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Hi there, I recently saw a caravan leveller made by Bulldog that you place under the wheel and can achieve a 6 inch raise with. As we store the van at the site it is difficult to manhandle it onto the orange ramps so this would seem ideal.  I have seen several comments in recent days saying these sink into the ground and aren't always particularly good.

Can anybody point me in the right direction and advise of alternatives or whether the bulldog is a good solution?

Surely you can roll the van onto a piece of wood then use the leveller to minimise sinkage?  Any advice greatly appreciated.

Ali

I've never seen these Ali, I'll have to look them out up at the show. We're either going to malvern this weekend or to the NEC later in the month.

We always take a trolley jack with us & use it to jack up the lower side of the van so I can slide a piece of wood of as near as possible the right thickness under the tyre. The jack & wood has come in handy twice on the road to change a flat. I had to drive the flat tyre up onto the wood to get the jack under the axle.

BB  

That too is a good idea.  Trouble is my OH is a very cautious person and not really a hands on, DIY type.  I think he would be scared to jack things up, I know I know, he sounds like a real wimp but he isn't, he is just an IT professional and not a Mr Fixit!  He has other attributes but practical things isn't one of them!

Ali

Just bumping in case any more folks can give me some advice!

Ali

That's three useful pictures there Shytot, I'll save them to my piccies & keep my mioncers open for them, the one in the middle looks a tidy job doesn't it. I wonder if the base of it was filled over with a bit of plate aluminium or something it might discourage it from sinking in the sandy soil I tend to pitch on in Cornwall.

Thanks for the pictures

BB  

HI, what make and model is the middle one then?

Ali

We had this one before we bought a twin axle. They are good but you do need a ratchet to wind it up. I sold mine but I know where there is another one if anyone is interested. It is in the Fareham area and is too heavy to post.

Surely the sinking can be alleviated by making sure the wheel to be raised is first placed on a flat piece of wood?  Then in turn the leveller would be placed around the wheel and the weight of it would be spread across the piece of wood.

Ali

Quote: Originally posted by Basilbrush on 30/9/2006

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I've never seen these Ali, I'll have to look them out up at the show. We're either going to malvern this weekend or to the NEC later in the month.

We always take a trolley jack with us & use it to jack up the lower side of the van so I can slide a piece of wood of as near as possible the right thickness under the tyre. The jack & wood has come in handy twice on the road to change a flat. I had to drive the flat tyre up onto the wood to get the jack under the axle.

BB  

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  When we were in France this year we had the problem of levelling the van. We could not move the van back or forward enough as there wasn't the room. The couple on the next pitch came to the rescue with a 2 ton trolley jack, problem solved easily with out any stress. Yes I intend to get one before we go away again.

     Les

My trolley jack lives in the caravan Les, along with a short length of steel tube to slide over the wheel nut spanner to ensure I can undo the nuts when I need to. I leave it there so I don't forget it, if I need it for anything else I have to go to the van to get it. The pieces of wood & the jack don't weigh that much & we always have a nice level van to sleep in. I see Makro have a 2 ton trolley jack in their offer sheet now for £14-99 plus the vat.

BB  

   BB

  Thanks for that I will have to find out when my daughter is back ( she is away with work quite a lot for the next 2 months) and then I will get myself over there ASAP.

    Les

Quote: Originally posted by shooie on 30/9/2006

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All three of the above have a basic design flaw, in as much as the area raising the wheel would be better on a pivot so as to stop the device lifting the wheel unevenly. As they are when the wheel is raised contact will be lost on the inside of the tyre and more pressure put on the outside edge. The middle one looks best, but the part that goes under the tyre itself could be made from some form of wide non slip webbing (seat belt type) to ensure good all round contact with the tyre. Also as I have mentioned before, and which has been pointed out above, they would all sink in softer ground.

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