Class C leveling?

[Shakerag Diva]

We have a Coachman Freelander 29KS.  It does not have auto levelers.  I am being told that they're not necessary on this size RV.  Even if the campsite is level, I am concerned about bounce and movement when parked.  We are preparing for our first journey for a couple of days.  Do indeed to be concerned?

Thanks!

 

[JudyJB]

It depends on how much bounce and movement bother you.  Give it a try this trip and see how it goes.  If a campsite is unlevel to the point where you need something, just put a board or two under the tire on the offending side.  If you are putting something under the dual tires on the rear, just make sure the board or whatever goes equally under both tires. 

A lot of us go out and buy a 2 x 10 or 2 x 12 and cut it into 24 inch lengths.  One or two will easily go sideways under the dual tires and one lengthwise under a front tire.  If you want to get fancy, you can plane the edges down, but I have never done that and have managed.

And by the way, I only need leveling boards maybe 20% of the time I camp in state parks or national parks.

 

[SeilerBird]

I have only had levelers on one of my RVs are rarely used them because I hated them. I have owned my current class A for four years and never leveled it. The movement doesn't bother me at all but some people it really bothers. Like Judy says, give it a try and see how you like it. If you don't like it you can always go to an RV store and buy some leveling blocks.

 

[JudyJB]

Also, I see your unit is a 2015 model.  You may have heard that refrigerators need to be absolutely level to function correctly.  That is not true on newer RVs.  If you can walk around comfortably and not fall out of bed, it will be fine.

FYI, the longer I full time, the lazier I get and the less likely I am to even bother leveling! 

 

[LarsMac]

When I bought our Class C, I got levelers installed before taking delivery. I had traveled with a family member once where they had planks to assist with leveling, and I, being the lazy type, decided I didn't want to deal with all that.

These are the Bigfoot automatic. Nice.
I've tested the rig at several locations. Rig doesn't move much at all with the levelers engaged. If you are in the bedroom, you can feel some wiggling when you move. I am guessing that this is because the rear jacks are just aft of the rear wheels, so forward of the majority of the bedroom space, so we have added a quarter ton of weight the the space aft of the jacks. But in the bedroom, movement is almost imperceptible when someone up from moves around, and the same when you are upfront while someone is in the bedroom moving.

We have found that just leveling, without taking the wheels off the ground makes the most stable positioning. If I raise it enough that the rear wheels are basically off the ground, stability is lowered.

Next step is to find a location where some extreme leveling is needed, and see how that turns out. The one thing I have found is that the Auto-leveling function has usually proved worthless. It always wants to raise the front too far, and the fails to properly level the front to back correctly.

 

[larrypowellnc]

I bought our 25' Class C in 2012 and used leveling blocks for the first 2 years.  One day when I leveling on a windy, rainy day my wife told me to get a leveling system installed.  I had the HWH auto leveling system installed and love it.  I rarely use the auto function but use a bubble level and control panel to level.  As far as how often I have to level I would estimate I have to level 90%+ of the time.  As an example on our recent road trip to the west coast we stayed at 10 different locations and I had to level at all but 1.  On an earlier trip in the year we stayed at 14 different locations and had to level at 12 of them.  I wouldn't be without my leveling system.

 

[lone_star_dsl]

My in-laws have a class C rig and they usually just have to put a 2x6 under each front tire to get them close to level.  My father-in-law also installed a couple of stabilizers at the back to keep the bounce to a minimum.

 

[ArdraF]

We used wooden boards on our first couple of Class Cs.  They got to be a hassle, especially when the weather was nasty, so we installed Big Foot levelers on the 30 footer.  MUCH nicer!  We always used the automatic leveling feature.  If the site was really off level we manually adjusted it, but usually the auto feature worked just fine.  Some people can tolerate a slant better than others (us!) so you may like it better with some type of leveling.  We've been in some really off-level sites over the years and definitely needed some means of leveling.  Unfortunately you can't predict it ahead of time so, if you arrive with no means of leveling available, you may have a miserable visit.  We nailed several 2x10s together that had angled edges to make driving onto them easier.

By the way, visiting friends and family can be a problem if they expect you to stay in their driveway.  What THEY consider as a level driveway may not be what YOU consider a level driveway!  Someone in our family installed 50-amp electric alongside their new home, not realizing that our rear would drag going down their hill to the space.  There was no way we could stay there.

ArdraF

 

[grashley]

I read two questions here.

LEVEL is critical when cooking eggs in a skillet.  Close to level is important for the fridge and to prevent rolling out of bed while sleeping.  Boards as described will usually correct this issue.

BOUNCE AND MOVEMENT  is a completely separate issue.  Without other support, you are sitting on the coach suspension, so of course, it will move.  If this movement is an issue, some type of stabilizer jacks are needed.  Many types and styles are available.  They can be permanently mounted to the coach, or not.  They can be powered (NOT automatic) or manual.  All of these options simply take some weight off the coach suspension and transfer the load to the ground, which is usually more stable.  ;D 

If you want more information on either, please ask.

 

[ArdraF]

You're correct.  They're two different things.  Being level enough so that water doesn't slosh out of the sink is another reason for leveling.

ArdraF

 

[blw2]

I really wanted them, but didn't get them on the coach we found.
At first I thought I'd add them some day.
My class C is like most in that it is already pushing the weight limits, so adding a leveling system wont help that.
and honestly we haven't found it to be much of a problem.  i can feel a bit of a shale when others walk around, but not when i walk.  It's not that bad.
and we have only had to use leveling boards a few times, after 57 nights in it so far....

I'd still like to have power levelers, but not a must have thing in my opinion

 

[Shakerag Diva]

Thanks to all that replied.  My mind is at ease about it now.  I have so much to learn!

Our "maiden voyage" is this weekend.  Can't wait!

 

[arcticfox2005]

With respect to the movement when parked, without levelers, here's another piece of input. When we ordered our class C, we got the option of rear air bags. When aired up to 50-60 psi as I usually keep them, they cut down on a lot of movement. You can have them installed at any good RV service outlet and they are not real expensive.

Bill

 

[OutdoorFT]

I've tested the rig at several locations. Rig doesn't move much at all with the levelers engaged. If you are in the bedroom, you can feel some wiggling when you move.

uh huh. Why the bedroom  ;D