Leveling a Class A Gas 39' motorhome

[Tantsits]

Hello all. We have a 39' class A gas motorhome with auto levelers. When a site is pretty level, I just push the auto level and the jacks automatically level the rig. What does everyone use if the site is unlevel enough that the RV wants to lift the front wheels off the floor in order to level it? I used to use the plastic blocks with my class C RV, but I don't think they would be strong enough for me to roll up my class A on or are they? I am just asking because while I am in the campgrounds, I never see class A's wheels up on any type of chock, so do they just stay unlevel? I have seen 1 or 2 class A RV's with the front wheels way off the floor sitting on the levelers, but I know for a fact that this is a No, No and I have validated this with several RV manufacturers.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

James

[edge68474]

I use 2x's.
Others will join in and mention how they put together boards for the job. Some look pretty darn good.
I have seen some coaches way up in the air off the ground and to me it looks unsafe. I'm thinking a good side wind would do some bad damage. Personally, I will not have my tires off the ground or the leveling boards.

[pasdad1]

I went to Lowe’s and they cut a 2x12x8 into 4 equal pieces. If I need to raise the front high enough the wheels would be off the ground, I raise it, then slip the boards under the tires, then lower the jacks enough so that the tires have some weight on the boards.

I have only needed to do this twice in 3 years of full time living. Many times a little bit of unlevel does no harm, and it doesn’t bother me.

The other thing about raising the front end, means the stairs are very high, and I would need to put a step stool as an additional step.

[Paul P.]

I don't carry blocks so I would try to find a different spot, or at least re-position the MH if possible to reduce the grade, if gravel maybe dig some out for rear wheels (with CG permission of course). Try manual level mode, just in case the auto method is raising the rear higher than necessary. While I would prefer not to have the front wheels off the ground, I personally wouldn't be too concerned if it was only a couple of inches, and was only spending a nite or two. It wouldn't hurt to get some wood blocks under them or you could try the plastic (just in case the jacks retracted for some reason) although I've never had jacks retract unexpected in 25 yrs of rving.

[NMRVer]

ditto with PP,

I would relocate if possible, by using the manual level method it will help keep the coach lower to ground. I do carry homemade (2' x 2' x 3") wood blocks to spread the weight on soft ground or when located in a very unlevel site. I put them under the tires and/or leveling jacks as required.

Most leveling jacks are not made used with the tires off the ground, (but can and will).

my .02
I attempt an autolevel, see when the blocks are needed and how much. lower the coach, place them as needed (or drive onto them if needed under the tires) and manually relevel.

[DRM901]

I carry 3 sets (30 total) of Lynx Levelers, 4 - 12"x12"'x4.5" (or 6" if you ignore the actual size), & 4 - 12"x12"x3" (or 4" depending on how you measure or don't measure stuff.

Sure, if you can get another site that is level, great. That is the best option. But campsites are full a lot of times. So, curse the darkness or light a candle.

The Lynx Levelers are rated for 30k lbs and come with a great 10 year warranty. I've broken a few, but you just send them a pic of the broken ones and they send you new ones. I like these for the tires because you can create a ramp - up to 3".

I won't level with a wheel off the ground. Hence all the blocks. And I've used most of them. I've had 5" of blocks under the front tires, and the same for the jacks. If I put 3" under a tire, I use the same under the jacks. Don't want the jacks too extended.

We stay at state parks & COEs a lot, but I've had issues with private RV parks as well.

[High Road Travelers]

I will put the front wheels on wood boards if I am staying a while or if leveling puts the front wheels way off the ground.
If it is just one night I usually just level the MH and let the front wheels stay up in the air. On my MH that does not cause any harm; it just doesn't look good.
Thanks,

[Donskiman]

I've found auto-level wants to raise the coach when it's not necessary. For example, my RV pad at home is completely level and the jacks always push the coach up a few inches. Based on this, when auto-level raises the front tires off the ground, the first thing I do is retract the jacks and try to level manually by only raising the front until level. Very often doing that doesn't raise the tires off the ground. Then I just lower the rear jacks until they touch the ground. So far I've only had to use the "legos" once, and that was on a side slope.

[Griswald One]

You are right to assume the plastic is not up to the job. I had stacks of the lego levelers that I used on my old C Class. First time I put the Bounder up on them I crushed one.

I switched to 2x8's to level mine. I cut two of them to 3ft long with a mitred front edge and a stop block screwed into the back edge. Then I cut another set to 18", again with a mitred edge. The short ones sit on the longer set giving me up to 3" of lift, the stop block keeps them from sliding as I drive up on them.

If I require more then those 3" ... it is a bad day! But just in case I carry a shovel on board and with permission I have dug out an inch or two to drop the high tires down into to alleviate the issue. This can be very helpful when one corner is higher then the other three.

As for those lego blocks... I still keep them on board. They are great for campgrounds who set the sewer drain higher then my Slinky goes. I lay out the blocks along the path and gain an extra 1.5" of height to try and keep the fluids flowing downhill into the drain.

[Unplanned Tourist]

I never use the auto level. It raises too high as Donskiman said.

I carry a set of 16,000 pound rated ramps and blocking if needed, but most times I can level with just a couple of 2X12 wooden pads.

[Sbrownstein]

Never use the auto level...leave a small level on the floor and use manual. The center always blinks green when I am satisfied from the level. It is ok for one or both front tires to be off the ground but I generally try not to have that happen by looking at the level while driving onto the site. Often a few feet forward or back will improve the level immensely.

[TimmyB]

Like you and the others, I was not impressed by the performance of the auto-levelers. WAY too high, far too often. I went out and purchased the LevelMate Pro for less than $150. WOW, what a cool product. When you pull in to a spot, it will tell you exactly how off each wheel is. I also carry 2x12's with a one-foot section attached to a two-foot section. I can raise 1.5", 3", or even 4.5" if needed. I back up, put the needed boards down, then drive forward to the same spot. Once I'm on those boards and within fractions of an inch, I tell the auto-leveler to go; once I feel all four levelers are in contact with the ground, I abort the auto-leveling and simply adjust manually from that point. Works really well and never have to worry about tires in the air.