Leveling Your Travel Trailer
Travel trailers are a popular and convenient means of going camping without having to rough it. Their complement of amenities and towability make them an ideal choice of camping vehicle. When you get to your campsite, you’ll likely want to unhitch your towing vehicle and immediately start camping, but hold that thought. Failing to take the time to level out your travel trailer on even ground could ruin your camping trip! An unlevel travel trailer could mean anything from a sloping bed that keeps you up at night to a shower that pools with water when you run it. The process of leveling your travel trailer does take a bit of time, but we assure you it’s well worth your trouble.
Golden Gait Trailers & RVs in Concord, NC, is your local travel trailer dealer, which means we know a thing or two about the ins and outs of travel trailer ownership. We’ve created this guide to leveling your travel trailer to help you get your camping trip off to a stellar start!
Find A Flat Space
Your first step when you reach your campsite is to locate a piece of flat and level ground without rocks or other obstacles in the way. The more level your surface is, the easier it will be to make your trailer level. With a campsite, you may not have a great deal of choice about the particular parcel of land you’re renting, but do your best to find the most even portion of it and move your trailer a little ahead of it to start the process.
Level Side To Side
Hold the level horizontally to gauge how much you’ll need to raise or lower the sides of your trailer. Drive forward enough to place leveling blocks or boards where the trailer tires will rest. Then reverse back onto these and check how even your rig is. Adjust, then repeat until the bubble of your level is centered! This will take a lot of driving back and forth, so have patience.
Secure & Unhitch Your Trailer
Once the trailer is level from side to side, you should use chocks or wheel blocks in front of and behind its wheels to keep it in place. Unhitch the towing vehicle and drive it out of the way so you can safely continue with the leveling process.
Level Front To Back
Now you’ll use your level vertically to gauge how much you need to adjust the trailer from front to back. Use the jack to adjust your hitch until the trailer is level and lock the hitch when you’re done.
Stabilize
Finally, it’s time for you to stabilize your trailer so it remains in this place for the duration of your trip. You don’t want any motion to ruin all the careful work you just did, after all! Your travel trailer has stabilizers that are essentially jacks at each of its four corners, and these can be lowered into the ground to hold the trailer in place. While you may be tempted to simply use these to level your trailer, don’t! The stabilizers aren’t meant to adjust weight, only to keep it in place. This is neither a safe nor efficient means of leveling your trailer. Use the method outlined above instead!
To stabilize your trailer, use the tool that came with your trailer to raise and lower the jacks. Sometimes you can attach this to a power tool to speed up the process. Make sure the jacks are pressed into the ground without being shoved in so hard they bend or break. You should be all good once this step is complete!
Now that you know how to level your travel trailer, your camping trip will be so much easier and more comfortable. If you’re still seeking the perfect travel trailer, then come down to see us today to view our inventory of new and used travel trailers for sale! Golden Gait Trailers & RVs serves both Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina with our dealership in Concord.