Leveling and chocks, what do you carry?

Well all set. I got 4 2x8, 34" long as well as a 10 pack of leveling blocks as others here posted. That should give me enough to get her leveled. I also have 4 of those cheap yellow chocks and a pair of X-chocks. Set the whole thing up over the weekend, and taking my first trip next Saturday. Its a short one, about 30 minutes from home, so if I do forget anything, or if I need something I don't have, its a short drive to either Farm and Fleet or Menards or home. Its a state park with electric, so I will have to fill my FW tank before I leave.

Other than bedding for the bunks, which should be here this week, and bedding for the queen, which we just need to take out of storage, the trailer is packed, tested and ready to roll. **** that AC is good! Had it hooked to power since Friday, had the AC going, and cooled it off nicely even though it was out in the sun and it was 90* both days. I found I need to make a couple repairs, such as some caulk in the gutter just behind the awning as it leaks AC runoff there, the forward track for the awning is stuck, can't adjust it, but the rear one adjusts just fine. It got stuck on my today, overextended it, but was able to get it retracted, then extended it properly. It also needs to be washed, see some mildew on it. I also picked up a Champion 3100 generator, tested it out as well, and it powers the AC and Refer just fine, ran it for 2 hours, and it used just a touch of gas. The Refer cools down quickly, of course having the AC going for a day helped.

Getting excited for our trip at the end of July.

I have a 6 cheap wall mart plastic chocks. I do not camp where it is super hilly and they seem to do the job. As a bonus, they are cheap so if you forget and drive over them you are not out much.

For leveling, I always used to use 2x6's and I probably still would. But, my brother had a extra set of Lynx Levelers and I do like them ! If you want to sped the money they are nice. But, blocks work too.

OK X-chocks and wheel chocks arrived, Got a rope in each pair of wheel chocks, got them in place and the X-chocks in place. The only thing about my setup is I have to put the X-chocks in upside down, otherwise I cant get to the bolt with the wrench without doing damage to my arms and hands.

Since the trailer was already parked, all I could do was kick them in place, but when I move it next time, I will put some pressure on them with the truck so they are tight. Now to get a few PT boards and a couple plastic boxes for the wter hoses, and sewer hoses, and I am all set(I Hope).

Two 1 by 6 by 4 foot oak fence boards
Two 2 by 6 by 4 foot pine boards
never needed anything else but its kinda flat here

Real men never level with plastic or wear gloves when dumping black water tanks !

Thank you.

Huntindog wrote:

redneckgearhead wrote:

Huntindog wrote:
I haven't used any sort of leveling blocks in at least 15 years. I do sometimes use homemade wheel chocks, but they really are not needed.

All I need is a shovel. I dig holes to lower the high side wheels. There are many benefits to this method.
Lowering the TT makes it more stable especially in wind. It makes the steps lower as well. And all you need is a shovel, which is a real handy thing to have in camp anyway.

And the best part... As long as gravity works, the TT cannot fall out of the holes like it can fall off of blocks... Yes I have seen this happen several times, and it is not a good situation.
The first time it was my TT. We got a LOT of sudden rain. The ground gpt saturated and soft. The blocks sort of tilted as they sank int the earth. I was lucky. I have seen others suffer from a ruined tounge jack from this, and some with damaged stabilizers

Camp grounds don't mind you digging holes? What about the poor person that camps after you?

I detest campgrounds.
I boondock. Usually on public land out west. When choosing a campsite, I am not looking for a huge excavation project. So it will normally be pretty level. So the holes usually are not very deep. As for the poor camper that follows me... He is welcome to use the holes to level his TT... I have often used the holes of those that preceeded me. I appreciated it. The shallow holes that I generally make with weather and vegetation growth blend in with the landscape quickly, and go unnoticed, except for a camper looking for them. They are still usable year after year.

When it is appropriate, as in the holes are deep, or I am on private land etc... The shovel can quickly fill in the holes.

I see.

#1nobby wrote:

redneckgearhead wrote:


What about the poor person that camps after you?

Shovels work in both directions.

YOU do realize that a shovel can fill holes too?

I guess you've never refilled a hole.... not all the dirt goes back in the hole, leaving a soft spot and a muddy spot if it were to rain.

I have one bag of the lego blocks, but mostly only them as a small stack under the tongue jack.

For leveling, I made a small variety of 2x6's in various lengths and mostly use them under the tires.

One other thing about my camper is that if it is exactly level when first parked, then it will be very slightly low on the streetside after the slide room is extended. What I found is that 3/4" is what it is, so I cut a couple of small pieces of 3/4" plywood, and drive the trailer onto those. Extend slide and the trailer is again perfectly level.

The small piece of 2x4 is screwed/glued onto the 2x6, and will keep the next layer of board from sliding/getting pushed back off as I drive up onto it.

Plywood pieces are short enough that one will fit on ground between the tandem tires while positioning them. I started out with just 3/4" dimension lumber for that, but found they broke easily. Plywood has held up without breaking.

I'm one who likes my trailer level, even if it's just for one night. And like one of the posters above, I too tend to stay in developed campgrounds, and have found they are mostly pretty close to level. I spent several decades doing bare minimal camping why traveling by motorcycle. I'm mostly done with the backwoods boondocking.
I want all the hookups these days.

EDIT: for what it's worth I also carry a small variety of small scraps of 2x6 and 2x8 to give to neighboring campers that need them. It's surprising how many times I've had folks camped nearby that forgot to bring a block to put under their tongue jack, etc, so it's good to be able to help out.

Well I have several ideas now, thanks. Those 3/4" stall mats are heavy, good idea, but heavy, I know, I have horses and put those in their stalls. PITA to cut, and even more to move around. I can see how they would work very well, but the weight of lugging them around would keep me from doing it. I got chocks and X-chocks on order, so I will just go get some PT lumber for leveling. My first thought when seeing the plastic blocks was, how would they hold up under all that weight, on soft uneven ground, which sways me to use PT instead, and take the weight penalty.