Community Forums

rshackleford · 05-07-2013, 04:15 PM

How long is too long to run a RV refrigerator off level?
My driveway is such that I have to pull in and it has a slight decline.
I can't get it level without picking the back wheels off the ground which I do not want to do since I lose my parking brake.

The other option is to chock the front wheels and then lift the back up with the jacks. I tried chocking the front and then releasing the emergency brake. The coach held and didn't roll. Do you think it would be safe to leave it that way over night.

I just want to run the refrig overnight so we can pack it tonight and leave in the morning.

Sammie · 05-07-2013, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rshackleford

How long is too long to run a RV refrigerator off level?
My driveway is such that I have to pull in and it has a slight decline.
I can't get it level without picking the back wheels off the ground which I do not want to do since I lose my parking brake.

The other option is to chock the front wheels and then lift the back up with the jacks. I tried chocking the front and then releasing the emergency brake. The coach held and didn't roll. Do you think it would be safe to leave it that way over night.

I just want to run the refrig overnight so we can pack it tonight and leave in the morning.

Have you got any thick wooden blocks that you can run the back tires up on to. 4x4s or equivilent. Then chock the front wheels and set the brake.
Back in the days before hydraulic jacks thats how I would level my motorhome.

Sammie

Wayne M · 05-07-2013, 04:37 PM

Check your manual. Norcold says up to 3 degrees side to side, and 6 degrees front to back is level enough. (as you are looking at the doors on the refridgerator) There are carpenter tools at hardware stores that you can lay on the floor and they will tell you how level you are. There are also APPS for smart phones and tablets that will give you a degrees reading.

If you and DW are both comfortable walking from one end of the coach to the other, you may be just fine, but it would be better to measure. If you are good at math, have a laser level, you can put it by the back tire, read the difference in height at the front tire and do some math to figure out the angle. (I'm not that good, cause I still think that if 2+2=5, then logically 2+2=4.)

Tony Lee · 05-07-2013, 04:55 PM

3 degrees side to side (of the fridge) is 3' in 60' so for a 40' MH that is a 2' difference between front and back bumpers - assuming your fridge is mounted on the side wall..

If you have jacks, lower the rear jacks until they are touching the ground and then dump the air and that will help by a few inches.

Another solution is to reverse in and jack the front wheels right off the ground

jesilvas · 05-07-2013, 05:05 PM

How long? Never tried it, but I wouldn't do more than 6 hours or so? Maybe 12.
But an hour would be fine I'm sure.

rshackleford · 05-07-2013, 05:35 PM

backing in might be a little tricky. Fire hydrant across the street.

Ill have to get some wood blocks to drive the rear tires up onto.

pumper9x9 · 05-09-2013, 10:05 AM

I've been told that if you can put an egg on the counter and it doesn't roll you're good.

bob_5297 · 05-09-2013, 12:39 PM

If your jacks are down and your rear tiers are off the ground the parking brake does not matter it can not roll away with the Jack's in the ground. When I take my mh to my camp site my rear tiers are just under 2' off the ground. If you feel safe by chalk the front wheels then you can do that too. But I can't understand why everyone is saying to not pick the wheels off the ground cause you will not have the parking brake working. This is true but you have two or more steel legs planted to the ground that will hold the mh.

rshackleford · 05-09-2013, 03:01 PM

My concern would be the lateral force on the jacks might be enough to bend them.

bluepill · 05-09-2013, 03:19 PM

Because of the size of your rig, you should have no problem carrying wooden blocks for use ANYTIME you find an uneven spot. I bought a 12 foot long 2X12 pressure treated at Home Depot and had them cut it into 2 foot lengths, giving me 6 pieces to use. It has worked fine. Don't forget that using them under the rear tires requires one under both tires on a side.

JC2 · 05-09-2013, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluepill

Because of the size of your rig, you should have no problem carrying wooden blocks for use ANYTIME you find an uneven spot. I bought a 12 foot long 2X12 pressure treated at Home Depot and had them cut it into 2 foot lengths, giving me 6 pieces to use. It has worked fine. Don't forget that using them under the rear tires requires one under both tires on a side.

I agree as this would seem to be the most logical and common sense thing to do.

Gary RVRoamer · 05-10-2013, 11:08 AM

If its only an hour or two, just turn the fridge off and leave the door closed. If more than that, don't let it run if far off level. If not far off level (see specs already mentioned above), then no worries.

The problem with off-level operation is that internal damage is slow but cumulative. If you do it for 30 minutes at a time, but do it on a regular basis, you are still causing damage and eventually there will be a failure.

isa · 05-11-2013, 12:20 PM

For rshackleford. You wrote:

"How long is too long to run a RV refrigerator off level?

My driveway is such that I have to pull in and it has a slight decline.

I can't get it level without picking the back wheels off the ground which I do not want to do since I lose my parking brake."

I think you must mean incline.

If your driveway has a decline, and you go nose in then you would have to raise the front wheels to make it level.

Jim_HiTek · 05-11-2013, 05:38 PM

I can shut mine off and take 4 hours to get around to removing perishables like milk. The freezer stuff and much of the refer stuff can wait overnight. That's at a typical ambient of 70-75F during the day.