Perhaps there is nothing truly worse than sleeping in a sort of gravity inversion position wherein your feet are elevated far above your head. To put it more simply though…how you gonna sleep when your head is crunched up against the wall, your feet keep sliding towards your knees, and your head is pounding because every unit of blood in your body has found its way northward? And what makes matters worse is that morning in your tiny house on wheels or your travel trailer when you wake up to find that the fridge is warm because you chose a gas powered fridge that won’t operate when off kilter. Thus is the stress induced by not having a level tiny house.
HOW TO LEVEL THE TRAILER POST-BUILD
- Although it may seem a little redneck or tacky, the cheapest way to get your tiny house trailer level is simply to place a stack of 2″x6″s or greater under as many tires as it takes. Remember level involved front to back. To find true level of your trailer (up to about 20′ long) you may want to use a 9″ torpedo level or for longer tiny house trailers, a 48″ box level. Do keep in mind though that if you choose the “wood stacking” method you have to think about how to keep the wood held together as you drive up on them, etc. It could be quite a hazard to you and your trailer.
- The better step is to use a set of RV leveling blocks which you can purchase from any Camping World, Wal-Mart, Northern Tools, or similar retail outlet. I recommend the LynxLevelers RV Leveling Kit which retails for just under $30. They are designed to handle a great deal of weight and to use them you just snap them together and form a small ramp. The locking ability keeps them together while you drive or pull onto them. When you are doing using them they snap together and can be stored in a zippered, carrying case.
- There is a sort of “new kid” on the block: Andersen-3604 Camper Levelers. Marrying the ease of a ramp with the height of a leveling block, this leveling kit takes out all of the guesswork. You just drive up the rocker (from 1/2″ to 4″) until you are level and then you chock. It really is as easy as that!
So if you are level from front to back and your are sleeping as sound as a baby why does the trailer rock when you go in and out the door? It is found in the stabilization.
HOW TO STABILIZE THE TRAILER POST-BUILD
Stabilizer jacks will definitely make things solid and are THE way to go. Stabilizer jacks can be found in two forms, more or less.
- The first is the scissor jack which many tiny housers weld onto the corners of the trailer. Permanently mounted scissor jacks bolt or weld on to the RV’s frame and are just hand-cranked until firm. Remember though. These are for stabilization and not for leveling.
- The second form is that of a stack jack. Shaped like a triangle these heavy duty jacks allow for support in as many areas as you have jacks. There’s a good video on how to use the stack jack. Remember though. There is a bit of manual labor to this method and a bit of elbow grease is needed.
All in all it really is just a game of back and forth. Once you are level from side to side and any wheel adjustment necessary has been made you move on to the front/back adjustment and find level there. Set your scissor jacks down until they are firm on the ground and then add any stabilizers you feel necessary. It make take a few minutes but ultimately it will make for a very restful night, a door that closes perfectly, and cold drinks in the fridge!
The only spot on my lot I could stick my 13′ Boler trailer is so sloped that the tongue is almost on the ground and the back end is 3 concrete blocks and a couple of planks high at the back. Took a lot of jacking and leveling but has been nice and stable for 8 years. I supported under the frame rather than on the wheels. If you do that you need to make sure you don’t do it too far back of the wheels or the frame droops in the middle.
There are apps available that allow you to use your phone or tablet as a level. That is super handy while traveling. You do not have to be online for the level function to work. There are also some apps that will tell you what the thickness the stack needs to be based on distance between two points. We are sure to see more and more apps written that include this very handy utility function.
This is a great article. Really practical. Do you think you could post a picture or share a link of the jacks that people weld onto the trailer? I’ve never heard of that before, but it sounds really clever:)
Hey there Melissa. They are called scissor jacks and they are represented in the third photo on the post. Here is a good video of how to attach them. –> http://rv101.tv/2012/12/12/rv-101-how-to-install-scissor-jacks-on-an-rv/ <-- . If you don't know how to weld you can hire a welder to do the job for you in almost no time at all. Thank you so much for the compliment on the piece. I do appreciate it.
Has anyone used he Steadyfast bracing system to stabilize a Tiny House? It works very well with scissor jacks and is a quick setup.
I have a 12×36 shed. When the company moved it in we had to put it up on 3 blocks on one side and 1 to two on the other. Its level but it stills scares me. I will not be staying here in this spot just looking for some land and finishing the inside. Going to get some tie downs and go from there.