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 Topic: Leveling a Caravan
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27/5/2010 at 7:35pm
Location: Lancashire
Outfit: Nissan X-Trail & Bailey Ranger
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The jockey wheel is a caravan's third (or fifth for twin axle) point of contact with the ground. The road wheels and the jockey support the weight of the caravan, the corner steadies only steady it to prevent rocking. Why on earth would anyone lift it up other than when hitching up to a tow vehicle? There's no advantage to raising it, and it's an intrinsic part of the van's construction and design that the jockey takes a great deal of the weight at the nose of the van.
Further more, if you ever get in your van while it's hitched up (at a motorway services, for instance), lower the jockey wheel. If an adult sits in the front of a caravan (where most vans have seats) their weight has to be added to the normal noseweight of the van, a total which will probably far exceed the permitted maximum weight for the vehicle's towball.
Here's the Caravan Club's advice about levelling when pitching (read it online here - lots of great advice for newbies). Note, at no point does it suggest raising the jockey wheel before occupying the van:
For your first few trips you can save yourself any worry about side to side levelling by selecting a hard standing pitch which will usually be nice and level anyway. However, it really is a simple procedure and if you would like to use grass pitches, it is something you may need to do. A quick glance at your pitch should tell you if you are likely to need side to side levelling i.e. levelling across the axle. If using a hard-standing, this is unlikely. First you will need a ramp. Reverse on to your pitch about a foot further back than you wish to end up, then place the levelling ramp in front of the wheel that needs to be raised. Place a spirit level parallel to the axle on the A-frame, or just inside the caravan door. It helps to have two people at this point. One should drive the car very slowly forward up the ramp, and the other should indicate when the spirit level bubble is in the middle. You then need to secure the caravan handbrake (make sure the lever is pulled fully on into a vertical position) and chock the raised wheel before unhitching and parking the car, usually next to the caravan furthest away from the door side.
The next step is front to back levelling, which is much easier. Place the spirit level pointing front to back just inside the caravan door or on the A-frame, then raise or lower the jockey wheel until a level attitude is achieved. If there is a significant front to back slope, you may need to place a block under the jockey wheel. Then lower the corner steadies until they are firmly set against the ground, and again some or all of these may need to have blocks underneath. You can now get the
caravan step, which should be kept just inside the caravan door or in the car, place it outside the caravan door making sure it is stable. It is now safe to get in.
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, but down when on site. its a belt and braces kind of thing I guess.
