If you’ve never bothered to level your travel trailer, you’ve probably started to notice the problem. Uneven floors make it harder to move around and liquids pool to one side of their vessels. With no support, the trailer might bounce up and down with even minor amounts of movement, and it can eventually start to settle into a deeply unstable position.
Luckily, you don’t have to put up with these problems if you learn the simple process of leveling your travel trailer. Read on to learn how to level a travel trailer. If you’re in the market for a new trailer or you need parts and maintenance for your current one, stop by Trailer Source. We have locations in Colorado Springs, Littleton, Wheat Ridge, and Erie, Colorado.
Choose the Right Location
Leveling your trailer will be much easier if you pick a good spot to begin with. Obviously, a poured concrete or asphalt pad is the ideal location because they will likely be more level than a dirt pad. More importantly, they’ll also be less likely to wash out or settle in an uneven way. The best approach is to find the most level, stable ground you can.
While looking at the ground is important, make sure to look up, too. Make sure there are no loose branches or anything that could fall down on the roof of your trailer. If it’s the summer, you might want to try to find a location that has shading above it to limit the amount of direct sunlight and keep the temperature down.
Level Laterally
Once you’ve picked the perfect spot, park the trailer about two feet in front of where you eventually want it to rest. Then, measure the level of the chassis from side to side at the trailer hitch. Adjust the angle of the level until it’s level and then note to yourself you’ll need to raise the lower side of the trailer in order to reach this level. Place leveling blocks or pieces of wood under the correct tire, then back the trailer onto the blocks and measure the level again. Add or subtract blocks as necessary.
Deploy Chocks, Unhitch
You’ll want to retain your lateral level, so start by chocking up the wheels so they can’t move. Next, unhitch the trailer from the tow vehicle. Make sure to disconnect the wiring harness and the safety chains before you pull away! Then, pull your tow vehicle clear away so you have plenty of access to the hitch.
Level from Front to Back
Leveling the trailer from front to back is even easier than leveling from side to side. Simply use the jack on the front of the trailer to raise or lower the hitch until the trailer is level. Once you get the trailer mostly level, step inside and check the level of the floor and the countertops. This should mirror the level of the chassis, but it’s worth checking out inside because that’s where you’ll experience the level or lack thereof.
Deploy Stabilizers
Once you’ve achieved level from side to side and front to back, deploy the stabilizers so you keep it. On most models, these can be deployed by simply cranking the stabilizer jack down until it’s touching the ground. Some people might tell you to just level the trailer using these jacks, but this is a time consuming and inefficient technique. On top of that, these jacks aren’t so much meant to move large amounts of weight as they’re meant to keep it stable.
Leveling a travel trailer doesn’t have to be difficult if you take the time to do it the right way. Try this simple method on your next trip! For all your other RVing needs, stop by a Trailer Source location in Colorado Springs, Erie, Littleton, or Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Our team of RVing experts will make sure you leave with exactly what you need.
