Leveling an RV

How to level an RV is something every RV owner needs to know. Sooner or later everyone divides the duties for who does what when you get to the campground. My job happens to be leveling the camper.  To “level a camper” means to make sure the camper is level or even side to side and front and back.

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If you are pulling a travel trailer, the first thing you should do once you have decided where the camper is going to be placed is to drop the stabilizer bars on the tow hitch.

Now, regardless of what kind of camper you have you should level the camper side to side. Locate the level or look at the camper level that you may have affixed to the side of your camper.

If your camper is not level side to side you could use a camper leveler.

These levelers are super slick. You just put them behind the wheels on the side that you need to raise to make the camper level. Then drive the camper backward onto the levelers. The levelers will raise the side of the camper higher the further you drive on to them. Once you have reached level, stop, and put the chalks under the levelers. See the video below:

If you choose to not use a commercial leveler you can always use a 6 foot long 2 x 10 board. To do this, pull the camper forward with your tow vehicle. Then lay the 2 x 10 on the ground behind the wheels on the low side of the camper. Then, reverse the camper onto the board. If the camper is more than two inches out of level use another board or using a shovel dig a little trench where your other tires will set. Most campsites are pretty level and you shouldn’t need to do this. You should also check with the campground owners before you do any digging.

Note:  If you have very large slide rooms , you may want to run them out and double-check the side to side level. Remember, it is often it is easier to run city water lines and/or sewer hoses before extend your side room.

Now that the camper is level side to side it is time to level it front to back. To to this, first unhook the camper from your tow vehicle.  To level a travel trailer, us the tongue jack. To level a fifth wheel use the front grounding jacks/landing gear. Simply raise or lower the front end of the camper until it is level.

Stabilizer Jacks

When camping in a sandy area or where there is soft soil, I recommend putting a piece of 2 X 6 board or something else solid under the stabilizer jacks to give them a larger footprint to keep them from sinking.

I recommend putting the rear stabilizer jacks down FIRST then the front stabilizer jacks. The reason for this is that I want most of the weight of the camper to stay on the tongue jack/landing gear and tires. When using stabilizer jacks, you should only raise your camper an inch or two.  It is possible to put too much weight on those two stabilizer jacks and they will bend.

If you keep your jack’s lubed with WD-40 or something similar their operation is much easier.

Note: Fifth wheel owners may want to also use a tripod stabilizing system to help stabilize your camper

Manual Stabilizer Jacks

To use manual stabilizer jacks you can use the wrench that came with your camper or you can use a cordless drill with a three-quarter inch socket. Using the drill is much more efficient. It is what most people use.

With manual stabilizer jacks it is possible to raise one side of your camper an inch or so higher than the other side to help level it.

Power stabilizer jacks

Power stabilizer jacks usually have one button for the front two stabilizer jacks and a separate button for the rear two stabilizer jacks. When extending a set of stabilizer jacks usually one side will go down and touch the ground then the other side will go down and touch the ground, then both sides will operate and stabilize the camper together.

Power stabilizer jacks do not level the camper at all.

I have also heard complaints that once in a while the stabilizer jacks will sink in the dirt or retract a little. If this happens hit the button extend the jacks a little farther.

Auto leveling system

To use a power auto-leveling system in your camper make sure everything (picnic tables, bicycles, etc.) is clear of the camper. Including your tow vehicle. Then push auto level.

The camper will sometimes drop in the front end which is why I want you to move the vehicle clear. Then, the camper will raise back up level and automatically put down the rear (and if so equipped) middle stabilizer feet. These auto levels do work on a timer. If it is a very large RV, windy outside, or if there is a large person moving around in the camper, the auto level may time out before the camper is level. If this occurs, simply push the auto level button again.

Note: Do not run your side rooms while you are auto leveling your camper.

Slideroom /power jacks operation

Side rooms, power stabilizer jacks or tongue jack operate using the 12 volt battery mounted on the front of your camper. Each of these will work a little smoother, and faster, if you are plugged into either your tow vehicle (while it’s running) or plugged into 110 power with your power cord. The reason it operates smoother is because you will have more voltage going to the power equipment.

A battery alone puts out 12 volts. The converter in your camper (while plugged in) puts out 13.5 volts. The alternator in your tow vehicle will put about the same amount of voltage to keep your battery charged.

Happy camping!