# New To Camping With A Parking Problem (leveling, brakes, tounge)



## Pillville (Jan 25, 2011)

Hello All,

I'm new here and a new camper owner. Sorry for the long winded question below.

I had a problem with Leveler Blocks I bought from Wal-Mart. I'm sure you guys know these orange stackable blocks. 









I parked by camper in my yard (I live in the country with a 1 acre yard). One side of the camper was higher than the other, so I parked the low side of the camper on a couple orange-blocks (only two high).

Seemed fine, camper was level. I put my tongue jack down on a 6x6 piece of wood on the ground. I moved the truck, and leveled the front/back using the tongue jack. 

Then the camper rolled forward off the orange blocks and the tongue jack came off the 6x6 and dug into the ground. I had to use a car jack to lift the tongue out of the ground and back onto the 6x6.

It has stayed put every time I DON'T use the orange blocks. But I tried the orange blocks again and it rolled again!
I have wheel chocks, but I can't put them on the wheel that's on the orange blocks. Now my tongue jack must be a bit bent because it's really hard to crank up and down.

What horrible mistakes am I making?
Should I replace by tongue jack?
How do I "put the brakes on" with one side on orange-blocks?


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## artmart (Sep 21, 2010)

Even if the ground and trailer looks level one should always chock both sides of the wheels on the level! Engaging the brakes is not a good idea because trailer brakes are meant to be applied temporarily and not as a permanent braking system.

You don't mention what trailer you have or its weight and how many axles. These are all important factors in trying to answer your question. But I'll give it a shot.

Here's what I did for a single axle trailer and did not use the orange levelers. While it's still attached level the trailer side to side using wood blocks (or even the orange levelers since you have them) by driving onto them, then chock it with some kind of chocks to prevent any movement. Some only do one side, but as you have proven, this is not a good idea.

Lynx also sell these that interlock with their levelers:
(Lynx Leveler Products - The Only leveling system you'll ever need.).

Levelers DO NOT chock, therefore something additional must be used and the problem with these is that they must be interlocked beforehand and might be difficult to install the second one after driving your rig on it and the tires are large. The front AND back of BOTH sides of the trailer wheels must be chocked for the best in preventing movement and providing safety.

Then you can use something like this:

Wheel Chocks, Wheel Chock in Stock - ULINE

Keep in mind the higher the levelers the higher the chock needs to be must must fit firmly. You might even have to drive a stake into the chock to keep it in place but only if there's ground at the chock. Otherwise if on a hard surface friction should hold it in place.

AFTER this is done and the trailer should not move, THEN unhitch the trailer, move the vehicle and use the tongue jack to level front to back.

For a two axle trailer the process is a little easier. Again while still hitched, level the rig side to side first, by driving and centering the wheels onto the levelers. Then chock the wheels with something like this:

Bal Products Div Of Norco Ind - X-Chock Tire Locking Chock, 2-Pack - Chocks & Levelers - Camping World

or this:

Rotochok Online

You can also use the chocks mentioned in the single axle solution, but you'll find the above chocks are a lot easier to use. This way the chocking is done by the wheels and the weight of the rig in a self-chocking fashion.

If the trailer has a tongue jack with a wheel on it (common with lighter weight trailers) then you can consider putting one of these under the wheel:

Trailer Tongue Jack Wheel Chock from Wholesale Marine

The point is that no matter how small, large, heavy or light, you must ALWAYS level and secure a trailer from moving. If one ever enters the trailer for whatever reason, and it is not chocked, then movement MAY occur and this can be dangerous for people, the trailer or other property. If there is any wind or wet weather, these can cause movement or turn the ground soft so that the trailer is more prone to movement like what you describe.

Do NOT remove any chock until the trailer is hitched. You will find that in time stresses and pressures will cause the trailer to move a little as you release the chocks and hitching to your vehicle FIRST, keeps this from being a problem assuming your vehicle is in park and its emergency brake is engaged.

I hope this long explanation solves your problem.

I forgot to add, you may have damaged your tongue jack because it is not designed to support front to back movement because the trailer was not chocked correctly. It you chock the trailer in the future and you can still move the tongue jack up and down to lower and raise, you might not have to replace it, but you will have to make this determination.


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## Pillville (Jan 25, 2011)

Thanks for the info.

I normally ALWAYS have the chocks in place when not moving it. Except when I tried to use the levelers and didn't exactly know how I could chock a wheel that was raised.
I like the look of the X-Chocks, even though they are a bit pricey.

I just hope that my tongue jack is not too damaged.


My camper is a Forest River Surveyor Sport. I made my profile picture a picture of my camper.
It's similar to this one (mine's last year's model)
http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/pr...odel=SP-280&series=SurveyorSport&modelid=3216


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## artmart (Sep 21, 2010)

Thanks for the info on the RV - dual axle, 7500 lb GVWR, it's consider a heavy load for chocking purposes.

I would recommend the X-chocks when you travel because you'll find they are easiest to install. I just posted the first link I could find with these chocks, but this is for the full set. One for each side. There are plenty of other places to buy them. Expect to pay about $40-$45 each so this is in line with that.

I have a large 5th wheel parked on a driveway at my house and use triangular chocks as my solution but my driveway is very flat and level. If you plan to store your trailer for a long time period at your place, you might find you'll also want triangular chocks because if you use those X-chocks for very long term storage the metal will stick to the rubber of the tires (not good). It happened to me. Now the scissor chocks stay in the rig for traveling and the triangular chocks work at home and I also bring them along for extra safety. Allow me to explain.

Another caution about the X-style chocks - After you are done driving and you first install these chocks the tires are hot from being driven on for a while. As the tires cool, this will cause the air in the tire to shrink and in turn shrink your tires. After "setting" your chocks, you need to recheck these periodically and recrank them to retighten them to prevent movement. This is VERY important if you park your rig on any kind of slope front to back. As the X-chocks start to loosen the rig will want to slide downward. Depending on the degree of the hill you might want to bring some triangular chocks along, too, to put in front of the tires to help prevent movement. This is especially exciting when the wife notices the movement. I was able to figure it out, sneak outside, tighten things down, and told her, "Nope, everything's fine, it must have been your imagination". Whew! she bought it. Now I bring triangular chocks too and remember to recheck the chocks.

Welcome to the RV world of deep pockets to cover ALL the possibilities.


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## dogbone (Sep 22, 2009)

I made a set of chocks out of 4 4x4's, 1/2" threaded rod with 6 nuts, flat washers and 4 lock washers. Wheel Chocks. They work well. I use a ratcheting box wrench to tighten them.
Bal makes a set of chocks that go between the tires, on the ground, and you tighten them between the tires. About 40 bucks at campers world. They also worked good for me. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/bal-wheel-chock/5623


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