strong in compression, so the holes won't hurt a bit and will even add traction. You did mention the convenience of hydraulic lifts. But I'd like to point out that they are not all equal when it comes to lift range. The HWH "kick down" jacks on Yonder will easily lift the front tires completely off the ground - - and then some. They will also lift a side rear dual several inches off the ground too. And although this is not recommended by the mfger (for safety reasons) one could easily use them for changing a rear tire (I have). The extra lift capability of the HWH, over straight down rams like the Bigfoot, comes at a cost . . . one does have to remember not to lift the rear so high that both duals come off the ground at the same time . . . or at least don't do that without blocking the front wheels. Failing to do this will have the LD falling forward off the jacks (they'll kick up) as the duals are where the parking brake is! (I've goofed and done this two or three times . . . no damage, just embarrassment).bumper Yonder
Re: leveler plans for do-it-myself? Reply #15 – June 16, 2009, 12:03:14 am Yahoo Message Number: 103354KISS was my approach, I got a 2x6 pressure treated wood and sawed it into 12" lengths, threw about 10 of them in my outside compartment, and it works great. Just make sure you support both rear tires on the dually when doing the rear.
Re: Fiamma levelers Reply #16 – June 16, 2009, 08:52:30 am Yahoo Message Number: 103358Quote Let me be clear...perhaps I wasn't. I'm looking for some plans to make levelers (those things you place under the tires to level the motorhome when camped on uneven surfaces). The yellow, plastic ones that come in the black bag, that I have, break at the edges & don't really do the job. Can someone help? " These Fiamma levelers will not break. I place them on a 2 x 12 board with a block on the end so they will not push-off the back. http://www.fiammausa.com/products/accessories.asp?Fam=A6" Joe Hamm I have these also and they are excellent. Got them at a local Denver RV store.Chris
Re: Lynx Levelers and Camping World Reply #17 – June 16, 2009, 02:01:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103369"He said Camping World tried to get [Lynx] to drop the price to match the knock-offs made in China and they couldn't and wouldn't. Hence, no more Lynx at Camping World." Camping World has been trying to play Walmart ("match the knock-offs made in China") for some time. Among other things, that's why they no longer sell Aero-Flo vent covers, preferring to push their cheesy house-brand covers. They're doing that with a lot of things: switching from brand names to high-profit, low-quality knockoffs. When I started RVing eight years ago, I bought a LOT of equipment from Camping World. Even though their prices weren't the lowest around, they were convenient, and their merchandise was generally of good quality (although I had mixed experiences with their service departments). But that's changed in the past few years. Camping World is still expensive, but now the merchandise quality is slipping as they try to cut costs and boost profits. They've made some bad business decisions, such as their move into the RV-sales business just before the bottom fell out of the market. Now their parent corporation (Affinity Group) is in trouble, and is trying to unload the Camping World chain. And I have to say that if they shut down, I wouldn't miss them, because I don't shop there any more... and I certainly wouldn't let them work on my rig again!Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Fiamma levelers Reply #18 – June 20, 2009, 02:10:49 am Yahoo Message Number: 103447Quote" These Fiamma levelers will not break. I place them on a 2 x 12 board with a block on the end so they will not push-off the back. http://www.fiammausa.com/products/accessories.asp?Fam=A6" Joe Hamm I have these also and they are excellent. Got them at a local Denver RV store.Chris Am I the only one out there with Fiamma levelers that are breaking apart? Of course they are five years old, but in the garbage they go very soon.Calicia
Re: Fiamma levelers Reply #19 – June 20, 2009, 10:30:43 am Yahoo Message Number: 103452Does anybody have a report on the Camco levelers? I too fell victim to the crappy CW ones.Thanks, Skip
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