Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: garmp on August 22, 2016, 05:33:36 pm
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Really looking hard at a PC2100 and need some advice/opinions about levelers on that size unit. Are they worth the bucks? We've been camping out of a B for a number of years and never had a problem. We just searched for a site that works for us. But there again we never had a fridge, water, bath, etc. $4500 is a bunch.
Thanks
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The fridge is biggest concern, needs to be no more than 3.5 degrees out of level front to back and 6 degrees side to side. Jacks are super convenient when arriving after dark or when raining. Also actual price is less after factory discount.
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We have a 2400 with levelers. We love them for a lot of reasons, but one we have really come to appreciate is extra stability of the unit when camped where there are strong gusty winds....not kidding!
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We do not have them on our 2100. We do carry a set of hand made wooden levelers but rarely need them. We drove a 22' class B for 10 years and had the same experience. We mounted levels, to check front to back and side to side, at the dash and refrigerator.
Gail
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My experience with our old tiny 17 foot long motor home HERE (https://www.flickr.com/photos/37432012@N08/albums/72157621472936441), which had no levelers and we never carried anything to level it. Admittedly there was no fridge, but we did sleep in it so we did get it level enough by just working with the highs & lows in the camp site parking pad.
With our 2007 2350 with no levelers, we try to do the same, most often never needing to pull out the Lynx-Leveler (http://trilynx.com/lynx-levelers/) blocks. We ordered our 2350 new in 2007. The approach I had in 2007 was that I could add levelers anytime. After-all, PC takes the completed rig to the leveler outfitter. Then so can I. 9 years later and we still don't have levelers. Admittedly it would be nice, but hard to justify the cost and the significant added weight which I understand is around 400 pounds. Can anyone confirm that figure? And it seems the fancy levelers are sometimes finicky for the people who have them.
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I have the 2100 and have the automatic levelers. Love them! There is a learning curve to master them. They are not meant to raise the rig off the ground to make it level (like a car jack) but rather stabilize and fine tune the leveling. We do lots of BLM and national forest camping and spots are rarely level. We sometimes have to use our leveling blocks first to get close to level and then fine tune with the automatic levelers. Even when our spot is level, we put them down to stabilize the unit and are glad for them.
Bottom line....what kind of camper will you be? Out in the wilds or usually in RV parks? Where there are crazy winds (like Utah) or where that is the exception not the rule?
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We have never had levelers and really don't want them. Why? Cost, weight and one more thing to maintain and have problems. We have always used the Lynx levelers Ron referred to above and I cut a nice set of 2x8 risers capable of lifting the whole rear of a E350 or E450 over six inches. There are a lot of accessories I had rather spend my money on like solar, good backup cameras, nicer interior, etc.
We almost always camp in NF, BLM and CoE campgrounds and a lot of them are very unlevel. The Lynx levelers are about $30 a set at Walmart or Amazon and I carry several sets. We recently spent a few weeks in a remote spot in the mountains of NM and I had five inches to level front to back on one side, three inches on the other and it was no problem at all with the Lynx levelers. I have two sets that are probably ten years old, have been used a lot on dirt and gravel and still are just fine.
Think about this: you can buy a side and front to back bubble level to determine slope for less than ten bucks. You can buy two sets of Lynx for sixty bucks. You can cut 2/8s for twenty bucks. Or, you can spend thousands to push a button.
Incidentally, we always level pretty exactly. Not just for the refrig but also for the shower. A slight drift to starboard allows the shower to drain perfectly. And we don't like to sleep with a slope to the bed. As to stabilize for blowing, that has just never been an issue for us and we have experienced a lot of windy campgrounds.
Just our experiences.
Paul
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I am curious - those replying they don't use the levelers respond as "we". Is there anyone using the manual blocks who travels solo? I am thinking as a solo the levelers may be more sane than me trying to get a 3100 up on blocks by myself.
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I traveled solo often with our Winnebago Rialta using the leveling blocks. It involved a lot of in and out of the Moho, backing up, going forward, numerous times. Also driving over them a couple of times. I did it - it works! But I sure do like the leveling system with our PC. EASY TO DO! I really like the stability- no bouncing when moving around inside. Yes - I would pay the extra bucks - unless I couldn't afford it. But then, I wouldn't be buying a PC, would I?
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It makes sense to have the fancy levelers for anyone traveling solo.....especially nice for the ladies traveling solo. Another consideration is that the 4 bags of Lynx blocks & wheel chucks & top caps we carry, do take up storage space. It's not a problem in our 2350, but could be difficult in other models where storage is limited. The 2100 does lack storage. I see some 2100 owners (primarily couples) have resorted to a hitch-mounted storage unit hanging off the back of the motor home which makes it as long as a 2350. Storing 4 bags of Lynx blocks in a 2100, it might be better to get the fancy levelers.
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Thanks Janey - that is the kind of what I thought it might look like as a solo. I figure I don't need to invite any more frustration or a zoo to my travels and had resigned myself to paying the price for levelers.
Ron, should I even ask why the solo ladies would need them more than solo men? Best we not go there. ;)
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Ron, should I even ask why the solo ladies would need them more than solo men? Best we not go there. ;)
Uh.................no comment. :)
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A must have. Should also help on resale.
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So, after all this, other than installed levelers, what leveling system do you use, wood blocks, plastic lego systems, Camco Tri-leveler type, Andersen type? Which? and why that choice, if you don't mind.
thanks
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I use Lynx Leveler blocks, top-caps, and wheel chucks. They are light weight, compact and store cleanly in their zipped blue bags, so they store nicely in our 2350's outside storage compartment where weight is sensitive. I wouldn't build them up more than 5 high which is 5 inches, per their instructions.
We carry 3 blue bags of levelers with 4 top caps, and a box of two wheel chocks.
(http://trilynx.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/LL_REV_PRODUCT_SLIDE_V2.jpg)
(http://trilynx.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/LL_Chock_REV_master.jpg)
(http://trilynx.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/LL_CAP_REV_master.jpg)
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I also us the Tri-Lynx levelers which I purchased just because they were there when I needed them. Had done no research. Like them a lot for all the reasons Ron listed. Ran into one situation where one pack wasn't enough, but added a board under and worked fine.
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I am not sure what model Norcold fridge the 2100 has. The specs for the 6.3 CF Norcold says that it should be not more
then 3 degrees side to side and 6 degrees front to back (looking at the front of fridge) out of level. 3 degrees equals .7 inches
per horizontal foot. 6 degrees equals 1.25 inches per horizontal foot.
So with a 138 inch wheelbase, it could be 8 inches out of level. 3 degrees= .7" per ft X 138" (11.5') = 8.0''
" " " 84 " Dual axle width " " 8+ " " " " 6 " 1.25" " " X 84" (7.0") = 8.75"
Thats quite a bit of slope front to back of RV and a monster slope side to side. Probably fall out of bed! Not sure
how far HWH jacks extend. Sounds like the wheels could actually come off the ground at 8 inches?
Was trying to think of our trip last fall and I dont think I ever used more then three 2X4's on any one side. Thats
4.5 inches. Oh, yes there was one time in a state park on Lake Erie that we searched the woods for logs. That was the
exception though. Could have built a toboggan run on that site.
Hutch 42
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Although I generally try for the center circle in the bull's eye level as I move it around the Dometic freezer floor (the freezer floor itself is not perfectly flat), I do recall the manual stating the RV should level enough to be comfortable to use, so the work needed to level to the center of that bull's eye in an oblique-angled site probably is unnecessary, and leveling to the outer ring of the bull's eye may be sufficient. That said, one refer tech once said that ANY slightly off-level operation of any absorption refer was like slow cholesterol build-up in your arteries over time, so best to always level as best one can if parked for more than a few minutes.
And how to level? We also have Lynx, and planks per this post from awhile back:
"For the 2x8 or 2x10s needed to fully support tire tread, redwood works well as it doesn't quickly split. For 4", regular Douglas fir is OK. A chain saw makes a nice rough angled cut for tire grip, but there are limits to how high a pyramid you want to stack, and they do take up a lot of room in back of the Roadtrek."
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I am curious - those replying they don't use the levelers respond as "we". Is there anyone using the manual blocks who travels solo? I am thinking as a solo the levelers may be more sane than me trying to get a 3100 up on blocks by myself.
When I have used leveler blocks, I always did it by myself, my wife never guided me. In my mind, it's very easy to do by yourself.