Level the Excel or the Ground?

[Excel-in]

Hi,

I am working to prepare our site for our New Excel and was interested in you all's thoughts on leveling. We will be placing our Excel at a campsite on the Saint Mary's River (a really beautiful river in MD). As the site is directly on the water, it is a bit un-level.

With respect to the side-to-side leveling, would you all use booards to level the trailer (placing them under wheels) or level the ground? Where the wheel will sit is on dirt, so leveling the ground (side to side) is a possibility. Also, after leveling the ground, would you reccomend placing some broken up stone (like "blue chip") down for the wheels to rest on?

After fore and aft leveling, what would you all suggest for chocking/locking the wheels...certainly would not it rolling down hill towoard the water!

Thanks in advance for the time and knwoledge....you all are great...

[Endeavor2BnC]

We use boards under the wheels or the plastic blocks. It depends on the ground beneath on what we use. Dirt - wood, stone, gravel or concrete - plastic block. We also always use wheel chocks between wheels and behind. Like you we'd hate to have a "runner".

If you mess with the ground and it rains, it could mean a real problem.

[Workshop]

If you are preparing the site...does that you own or lease the site and it will be there during the majority of the season....?

In reference to the river, how close are you, not that it matters if your site is a secure one, but is there an errosion problem on your site that you would be concered with?

In general reference...how 'un-level' is the site or is it just a few inches where a 2x__ board under the wheels on one side level it out side to side? I've been on a site once where the nose was on the ground and with a few more inches...not use the rear stabilizers. It was a great view from the rear window when be got brave enough to look.

[Excel-in]

Thanks for all the info. Good point about the erosion and digging. I think I will leave the ground the way it is and use board for the side to side leveling.

We will be leasing the site...it is really beautiful. The slope is not too great...just enuff to make you want to make sure the wheels are well chocked. There was a 32 foot 5th wheel on the site before us.

If our Excel is going to be parked long term (like a year) should I try aand jack it up to releive the weight on the wheels? I know they reccomenddoing this with my small boat trailer over the winter...not sure about a 5er....

Thanks again for allthe input.

[wa8yxm]

If I were designing a site I think I'd make it level side to side and a very slight grade front to back (Grade toward the water) since most 5-ers and TT's can be more easily leveled front to back with jacks (the front jacks on a 5-er are designed to lift it off the 5th wheel, and the tong jack on a TT off the ball. so you can do a bit of leveling that way with the jacks)

If you are parking on an existing site.. Use plank to level side to side. You may need to plank under a jack too

[BookIIRoadtrash]

Excel-in, You did not say what the grade was of your lot and does the owner care if you alter it? Also what type of jack system do you have? Right now I have the hydraulic and can level up to a 3” to 4” side grade without any wood under any of the tires. When I had my previous Excel I used 2”x8” pieces cut 32” and 16”. The 32s would work for both tires and the 16s I could get between the tires so I did not have to move very far when leveling. If you have to raise the right side of your trailer more than 4” you might want to build a platform to place at the bottom of your steps. That bottom step sometimes can get a little high for entering and exiting your coach.

[Excel-in]

The site has a moderate grade. It drops about 30 inches over the 35 foot length of the coach. The folks at the campground are very open to modifications to the site. These waterfront sites are very difficult to come by. They only have a few of them and folks tend to stay on them for years and years. It's availablity was one of the motivators to moving on the purchase of our 5th wheel now. As I think we will lease the site for many years, I am willing to put in some site improvements before we move onto it. We will be having the deck enlarged. The folks who had it before us had a 32 foot fifth wheel on the site.

Thanks for all the inputs