leveling a tandem axle trailer

[cpaharley2008]

Now, back to leveling a tandem axle trailer........

[Great Eggstrications]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Now, back to leveling a tandem axle trailer........

OK. Sounds like a Great Idea...

Originally Posted by MVA

Has anyone on the forum used these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PPC57T7

They appear to be nylon reinforced and perhaps more robust than the Andersen version.

Any experience?

I got these Beech Lane rocking leveler ramps a couple of years ago, shortened them both by a few inches (since I wanted the front and rear axles to rise at the same rates to the same heights in unison, OCD?), and have used them a few times - on dirt, gravel, and pavement. Concerned about slippage since the rocker ramps and the chocking wedges are smooth hard surfaces, I first lay my unused Escape mud flaps on the ground.*

I then place the thin rubber sheets (that came with the ramps) on top of the Escape mud flaps, position the rocker ramps atop these 2 layers of rubber, then move the trailer forward or backward onto the rocker ramps till it's level side-to-side, allowing the ramps to rock as they see fit, then I lift up the unweighted edge of each thin sheet and insert the chocking wedges so they're pinched between the top surfaces of the Escape mud flaps and the bottom surfaces of the thin rubber sheets so they can't squeeze out like a watermelon seed pinched between 2 wet fingers. And then finally it's 'brakes off' in neutral and let everything mush forward or backward to allow the ramps and trailer wheels to settle into their happy places. This puts grippy rubber surfaces between all the hard slippery surfaces and I have never had any slippage issues. So from bottom to top, it's Escape mud flap, thin rubber sheet, ramp on top, and the chocking wedge between the 2 rubber sheets. This all sounds like it's a lot of trouble, but it's really not bad at all. And it looks all modern and clean and high tech, unlike using clunky bright orange and yellow plastic blocks and chocks, although Your Taste May Vary.

I still carry a stack of the good old orange plastic interlocking blocks and use a few of them for the typical easy leveling job, for which they work great, but for those really tilted sites that require a good bit of lift, the leveler ramps work great. Looking at the Camco 44423 ramps (which I don't think were around when I got the Beech Lane ramps), it looks like they might sort of lock together with each other thereby obviating the need for the rubber mats. They are apparently quite a bit shorter so no need to shorten them for use with dual axles (?), and have rubber grippers on the bottoms of the chocks. I suppose all of these are subject to breakage (especially if subjected to shocks, heavy loads, and/or very cold temperatures). The Beech Lane ramps have some bad reviews on Amazon w.r.t. breakage issues. The rocking ramp scenario does take up a good bit of storage space, and the Beech Lane ramps are pretty heavy as well.


* I had Escape not install them on the trailer since I didn't want any unnecessary holes in the shell, didn't really want water and road slime to stay trapped between the flaps and the shell, wanted to be able to apply 3M clear protective film to the wheel wells without any obstructions, and anyhow as a matter of policy I never leave behind anything that I might be able to use later, but I digress which sometimes happens and for which I somewhat apologize.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

what is a NOS

An item which is new (meaning has never been sold or used), but no longer in production and has been sitting in stock for a while ("old stock"). In some cases this means it's an obsolete design, but in other cases it's highly valuable, because it is an exact replacement for something which no longer produced or a style which some people want but is no longer produced.

[Fender]

Speaking of "balloon tires" the advent of fat-tire bikes has been a game changer for cycling 12 months of the year in my neck of the woods.
This photo taken yesterday at Mactaquac Provincial Park in New Brunswick.

[ofamily]

We went from a 17’ Casita to an 21’ Escape. No trouble at all to level the tandem axel. We use the Andersen block for the front wheel and then usually one lego block for the 2nd wheel to roll onto.

We went and bought the Andersen kit. It’s great, has everything you need, except for the lego blocks. The kit comes with several red squares but we found the lego blocks better for helping that 2nd wheel roll up.

You’ll find that your outside assistant has to get creative to look at the level on the back of the Escape if the trailer is carrying a bike rack. The bikes block the line of sight. FYI from one who knows.

[drjp]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

You should support both axles since supporting only one may put too much weight on the raised axle. Generally, not a problem with boards, leggo blocks or Anderson type levelers, although the Anderson does need to be cut down to fit between the wheels.

Yep, I cut the first few inches off the top of one of my curved levelers so it’d fit between the tires, backed the 5.0 onto them with no problem, and got level on a significant lateral slope. Worked great.
Jonathan

[Posttoasties]

Originally Posted by Camper Scott

I have the Camco levelers and like them. I attached a rope as this reviewer on Amazon suggested and it works very well if they want to slip.

THANK YOU! We've used both the leggo blocks and the Camco levelers depending on the situation. I like the Camco levelers better except for the sliding problem. (My leggo blocks slide too on hard packed gravel). I've cut grooves in my Camcos but on hard pack they still slip. I've also noticed that tire pressure has an effect on both. If the tires are at about 45 psi they work better than if they are at our usual 48-49. I will be installing ropes first thing when I get the trailer out of storage end February!

[Iowa Dave]

Schwinns, made in Chicago. Very sturdy. Used was as good as new. My dad would work the metal up and give them a custom paint job. Complete with pin striping. He painted cars and trucks on the weekend. He was pretty good. Each one of us brothers got one new bicycle. After that you were on your own. I rode my 10 speed for many years. Still have one but it hung itself upside down in the garage 15 years ago and hasn’t moved since.
Iowa Dave.

[John in Santa Cruz]

ugh, those chicago made schwinn 10 speeds such as Varsity, Continental were awful bicycles in the sense that the frames were made from thick wall soft steel, the flat blade forks were surprisingly wobbly side to side, they had thick steel rims that had very high rotational inertia making acceleration painful, they had the awful French Huret gearing, and heavy steel one piece ashtabula cranks with pressed steel sprockets. my contemporaneous low end english 10 speed (a Dawes Galaxy in the late 1960s) weighed literally half of what a Varsity weighed.

[Iowa Dave]

Well they might not have been very advanced but they got us where we wanted to go and made us all the stronger. We didn’t race and we needed something we could haul fishing tackle, fish, traps, dead muskrats and coon in the heavy duty baskets on the back and on the front carrier. Three or four nice coon and a half a dozen muskrats weighed better than 50 lbs and sometimes much more. Steel traps. Rebar stakes . Plumb hatchet, roll of tie wire, a trusty single six and we were in business. My brothers and I are all in our 70’s and like lots of folks, wouldn’t trade our boyhoods with anyone anywhere. Nothing like a bar b qued coon in a roaster with some Czech rye bread and a cold pop after a day afield.
Iowa Dave

[sofmerc]

I bought a set of the Andersen levelers off of Face book marketplace for $40. 1 was cut down a bit and I cut the other one down to match. They both came with anti skid traction tape on them. Haven't used them yet, pending tt delivery.. I'm ready!

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

My first "2 wheeler" had those thick balloon tires and we called the skinny ones, English riders made by Raleigh Bikes. Mine was a Sears & Roebuck model, JC Higgins sold in Sears....something like this

I had just got a New one of those for Christmas, in flat S. Calif. No gears. We moved that summer to a HILLY part of New England. I was all of 40 lbs. I could NOT get it up a hill. I rode my mother's 3 speed( side baskets & seat), but I could get it up the hill back home. I had to save my money & buy my own bike. Parents wouldn't get me another new one. It rusted away.

[John in Santa Cruz]

re english style bikes including Sears... my *first* bicycle when I was in 5th or 6th grade was an english style 3 speed, Sears branded, I believe these were made in Austria or something, Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub, coaster brake in back, hand brake in front. they were actually pretty decent bikes for the early/mid 60s. My friend had a similar bike with a 'kickback' 2 speed and two hand brakes, swapping bikes took some serious getting used to... the kickback 2 speeds, you briefly backpedaled to toggle from high to low and back to high gear, so if you are used to coaster brakes, ooops, you just shifted gears.

btw, re hills, heh, I grew up in the north side of San Francisco where there's more hill than flat, and too many /steep/ 1 block hills where a coaster brake only bike would kill you with its inability to slow and stop, you HAD to use a front brake.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

r

btw, re hills, heh, I grew up in the north side of San Francisco where there's more hill than flat, and too many /steep/ 1 block hills where a coaster brake only bike would kill you with its inability to slow and stop, you HAD to use a front brake.

No kidding, when I was a teenager I used to park my Honda 50 on the sidewalk by the stairs at 700 Mason. I was always afraid someone would bump into it and send it flying down the hill. Years later on a nostalgia trip and many, many miles of biking I still found it a tricky place to ride.

My first bike was a British bike called a Humber. It had a conventional free wheeling spocket but it also had a fixed sprocket on the back wheel. You could flip the wheel around and have direct drive. Riding backwards did take a bit of skill and if your foot slipped off the pedal you could get your ankle wacked by the always spinning pedal. But it was fun.

Ron

[MrLynn]

Well, this old thread got derailleured by bicycle fans, but since I got my E21 I've been dutifully toting my 2-bys and 1-bys around in my storage box and my Expedition, and I've concluded that for the tandem-axle trailer it's more lumber than I really need. So I've been reading other threads here and reviews on Amazon of various plastic leveling tools.

I was surprised at how many users found their various plastic 'Lego' blocks cracking and breaking. I was also surprised at folks who liked the curved Anderson levelers, despite having to cut the ends off to fit between the tandem tires.

But the curved idea seems eminently practical (assuming you don't run over the ends and bang on the ground). So I'm thinking maybe I should give the Camcos a shot and see how they work:

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-44423-C...ve%2C89&sr=1-4

$26 for one wheel, two sets for $52 (they sell a 2-pack for $66—what's up with that?

Anyway, I'll probably try them—but still carry some lumber, just in case.

[Ooshkaboo]

I bought the Andersen leveler kit, it works just fine but someone on here suggested this can double as a leveler also. Too late for me as I already purchased both. I can tell you it does work at lifting up a wheel in the event of a flat or checking to see if your trailer brakes are working.

[SageRpod]

Another vote for the Andersen levelers. You will have to trim 4" off one of them to fit between the wheels on the Escape. Other than that they work great.

https://www.amazon.com/ANDERSEN-Acce...24707035&psc=1

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

I bought the Andersen leveler kit, it works just fine but someone on here suggested this can double as a leveler also. Too late for me as I already purchased both. I can tell you it does work at lifting up a wheel in the event of a flat or checking to see if your trailer brakes are working.

DId you mean "double as a jack also"?

A couple of months ago, when I needed to grease the EZ-Lube axles, I bought one of those Camco Trailer-Aids. Lifted up the subject wheel so I could spin it while squirting, which was great. So now I carry it, just in case (God forbid!) I have to change a wheel on the road.

Anyway, all I need now is a little more accurate (and lighter) leveling than lumber.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

.... Anyway, all I need now is a little more accurate (and lighter) leveling than lumber.

The 'kit' that's working well for me as a solo traveler with tandem axles includes

• 2x Andersen levelers
• 2x 6ft 2x6 with beveled ends & 'traction tape' (stuff sold for stair treads; use cedar for lighter weight)
• 1x LevelMate Pro

With the LevelMate I

1. Pull to my desired final location, note the amount of lift in inches needed on the low side
2. That tells me if I can make level with just the Andersen's or I need to add the board(s) under them
3. Back up or pull forward as required to place the appropriate lifting aids in the final location
4. Pull or back onto the lifting aids until LevelMate says I'm 'spot on' side-to-side level
5. Chock it and unhitch, level front-to-back with the jack(s) guided again by LevelMate, then lower the stabilizers

Minimal 'back-and-forth', no straining to eyeball bubble-levels, no risk of driving beyond the levelers, it's proving to be the easiest system I've ever had for setting up my RV, well worth the cost involved IMO.

Just for your consideration, YMMV.

[MrLynn]

Sounds good, Alan. I get out and use a carpenter's level to check level, and my wife as a spotter to place tell me if I'm on the board(s). Guess I'll still take the 2x8s, even if I get the Camco levelers. Good idea to use the 'traction tape' and bevel the board ends.