Community Forums

WhiskeySierra · 08-21-2019, 11:32 AM

Good points. Thanks.

Can a MH sit off level, sideways for approximately 48 hours, in front of our house by the curb. As we load it up with all our stuff. Will this adversely affect the fridge use or any other things you might think of. My concern is obviously the fridge?

LETMGROW · 08-21-2019, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeufelWolf

Good points. Thanks.

Can a MH sit off level, sideways for approximately 48 hours, in front of our house by the curb. As we load it up with all our stuff. Will this adversely affect the fridge use or any other things you might think of. My concern is obviously the fridge?

Most everyone will tell you it's important to have the RV level for the fridge to work properly. Other than that you probably won't upset anything else.
( This was NOT a politically correct response and don't expect one) LOL.
Lynn

**pasdad1** · 08-21-2019, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeufelWolf

Good points. Thanks.

Can a MH sit off level, sideways for approximately 48 hours, in front of our house by the curb. As we load it up with all our stuff. Will this adversely affect the fridge use or any other things you might think of. My concern is obviously the fridge?

Yes very important for safe functioning of the propane fridge.... many believe operating the fridge unlevel even for a few hours will overheat the boiler or tubing, and cause damage which will lead to a shortened life, and or catastrophic ammonia leak possibly causing a fire. If not level I would turn the fridge off.

schad · 08-21-2019, 12:03 PM

My current practice is to use the auto-level button, then adjust it manually. But the auto-level I have (Equalizer) only ever levels by raising the jacks, never by lowering them. So I strongly suspect that on at least some sites, I will be able to do a better job entirely on my own. This seems to be the way that a lot of other people with this system do it: auto-level until the jacks make contact with the ground, then cancel and do it the rest of the way manually.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeufelWolf

Can a MH sit off level, sideways for approximately 48 hours, in front of our house by the curb. As we load it up with all our stuff. Will this adversely affect the fridge use or any other things you might think of. My concern is obviously the fridge?

It depends on how off-level the fridge is. If I've done the math correctly, for your coach you're looking at a 2-foot drop over the length and a 1-foot drop over the width. Both of those are fairly significant. That lengthwise drop is equivalent to parking on a 5% grade, for instance.

MRUSA14 · 08-21-2019, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeufelWolf

Good points. Thanks.

Can a MH sit off level, sideways for approximately 48 hours, in front of our house by the curb. As we load it up with all our stuff. Will this adversely affect the fridge use or any other things you might think of. My concern is obviously the fridge?

If you have a propane/electric fridge you can absolutely damage it by operating it too much off level for more than a short time. On the other hand if the fridge is turned off, no damage will occur.

This does not apply to residential fridges as they are much more tolerant of off-level operation. Since we went to a residential fridge, we often do not bother to level at all if we are only staying for one night.

FatChance · 08-21-2019, 12:51 PM

1. I first run the auto level program when we get to where we are parking.

2. Since the auto level program usually raises us too high, I alternately bump the front and rear down, watching a level on the kitchen counter) until I get to the height I want (and still maintain level).

3. Last, I manually adjust until the bathroom door remains in place front to rear and side to side.

Milford 47 · 08-21-2019, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt Dan

I use the bathroom door swing method. Once the system shows we are level I open the mid bath door. If it stays in position we are level. If it swings one way or the other it's time to tweak things a bit. I've checked that against a bubble level and it's right on the money. I don't block the tires and if I can't level by moving we just live with it if it's only for a day or two.

Seems to be the simplest way to get pretty darn close. Front to back isn't as critical as side to side IMHO

As others noted the manual level seems to work best for the majority

NXR · 08-21-2019, 12:54 PM

Use a hard rubber ball, maybe 3" diameter. Steal it from your dog if you have one. If it consistently heads downhill when on the floor you're likely too far off level for a non-residential fridge, especially if it's old.

Or get a phone app. Android Bubble Level is the one I use. Reads out in 0.2 degree increments.

Ray

LETMGROW · 08-21-2019, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt Dan

I use the bathroom door swing method. Once the system shows we are level I open the mid bath door. If it stays in position we are level. If it swings one way or the other it's time to tweak things a bit. I've checked that against a bubble level and it's right on the money. I don't block the tires and if I can't level by moving we just live with it if it's only for a day or two.

This post is actually a response to post # 21.
To me this is a flawed method. If my bathroom door is slightly ajar and swings open I can raise the front of the coach and the door won't swing open. However i can leave the front alone and raise the passenger's side rear. Guess what? The door won't swing open by itself.
Without a level how do I know which corner is too high or too low or if I'm level from front to rear?
When I am done with leveling I don't want my bathroom door to open or close on it's own. If it does I haven't done a good job of leveling and I need to go back and find where I did something wrong but I don't rely on a swinging door to level my RV with.
Lynn

Reacher · 08-21-2019, 01:48 PM

I use auto level and if it's excess slope or needs blocks I move.

Podivin · 08-21-2019, 01:57 PM

I'm with the 'level enough' crowd.
I used to use a clear measuring cup with water to the 1 cup line, then put the cup on the counter. If the water was reasonably level to the line on the cup then the RV was level enough. (yes, there is an assumption there the the counter is parallel to the floor - it is).
Now I use the bathroom door and/or just walking on the floor. If I don't notice a slant when walking on the floor and/or the bathroom door doesn't swing either open or closed, then it's level enough.

mikeh2obury · 08-21-2019, 02:09 PM

I carry 2 level gnomes. They set up the level and I put out my chair and have a beer!

FatChance · 08-21-2019, 05:19 PM

Bathroom door, two step process:

First, open the bathroom door about 1" (parallel to the long axis of the coach). If it swings open or shut, the coach is not level side to side. Raise the side levelers on the side towards which the door moves because that side is too low.

Then, open the bathroom door about 90 degrees (perpendicular to the long axis of the coach). If it moves toward the back of the coach, raise the rear levelers because the rear of the coach is too low. If the door moves toward the front of the coach, raise the front levelers because the front of the coach is too low.

It is really easy when you realize the door always swings toward the low direction.

NXR · 08-21-2019, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milford 47

Seems to be the simplest way to get pretty darn close. Front to back isn't as critical as side to side IMHO

Ummm, depends. If your non-residential fridge is mounted sideways as most are, then front-to-rear leveling is the most critical because that is the side-to-side leveling for the fridge.

Norcold's want the fridge itself to be within 3 degrees side-to-side and within 6 degrees front-to-rear.

Ray