leveling systems for fifth wheelers

[EASY_RIDER]

do most 5th wheels have automated leveling systems, or do you have to level yourself? I have no experience with 5th wheels, have always had a motothome.

thanks

Tom

[Allworth]

Tom,

I assume that by now you understand that "fifth wheelers" are people and "fifth wheels" are trailers.

The best way to keep fifth wheelers level is to keep them away from the adult beverages.

[Stefonius]

stetwood wrote:
If I see the site is not level, I get out a level, a long stick that is also used for making sure the hitch is at the right height, and a few blocks of wood. I determine BEFORE backing in the correct number of blocks with the level and blocking, put them down and back up on them. Time elapsed, the time to open the container holding the blocks and level, walking back to the unlevel site, leveling the site, and walking back to the truck, no more than 5-8 minutes.

You, Stetwood, are a genius. I'm going to have to mock up a similar system for myself during the off-season. If it saves me having to back into the same site twice, it's worth it!

[RWalt]

The only thing that I would add is we added a scissor jack to the rear of our Alpine 3495. Our unit has a long overhang and with the bedroom in the rear of the unit this was necessary. We placed the jack under a 2 inch box receiver.

[Shepherd]

The past ways should not be forgotten.

[stetwood]

If I see the site is not level, I get out a level, a long stick that is also used for making sure the hitch is at the right height, and a few blocks of wood. I determine BEFORE backing in the correct number of blocks with the level and blocking, put them down and back up on them. Time elapsed, the time to open the container holding the blocks and level, walking back to the unlevel site, leveling the site, and walking back to the truck, no more than 5-8 minutes.

[cruz-in]

I added power leveling to our Toy Hauler. It is not "auto". The entire process is done from a wireless remote. I lower the jacks to the ground (with remote). Walk inside the RV. Then standing in the Living Room, using the remote, I level the RV. Very strong system. Even rated to lift the tires off the ground for tire/bearing/brake work. Of course always insert jack stands before doing any work.

Picked the system up off ebay for $1800.

Did the install myself. It was an easy DYI project. I chose the system from Reico Titan. Cam complete with wiring harness and everything needed. I was impressed with the quality of the components and wiring...actually enjoyed the install.

[Cummins12V98]

shepstone wrote:
Our 2015 Cougar 28sgs has a 4 point electric system and I think it is the best part of the RV, worth every penny. I unhitch grab a beer and hit auto level and watch it do everything itself, the entertainment value is priceless. Of course if something went wrong with it ......

Even if it goes south you will still be grabbing a BEER :B

[shepstone]

Our 2015 Cougar 28sgs has a 4 point electric system and I think it is the best part of the RV, worth every penny. I unhitch grab a beer and hit auto level and watch it do everything itself, the entertainment value is priceless. Of course if something went wrong with it ......

[EASY_RIDER]

thanks for all the answers, very helpful.


Tom

[ricatic]

I migrated to the fiver world from the motor home world...My last three motor homes had hydraulic levelers. I absolutely loved them and would never have a motor home without them.

We bought our Big Horn in 2009 and auto levelers were not installed on many fivers at that time. I commented then that I would likely miss those automatic levelers...and I do...My next fiver will have them...

The comments from those that have never had them are opinions from people who have never used them...The real stories are from those who have been on both sides of the discussion...and IIRC, not one owner with auto levelers would ever go back to manual levelers...that says it all...

Regards

[RustyJC]

We're very pleased with our 6-point AutoLevel system. If we're on a very uneven site, I'll put some additional Lynx Levelers down under the jack bases on the low side or end. By reducing the required extension of the jacks, the stability is significantly improved. We seldom notice any movement of the 5th wheel, certainly not enough to justify any additional band-aids or kluges.

Rusty

[ReneeG]

fj12ryder wrote:

Stefonius wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

Stefonius wrote:
We level manually. It's a time-consuming, labor-intensive pain in the butt. A 6 point auto-leveling system is very high on the "Next RV" list of must-haves.

Sounds like you're doing it wrong. 🙂 "Time-consuming, labor intensive"? Are you on a schedule that have to have it done in seconds instead of minutes? Labor intensive? I might have to put down a few blocks, move the truck, and then hold those pesky buttons down. Apparently your idea of labor intensive and mine are worlds apart. 🙂

It also takes some time with ours to get the JT Strongarms and RotoChoks set to lessen the movement. From what I've been reading in the "Wiggle" thread the automatic levelers don't do much to make the unit more stable. So you still end up messing with the "manual" part of setting up. Not having money to burn I'll put up with this "time-consuming, labor intensive" minor chore.

In all the years we've been doing this, we've set up camp on level ground exactly one time. Setup looks like this:
Back into the space.
Get out and check side-to-side level.
Get appropriate number of long boards out of basement and stage them by the axles. Pull the rig forward. Get out and put boards where the axles will be. Back up onto boards. Get out and re-check side-to-side level.
Repeat as necessary to get the correct level.
Once that's done, chock and block wheels. Unhitch.
Raise or lower landing gear to get level front to back. If I'm lucky, DW checks the level and calls out when I should stop. If not, I have to make trips back and forth to read the bubble.
Put stabilizer jacks down.
Set up four frame jacks (in front of and behind spring hangers on both sides) to take the "bounce" out of the trailer. This involves laying on the ground in four separate spots under the rig... no easy feat when you're 6'5", overweight, middle-aged and have a bad back, knees & hips.
Total time for this process is one to two hours, more if it's muddy or dark or raining or I'm tired. With a 6 point auto-level system, I believe that I can cut that down to 5 minutes. Totally worth it in my opinion.

Wow, if I had to do that every time I'd be looking at something else too.

Mine consists of pulling up to the unlevel spot, check in the rear view mirror for the side-to-side level according to the pin level, back up about a foot, get the leveling blocks out and put the necessary number on the ground, pull forward onto them and double check the pin level. Rarely need to readjust. Now get out chock the wheels, and lower the front and rear stabilizers, tighten the JT Strongarms. Total time about 15 minutes.

From what I've been reading, getting auto-leveling won't get rid of all the wiggle. IOW you could still find yourself crawling under the trailer to put your frame jacks in place. Many people have commented that the self-leveling systems are for leveling, not to make the trailer stop moving around from movement inside. I'd do lots of research before I dumped several thousand dollars on a system that may not do what you expect it to do.

Read through the thread Wiggle to hear what others think of the self-leveling systems.

15 minutes here too but we don't have the JT Strongarms, instead we put down our rear stabilizers and use Bal Deluxe Tire locking chock between the tires which stops a lot of movement. Without them in we feel it move.

[Stefonius]

fj12ryder wrote:
From what I've been reading, getting auto-leveling won't get rid of all the wiggle. IOW you could still find yourself crawling under the trailer to put your frame jacks in place. Many people have commented that the self-leveling systems are for leveling, not to make the trailer stop moving around from movement inside. I'd do lots of research before I dumped several thousand dollars on a system that may not do what you expect it to do.

Read through the thread Wiggle to hear what others think of the self-leveling systems.

I'll check that out, thanks! I'm not going to spend the money to put a system on our current rig, but the next one we buy will have it factory installed. We have a long list of things about the current unit that we would like to change.

[john_bet]

Our friends MH has 4 leveling jacks that have quit twice. this last time they find out the system is obsolete and parts are very hard to find. Boards not hard to find.