Community Forums

HSVcamper · 10-12-2011, 08:30 PM

There is a free app for an Android smart phone called "Bubble Level" that you can use to easily determine how level your RV unit is (I lay my phone on the floor, face up, just inside the door while setting up our 5er). It also works great for setting our satellite dish’s elevation.

ralper · 10-14-2011, 02:48 PM

When I first got my 5'er I bought 2 of the small stick on levels. I fiddled with the level of the 5'er until the refrigerator was perfectly level and plumb. I stuck the little levels on the refrigerator front and side. Now I know just how level and plumb it is with a quick look at the levels. No they are not always perfect but I get fairly close most of the time. Sometimes when I stop for lunch the rig is really off level so I just turn off the refrigerator until I go again.

Mr_D · 10-14-2011, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ralper

When I first got my 5'er I bought 2 of the small stick on levels. I fiddled with the level of the 5'er until the refrigerator was perfectly level and plumb. I stuck the little levels on the refrigerator front and side. Now I know just how level and plumb it is with a quick look at the levels. No they are not always perfect but I get fairly close most of the time. Sometimes when I stop for lunch the rig is really off level so I just turn off the refrigerator until I go again.

The rigs can be something like 3° off and still be level enough to leave. If it's OK for you to be in the rig then it's level enough for the refer to work. Stopping for lunch I never worry about being level. And I've never had a refer stop due to not being level but I've only been RV'ing since 1957.

ga traveler · 10-15-2011, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ralper

When I first got my 5'er I bought 2 of the small stick on levels. I fiddled with the level of the 5'er until the refrigerator was perfectly level and plumb. I stuck the little levels on the refrigerator front and side. Now I know just how level and plumb it is with a quick look at the levels. No they are not always perfect but I get fairly close most of the time. Sometimes when I stop for lunch the rig is really off level so I just turn off the refrigerator until I go again.

Ralph. Just a quick note. I have been to factory schools on both refrigerators. Both ref. manufacturers say it is OK to leave the ref. off level for several days without damage. Ref. made before the ninety's should not be operated unlevel for over 3 or 4 hours.

Chuck&Pam · 10-20-2011, 05:09 PM

My level indicator is my hall bathroom door. I open it half way. If it stays open i'm level.

ottffss · 10-20-2011, 05:38 PM

To put some real perspective on this....

Pretty much the manuals today say 6degrees front-back 3degrees side-side looking at the refer.

This means on our 102inch wide rigs the 6degree refer front-back translates into 102in * sin6degree = 10 inches of "unlevel" (left-to-right) on the rig. That is a lot!

And the 3degree refer side-to-side translates into-
- for a 30ft rig it means 30ft * sin3degrees = 1.5 feet of front to back rig unlevel which is huge
- for a 40ft rig it means 40ft * sin3degrees = a whopping 2 ft of rig front to back unlevel.

As is frequently said above, if you are uncomfortable, you can bet that the refer is still within tilt spec.

FWIW - You can type equations into Google and it will calculate them for you. Try typing in "40 * sin 3 degrees" and you can get really fancy and do conversions as well try typing "40 ft * sin 3 degrees in ft" (or inches or mm or miles or smoots or whatever unit you want).

bldrbob · 10-24-2011, 09:56 AM

Fluids flow down hill. If you open the outside ref cover you will see the tubes. As long as they slope down hill the fridge should be fine.I take a glass of water and hold it in front of the tubes to see which way they slope.Water will be level .

deblas · 10-27-2011, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncbounder

My level indicator is my hall bathroom door. I open it half way. If it stays open i'm level.

X2....this is good enough for me too.....maybe not "perfect" but for sure close enough.

Yellowreef · 11-01-2011, 10:22 AM

The simplest explanation I've been able to give: The tubing you see for the cooling unit is angled up in a way that optimizes cooling through a chemical reaction. You can counteract the effect of that angle by your rig not being level and the chemical reaction (no mechanical pump) may not be enough to work the chemicals through the system.

OldHippie53 · 10-23-2013, 05:44 PM

So if I am not level, how do I go about making the rv level.
I've not used my fridge yet--it may not even work but now
I'm afraid to even try it. Now my fridge has a level built into its door.
Am I safe if THAT level says things are level or do I still have to do all this other leveling of front to rear etc?

Stan&Jacquie · 11-04-2013, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldHippie53

So if I am not level, how do I go about making the rv level. I've not used my fridge yet--it may not even work but now I'm afraid to even try it. Now my fridge has a level built into its door. Am I safe if THAT level says things are level or do I still have to do all this other leveling of front to rear etc?

the critical issue is front to back. If you can get at least one half of a bubble centered you should be ok. Side to side level is not nearly as important.

Mr_D · 11-04-2013, 09:24 PM

Our rig sits beside the house, I built the pad years ago to accommodate a much smaller rig. Now, with the 41'er I have to have the front wheels off the ground to level it. I don't bother till it gets later in the fall. Then I put blocks under the jacks and let the air out.
The rest of the time the rig is close to 1' lower in front, the refer did burn through the tubing after some 9+ years and let the ammonia out. But other than that it's worked perfectly even when stored for weeks at a time and being out of level.

Luv2go · 11-04-2013, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldHippie53

So if I am not level, how do I go about making the rv level....

You can use the "lego"-type blocks like Lynx levelers or you could make up ramps using 2by wood, I used 2X12's.

Make sure to put ramps under both of the dual rear wheels if you have to raise a rear corner, it is not good to support all the corner weight on one of the dually wheels. I used purchased plastic ramps for the front of our class C and the 2 X 12 wood ramps for the rears. That worked out quite well.

I also had manual Bal scissor jacks under the frame just behind the front and rear wheels, using them I could get the front wheels off the ground if I wanted to.

Wayne M · 11-04-2013, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stan&Jacquie

the critical issue is front to back. If you can get at least one half of a bubble centered you should be ok. Side to side level is not nearly as important.

Stan&Jacquie,
I disagree that it is front to back (as looking at front of refrigerator) Front to back can be 6 degrees, and side to side can be as much as 3 degrees. These proportions are as you are standing looking at the front of the refrigerator. So the door side to the wall side is front to back, and the left and right sides of the refrigerator are side to side.

Consider that when the unit is not level side to side the tubing is laid out in that directions so pooling would be at the ends of the tubing and this is where the problem should occur.

If the refrigerator is door to wall, then the pooling would be the length of the tubing.

JMHO.