Leveling Device and Question

jonesj2

Well-known member
I am not purchasing the device just seen it.

While at Camping World yesterday I say this 5th Wheel Leveler (see link below), I read it and understand how it works but my question is is this how you level the front of a 5th wheel? I know I always try and level the wheels first and hope that does the trick.

I am new to this 5th wheel leveling as I have only been out 3 time in the 5th wheel, so how do you level the front end if your level shows off a little bit.//heartlandowners.org/images/icons/icon5.gif

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?skunum=17329&src=SRQB

I also posted on another forum so you may have seen this post before.None
 
leveling device

I installed one on my camper and it works great. First I drop the opposite leg until it touches my blocks then you you drop the leg with the leveler till it locks in place. Unscrew the leveler till it touches the block and continue to lower the front jacks until the trailer is level. This prevents you from having to use shimms under the jack foot.
 

driver311

Well-known member
legs

well this looks like a waste of good money!!!! just set one leg or the other in different holes. u should always use some kind of wood or plastic under the legs because the area of the feet aren't large enough to support the weight of the trailer.

driver311NoneNone
 

truknutt

Committed Member
Jim,

I had a set of these on my last 5er and will start by saying that these should only be used to "fine-tune" how your landing gear contacts the ground. You are correct in getting the Sundance's tires situated first. Then some of us drop the landing gear (manually) to the ground and replace the pins before using the motor to raise or lower the unit. If you have a noticeable difference in the gap between the footpad and the ground this is when you "fine tune" so the front end doesn't twist and bend (creak-n-groan).

My Rage'N had the corrugated "tin" sides and a whimpy frame so it was very east to twist her when we set up in Buffalo pastures such as Glencoe in Sturgis (and she would let you know..sounded like her back was being broken!). :eek: If you stay in fairly smooth/level campsites, I wouldn't think you should need these levelers. Additionally, if you read the one product review on the Camping World page I will agree with the reviewer, extend them to far and they tend to amplify the front end's side-to-side "wobble". The welding is sub-par; I had 2 and when fully retracted, it looked like the Rage'N had one foot toe'd in like a wounded duck! It bothered me so that I had to lay a bead of weld so they sat even going down the road!

Come to think of it, this reminds me that I know where there is a pair of levelers that just may hit eBay this week! Starting bid $1.00! :rolleyes:

Hope this helps,

Dave
 

Uncle Rog

Well-known member
All we do is get the side to side level and then lower the front gear with the low side a click or two or three lower on the ply, that levels it up just fine............
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Ditto on truknutt's response. We have that leg leveler and use it often. We also level side to side with something under the tires then drop the front legs and adjust the leveler accordingly. Try to minimize frame twist. One thing to remember. As the threads wear a bit on the leveler, make sure you snug it up before traveling. It might just unscrew itself:eek:.
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Maybe I am missing something. I get my 5er level from side to side with leveling blocks. I don't like my landing gears to be on the ground, so I place a 2" paving stone beneath the landing gear pad. Then I drop the legs down to about a inch or two from the paving stone. Then I start to extend the landing gears. If the site is not level side to side one leg will contact a paving stone and stop. The other leg will continue to extend until it meets the other paving stone. Once both legs of the landing gear are in contact of a solid surface the landing gear will start to raise the front of the trailer. I have levels on the front and side of the corner where the landing gear switch is located. When the landing gear raises the front to a level position I let the switch loose.

Unless your talking about a travel trailer and not a 5er, I don't see how you would need the leveling foot. It may be used for a travel trailer where you use the jack on the A frame on the hitch. This would be like leveling a washing machine, dryer or Refer, but a 5er landing gear is self adjusting for side to side differences.
 

Johnm

I wanna go camping - NOW
TXBobcat,

The electric front jacks on a 5er are not self adjusting. One electric motor drives both legs the same.
 
leveler

I agree with Johnm both legs should extend the same. The purpose of the leveler is to take up the difference in the ground. I like mine. It avoids having to use shims under the shorter leg.
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Last time I checked, I never had both jacks dropped to the same distance and when one contacted the block I put under it the other would continue down to contact the block under it, then it would start to lift the 5er.

One thing about the electric landing gears is that it is so d&^$* slow. My previous 5er had a hydraulic landing gear.

I am going to be moving on Thursday.. I will experiment when I set up at the next park. Yes it does use an electric motor, but I have never tried to make the two legs exactly the same distance. I just get them close because it takes so long for it to lift the trailer. About a fingers thickness.

If the landing gear legs were not self adjusting to contact the ground one leg would lift the entire trailer and the other would never contact the ground or it would twist the frame. I have never seen that with my Bighorn.

I will let you know when I move.. Thanks for making me think about this..
I would hate to cause a problem.. Get back to this later...
 

bsummit

Arkansas Chapter Leader-Retired
I had the leveler on my other 5er and it worked great until I noticed that it started bending at the base where it attached to the foot. I welded a brace on it and that corrected the bending. I chose not to put it on the BH. With the electric landing jacks when one foot contacts the ground it does not stop until the other one makes contact like the hydralic landing jacks do. It's just what each individual desires. My 2 cents.
Bill
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
bsummit
Thanks for the post.. My Bighorn works the same way. Thought for a while that I was seeing things or messing up. I did not want to press the subject until I tested them out on my BH.
 

LINKn8r

Member
OK - so I am definitely a rookie here. We have had our first 5th wheel now just 23 days and had it out once on a good level pad. My landing gear have pins that can be pulled out to manually adjust the gear close to the ground or landing blocks prior to running the motor. It would seems to me, that if the ground was uneven, then this is where the difference would be made up. I would have to go out and measure, but the holes between the pins are about 1-2 inches apart.

I would think that if the wheels are level side to side, then it is just a matter of manual adjusting the individual gear down to the respective block, then letting the motor do the rest as a pair.

Maybe this is my lack of experience showing, but it seems easy enough.

Steve
 

truknutt

Committed Member
LINKn8r,

In my opinion, you understand it exactly!

The fine tuning that the levelers (that started this thread) perform is to make up for that dreaded 1/4, 1/2 or 3/4 inch in between the holes you mentioned!

On my last toyhauler, if the frame was racked just a little, it affected the main entry door, the rear ramp and the storage compartment door gaps. The holes on our landing gear were 2 to 2.5 inches apart. I also chose to not stack "building blocks" in an attempt to make up the gap from foot pad to ground. We used to set up in open fields: not level campsites.

I'm confident that with our Cyclone's 12" frame, we shouldn't have a "racking" problem.
 

Shadowchek

Well-known member
If you are concerned about it you can carry a board with the thickness of half of the distance between the holes on your landing gear. Use that to shim on whatever side you need it if you need it that should be sufficient I would think. It works for me.
 

bsummit

Arkansas Chapter Leader-Retired
I had the leveler on my other 5er and used them all the time. Very few times will you get a site that both front legs are at the same height, so they do work. I haven't put the leveler on my 3670 but plan on doing it before the next time out.
Bill
 
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