Question
How should Pebble leveling pads be used on steep sites?
3 months ago
Newbie question: why use leveling blocks or pads? The driveway surface appears relatively level.
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11 answers
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My driveway is so steep that the stabilizers actually time out while retracting when decamping.
We've had to use leveling pads under the caster wheel/jack when unhitching in our driveway because a slight slope and added pressure from the tow vehicle on the hitch otherwise prevents unhitching.
Maybe you can see the slope of the road in this picture.
I can't really see the slope of the road, but I understand now. This is a picture of the campsite I was trying to level before moving to a different location. It is hard to see the slope, but the front is all the way down and the back is extended as far as it can go.
I camped like this and it was fine. Decamping aborted twice, then figured it out. I manually raised the nose and Magic Hitch worked great on a pretty good slope.
I've also camped with wheels off the ground several times with zero issues. I was told the hydraulics do not need support.
We used stack pads when we moochdocked in front of family because it was just a little too inclined for the stabilizers. We don't plan on using them on level ground.
What do you mean by “too inclined for the stabilizers”? I ran into a campsite so sloped that even with InstaCamp setup it wasn't level. The front was much higher than the back, so even with the tongue at the lowest setting it wasn't level.
The street where we moochdocked was too sloped for the reach of the jacks and stabilizers. They can only extend so far. We put stack pads under one or two of them and auto-level was able to work. We put one under a wheel too, as it was off the ground.
I tested inclines off-road and at a campsite and definitely found InstaCamp's leveling maximums. I was comfortable making a small manual move that reduced the angle slightly. InstaCamp quit twice while decamping, then worked. Magic Hitch worked perfectly after I manually raised the front wheels.
I am good with these limitations and find them acceptable. It looks possible to camp almost anywhere with blocks under the levelers when necessary.
We recently camped on a relatively flat slab, but if you zoom in, our tires weren't touching the ground. Should we have put levelers under them?
We think so. The brakes are on the tires and wheels, so if they are not on the ground, you are losing their benefit. It is also more stable with weight on the wheels.