incline parking for storage

[lovemytt]

Is it possible to park a tt on an incline? Is so, how?

The reason I am asking is we have a steep driveway that I would like to use for trailer storage.

[lovemytt]

Well we decided to keep our storage place. The levelers were not tall enough 4 1/2 inches and to be tall enough would scare us to put one set of tires on. We released the ball and our blocks didnt hold the trailer so we never put the jack down. I kept thinking the words on this thread - the jack will not hold the weight of the trailer or stop the trailer from rolling. We parked it in the culdesac until we leave. Neighbors are pretty good as long as we dont leave it over the weekend. Also x chocks have a warning to not be used as a brake. Our regular chocks an unmatched big rubber chocks didnt hold.

[Bonefish]

I was out of pocket.

Someone asked about GRADE....100% Grade is a 45 degree angle.

Most highways are max around a 7% grade or 5.5 degrees of slope.

This is a rise of 1 foot for around every 14 feet you travel forward.

[lovemytt]

I appreciate the drawing as it has given me ideas of leveling. I have the x chocks now and plan to use them plus our current chocks. Thanks for the tip on tire pressure. I never knew why the trailer had to be level. I thought it just common sense never figuring the operation on the trailer depended on it. Now I am thinking differently and I thank you all for opening my eyes!

[JJBIRISH]

limbery wrote:
Question ... Is it more important for an rv fridge to be level front to back of fridge or l to r? Or both?

LEVEL IS LEVEL Fore or Aft or L to R…

As you face the fridge door the most important would be L to R…

But level is level the same today as it was years ago… and running a fridge out of level today can be just as damaging is it was before…
The only difference between the old style and the new style fridge is they moved the perk tube to the inside of the boiler… this slows down the damaging effect and crystallization of the solution and with a little LUCK will prevent most of the crystallization that is cumulative in nature and permanent…

IMO this has only changed the risk to new and different risk… it reduced the risk of overheating the fluid in the perk tube but allows the boiler and tubing itself to get hotter and fail… fail in the area of the heat source raising the risk of fires…

While I don’t have the evidence, the labs, or the resources to prove that, I think the 7 or 8 plus million recalled and the many re- recalled (new style) cooling units that pose a fire risk give cause to question the idea… worse yet the second and third generation recalls just lock the cooling unit out to prevent it from being used says they don’t know how to fix it…

There are three requirements for the proper and safe operation of a absorption fridge and they haven’t changed and are just as important today as they ever were…

THREE REQUIREMENTS - FOR PROPER OPERATION
1. Level
2. Air Flow (Good Ventilation)
3. Heat (Precise heat)

[Terrydactile]

X-chocks, if you choose to use them, should not be they only method of chocking the trailer on a slope for extended periods. The reason, if air is lost in one or both tires the chock could loosen up enough to allow the trailer to move. JMHO

[Old-Biscuit]

limbery wrote:
Question ... Is it more important for an rv fridge to be level front to back of fridge or l to r? Or both?

BOTH....
MFG. recommends no more than 3 degrees off level side-to-side and 6 degrees off level front to back.

The ammonia vapor gets condensed back into liquid and flows via gravity to lower section then gets heated back up into vapor and rises to upper section(s).

Because of the thermodynamics and gravity the fridge needs to be 'reasonably level' so that the 'solution' does not stagnate in one area becoming crystallized and end up causing blockage....which causes overheating of tubes. Tubes crack/split......ammonia solution leak. DEAD fridge.

Operating while traveling is not a problem due to the rocking/rolling of rig.....keeps the solution in motion

[thirtydaZe]

Bonefish wrote:

limbery wrote:

phillyg wrote:

Like this!

this is very interesting. i have a sloped driveway, relatively steep. i can raise the front up enough to be close to level, and so my fridge will cool overnight. i've always been concerned about rear axle weight.

i love what you've done here as far as leveling is concerned. do you believe that also reduces the weight off the axle not on your leveling blocks?

also, i'm looking for a good grade percent calculator so i know what my driveway's slope is. i can find one that calculates feet drop per mile, anyone know of one that calculates inches, per feet so it's more ideal for a grade the size of a driveway?

[limbery]

Question ... Is it more important for an rv fridge to be level front to back of fridge or l to r? Or both?

[Bonefish]

limbery wrote:

phillyg wrote:
Left to right, no. Fore and aft, yes. I level the trailer to the slope to ensure the weight is equal on each axle, too.

How do you do that on a slope? Mine is jacked up in the front as high as I'm comfortable and it's not completely level F to B but there's obviously more weight on the rear axel than the front...

Like this!

[BurbMan]

If you level the TT in the driveway then there is no need to worry about leaving the fridge on, you just don't want to run the fridge off level for any period of time or possible damage may occur. Fridges are meant to operate off level to some extent, unless you only drive on perfectly level roads.....Running them at extreme angles for long periods interferes with the circulation of the ammonia solution which relies on thermodynamics to work properly, and that's what can cause the damage.

At any rate I would make plans to store the TT level even if the driveway is steep...make getting in/out and packing stuff a lot easier, also easier on the slide mechanism if you have one, plus you can leave the fridge on too....

Makes no difference if on 120v or gas...the fridge works exactly the same, the only difference being whether the ammonia solution is heated by a gas flame or an electric heating element.

[apr67]

I thought off level operation of absorption fridges wasn't an issue if it was on 120v?

[lovemytt]

I enjoyed it as well.

[readytow]

HaHaHA! Old-Biscuit said hogwash!!!

[Old-Biscuit]

chevyman2 wrote:

NOW LISTEN CLOSE... After you move the TT back to more level ground. I would not turn the fridge on for at least 24 hours.

Hog wash........
absorption fridges have no moving parts..they work off thermodynamics and gravity.

Operating 'off level' will cause accumulative damage

Storing it off level has no effect on a non-operating fridge.
When you get rig level the ammonia solution will equalize in absorber tank and liquid heat exchanger.

Turn it ON.

It might take 24 hrs. to fully cool down but you don't need to wait 24 hrs. after leveling to turn it on.
Don't even have to wait an hour.