leveling

For the past 35 years, I've gotten along with three ramps. You never need to level four corners, or you would already be level. If I need to run the rears up and one front, I use just one ramp under the inside duals. Otherwise I may use two under one side or two up front. Again, three ramps will do the trick.

You do want to have both wheels of a set of duallies supported. This calls for a pair of ramps (assuming you arrange them lengthwise).

I have a bunch of 2x10's cut to various lengths and beveled at the ends (at a 30 degree angle, the pointiest I could readily manage on my radial arm saw) that I stack up as needed. I currently have a total of five boards, of various lengths so they stack to form pyramids, and should probably get together a couple more as I've lost/misplaced a few.

Most campsites, at least in my experience, are level enough that you're unlikely to need too many leveling ramps, usually only one or two to be level or quite close. If a site's too bad, often you might be able to move to a different site that's somewhat more level. Still, there are exceptions...I mostly need my full ramps for parking next to my own garage, as the side yard is a little slanty in some angles.

You will want to be fairly level to sleep anyways. Not comfortable if you are falling off one side of the bed or on your head. Doesn't take much to make you aware of "unlevel" when you are trying to sleep. Your frig will be level enough if you are comfortable.

I used 2X10's cut long enough to place them across the duels rather than for each tire. You can still stack them if you need more than one to level your RV

OK. Another novice leveling question. Thinking about a B+ with dual rear wheels.
I can make ramps from 2X10's and bevel them, have them stackable/adjustable, but do I need 4 sets (1 each for each inner wheel & 1 each for the outer wheel)?
What's the best way to handle this? There has to be more RV's with dual rear wheels than the one I'm looking at. Or are the commercial products that answer this question.

thanks

upsidedown Charlie wrote:
Our instructor explained the refrigerator and leveling thoroughly. I shortened the explanation to ask the question.

We had Norcolds on 3 boats and I replaced them all with household refrigerators. There is really no telling if the refer location was level at the dock. I never checked.

We're rookies and will be very careful about leveling. I am not aware of any house systems in the MH that care whether they are level or not other than the refer. Everything else should be happy with near level.

The point about level within 4 inches front to back and 1 inches side to side is very helpful. The Winnie smart papers say to carry a small level and check the refer. That's easy but a bullet level isn't very accurate. I would hope that the autolevel on a new RV would get it close enough. The instructor explained blocking and the importance of keeping all 4 wheels grounded. We bought blocks, chocks and I tossed some 2x12s in a bin.

If my prior experience with Norcold , or in boating circles "wontcold" are similar with this one, we'll probably buy a household refer eventually.

I really appreciate the input.

The four inches/one inch rule is quite conservative. You won't go wrong following it, but you can be a fair bit looser as well. The Norcold manual I believe specifies a maximum angle of three degrees, which works out to somewhere around five inches side to side and considerably more front to back (depending on your wheelbase or tongue to axle length).

The plumbing drain system does depend somewhat on being close to level to work well. The shower in particular won't drain well if the corner with the drain is the high point in the shower pan. Other systems are not really sensitive to being level, at least within any sensible reason. (The air conditioner might not operate well upside-down, but if you're upside down you have far more important things to worry about!)

Basically, if it seems level walking around, and if the eggs don't all slide to one corner of the frypan, and if the cabinet doors don't wildly swing when opened due to their axis being out of plumb, your fridge will likewise be good to go. Many (myself very much included) are rather more persnickety about leveling than is truly necessary.

Our instructor explained the refrigerator and leveling thoroughly. I shortened the explanation to ask the question.

We had Norcolds on 3 boats and I replaced them all with household refrigerators. There is really no telling if the refer location was level at the dock. I never checked.

We're rookies and will be very careful about leveling. I am not aware of any house systems in the MH that care whether they are level or not other than the refer. Everything else should be happy with near level.

The point about level within 4 inches front to back and 1 inches side to side is very helpful. The Winnie smart papers say to carry a small level and check the refer. That's easy but a bullet level isn't very accurate. I would hope that the autolevel on a new RV would get it close enough. The instructor explained blocking and the importance of keeping all 4 wheels grounded. We bought blocks, chocks and I tossed some 2x12s in a bin.

If my prior experience with Norcold , or in boating circles "wontcold" are similar with this one, we'll probably buy a household refer eventually.

I really appreciate the input.

The instructor doesn't understand how a fridge works but it is important for it to operate level.

It sounds like the OP's RV instructor used ventilation as the reason to level the RV rather than explain how the refrigerator works and how it could be damaged.

The important thing is, the OP understands the RV must be fairly level to avoid damage to the refrigerator.

THe refrigerator has to be fairly level, not for the flue gas or running on electric or gas does not matter.

It must be fairly level so that the ammonia and water mixture does not stay in the evaporator, but will return to the boiler before the boiler runs dry.

If the boiler runs dry, then what ammonia and water is left in the boiler, the water will boil away, and strong ammonia would crystallize and can get stuck in the orifices. Thus turning over the refrigerator will "Fix" the problem, returning the water to the boiler and dissolving the ammonia crystals.

The burner is only 2,200 Btu's of gas, or about what a stove burner puts out on low heat. Most RV stove burners are in the 6000 - 9000 Btu range, while a home high output burner might be as much as 12,000 Btu's or 6 times the output of the RV refrigerator output.

Your water heater is 8,000 - 10,000 Btu's output, and it flows out through a 2" exhaust pipe (much warmer output than the refrigerator flue gas). Imagine how many 2" flue pipes would fit into the refrigerator vent?

Anyway if the RV is within 1" level side to side, or 4" front to back, it is level enough to run the refrigerator.

While driving, the RV bounces around enough to return the water to the boiler. However one member reported driving very slowly through 4 miles uphill and down through construction traffic at around 10 MPH. Reaching the campground his refrigerator check light was on, and it did not work. He left the refrigerator off for the rest of the weekend and the drive home. The following week, he tried it again, and the refrigerator got cold and ran normally.

My best guess is the drive home with the refrigerator off, the water vapor dissolved the ammonia crystals, and now it works fine.

Your driving instructor has not been trained by Norcold or Dometic on refrigeration repair. I had a certificate on Arkla ammonia air conditioners, but not ammonia refrigerators.

I have gotten level in the most unlevel locations. I have 4 level high ramps that are made from 2X10" boards, with 9" long on the top level, and 3.5" longer on each level below. I also had a pair of 2 level boards (so I did not need to get out the heavy ones most of the time). I had one location where I raised the front on both 4 level boards under each front tire, and the pair of 4 level boards under the front jack. I did get it level, so that sleeping is comfortable. The refrigerator did not care nearly as much as I did.

Also it helps the transmission to have a leveling jack system. It creates a LOT of heat to pull onto the boards. Use care not to spend to much time leveling. Many times it is full throttle for a few seconds at a time, while there is very little air going over the radiator and transmission coolers. I have a digital temp gauge on my transmission.

Fred.