What levelling blocks should i get .

[Fatmrsgeorge]

Getting a 2015 Swift Rio. FatMr G was obsessive about levelling our old Ford transit using his trusty spirit level and two sturdy chocks. Will the same work for our new van or should we get the 3 storey ones ?

 

[Palough]

With mine, the "pillow case" is the structural element, not the bladder inside.

The "pillow case" is identical to a normal bed pillow with a deep fold inside at each end to contain the un-inflated bladder.

The pillow case is sewn together out of heavy duty "synthetic sail cloth" which restrains the bladder, and prevents it from rupturing and going out of shape

The pillow case is made a firm fit over the bladder so that all the tension, as
the bladder inflates, is taken by the sail cloth pillow fabric.

I'll show photos the brass inflating tubes and how they attach to the bladder in a day or so, after I rummage through my junk box in the garage and find the "left-over" brass fittings

As promised, here's the valve stems I bought for the air bags.

I fitted a strong flexible nylon washer either side of the screw fitting where it passes through the tubing to secure it firmly to the tube.

The valve stems were purchased from a heavy haulage truck tyre repair shop very cheaply

 

[Stuart]

We had the yellow ones with our first van but they weren't very substantial and soon broke. We upgraded to the black "quads" much more solid and now on their third van.

 

[rb62]

Milencos are hard to drive up, especially with a heavier van.

It has previously been suggested on here to saw off the sharp edges between the different levels to make them easier to climb.

That's what I did and have no problem with our 5.4t Carthago but as we're downsizing they're in the classified ads

 

[Anneg]

We just use a couple of short lengths of the wide deck boards if we need to, with one end cut at an angle to drive on easily. Living remotely I usually carry them in my car in case I get stuck on our rural roads here in Pembrokeshire, but put them on the floor of our MH when off on a trip. Have thought about screwing another length on top, but so far the single height of the deck board has worked fine - levels our single beds and the fridge works fine too - then again the fridge works fine on the 4% slope on our drive!

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[Penk]

Our problem has been rolling back off the ramps. We drive up fine, apply the hand brake but, when we release the foot brake we roll back at least one level or even back to the ground. We’ve got round it by buying some small blocks which I put behind the rear wheels before we let go of the foot brake. We wonder if this rolling back is normal or is there something amiss with our handbrake?

 

[PeterCarole29]

Milencos are hard to drive up, especially with a heavier van.

It has previously been suggested on here to saw off the sharp edges between the different levels to make them easier to climb.

I have had to do this as well but mainly because the steps on them miss shape the tyre so much
I have reverted to 2 pieces of wood 9" x 2" and some blocks of 4x2 If i had to use any factory made one i would buy the yellow shallower ones next time

 

[PeterCarole29]

Our problem has been rolling back off the ramps. We drive up fine, apply the hand brake but, when we release the foot brake we roll back at least one level or even back to the ground. We’ve got round it by buying some small blocks which I put behind the rear wheels before we let go of the foot brake. We wonder if this rolling back is normal or is there something amiss with our handbrake?

I have seen this before but more information would be helpful for someone to tell you
Make of chasis and engine and gearbox

 

[Jeff one]

Remember the fridge not been level , can cause very expensive problems , trust me learnt the hard way
Happy new year

 

[wireman]

Where did you get them ? All I can find is flat Jack's at £300+ which look totally different.

FLAT-JACK Camper 2.0 are less than that at 278 euros/229.68 pounds at present. (I can't remember how much the delivery was) for the pair. They work OK even though we don't use them a lot since SWMBO is not as picky as me and usually just says 'no don't bother its not too bad' so they only get used if its a large slope. Easy to inflate at a max of 1.5 bar

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[Sunny]

I used to use the 3 stage levellers but switched to the Milenco wedge set as less stress on your gearbox and no need to try and get both wheels in the correct place as you just put the chock, which locks in behind the wheels, wherever they end up

 

[Jo May]

There are some for sale in the classified section.

 

[wfdTamar]

I use Froli 8 tonne ones with their optional add on bits that give extra height (first pic) or a longer platform (2nd pic). Also one standard one for the rare times theres a two direction slope. They're not as wide as the Milenco so I have some 'get out of a bog' mats I can put under them.

Only problem is these are hard to find.

 

[sarumsteve]

Dont bother. Waste time faffing around for minimal gain and use up valuable payload. Used mine about three times in 15 years of motorhoming and we park up in all sorts of places.

 

[Barriesimpson]

It all depends on where you decide to stay.
I have the Milenco 3 storey ones, got them when I first got the Moho because somebody told me I needed them.
Can’t fault them but because, in the majority of times in the UK, we stay on sites, we rarely use them. Most sites now are gravelled and level.
If we are abroad and sites are not so good as we are only staying one night we just can’t be bothered with using them.
We don’t wild camp so it might be different for others.
Mine sit in the garage, just in case, taking up room and adding to carried weight.
The other difficulty I have is actually driving up on them, my automatic doesn’t “ creep” so I find it worrying to accelerate onto the ramps. I’m using my left foot on the brake and right foot on accelerator. I understand FIAT doesn’t really like this approach.
In short, much depends on where you camp.
Personally I could do without them, rarely used.
My advice give it a try without them and see if you need them rather than what I did, buy them and find I don’t use them!
Another wasted expense.

The dealer gave me mine, so no expense, but have yet to use them 6 months in.

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[stuartholmes]

All you needed to do is attach some webbing to the ramp, when you drive onto the webbing the ramp can’t move,

Fiamma make a matching extension piece for their ramps on that principle. I bought a pair but not got round to putting them in the 'van.

The extension pieces that is. I have plenty of ramps. The yellow Fiammas. I normally use them 'upside down' on wet grass to reduce sinkage.

We are picky about being level as our previous 'fridge necessitated it but also because I'm just made that way. So when the terrain requires it I'm quite happy to put a ramp on a ramp (thick end above thin end to keep the top level) and another ramp on top for final lift and of course the fourth one is the first one to go from ground level to stage one...

It all makes sense in practice. (With practice.)

And that's a Fiat Ducato Comfortmatic, it crawls up quite happily with appropriate use of the hand brake. How people with electronic parking brakes manage I really don't know!

ps. So yes, we travel with six ramps in our little Murvi. Under the sofa. With the cable & hosepipe & tools & beer & barbecue & induction hob. (I want to keep that out but apparently it hides part of the nice real wood countertop.)

 

[nomad2022]

You can have my 3 step Milenco never used still in box after 3 years of touring Europe and Morocco - taking up valuable storage space- only catch is you’ll have to collect them - I’m in Taghazoute Morroco atm

 

[Minxy]

You can have my 3 step Milenco never used still in box after 3 years of touring Europe and Morocco - taking up valuable storage space- only catch is you’ll have to collect them - I’m in Taghazoute Morroco atm

There are a few funsters in Morocco at the moment, not sure if they are near you though.

 

[jennywren]

I'm inclined to use ours quite often, but have found most of the newer ones to be somewhat fragile and splinter...suppose if I used them on grass, this wouldn't happen, but Stony ground it does.

...no pun intended !

 

[jumar]

...no pun intended !

Well?

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[PaulC70]

Dont bother. Waste time faffing around for minimal gain and use up valuable payload. Used mine about three times in 15 years of motorhoming and we park up in all sorts of places.

Not great advice really and argueably contradictory because those 3 times you obviously needed them to make your stay more comfortable.
As has been said by some others, it's not "Don't bother", it's actually better to try without first and see how you go. If you find you need them (like I do due to my back) you can always buy them later.

 

[quentinsf]

We like being fairly level, so use ours more than is really necessary for sleeping, but it's partly because our current van has a single drain in the shower. The new van, which we should be getting on Weds (Yay!) has two, and a kitchen sink that should drain better, but it also has a transverse bed, so all my instincts about where to park will now be thrown into confusion!

If you do like to be pretty level, the Truma app (normally for controlling the heating) also has a levelling function which I think is rather good. You configure it with the dimensions of the van, then you put it on a flat bit of worktop or similar and it says, effectively, "Your front left wheel needs to be 11cm higher and your front right one 5 cm higher". We certainly don't need that precision, but it's quite useful to help decide whether it's worth getting the ramps out for a small adjustment, or whether the height you need is more than the ramps are likely to give!

I'll probably keep using it even though we don't have a Truma heater on the new van... unless anyone has any other recommendations!

 

[Brian/April]

All you needed to do is attach some webbing to the ramp, when you drive onto the webbing the ramp can’t move,

I've had the issue of ramp spitting out when on concrete, so are you suggesting bolting a small length to leading edge so it gets trapped under tire as you climb up ramp??

 

[Landy Andy]

I've had the issue of ramp spitting out when on concrete, so are you suggesting bolting a small length to leading edge so it gets trapped under tire as you climb up ??

Yes a short bit of webbing strap, such as seatbelt fabric, held on to the ramp with a couple of self tappers, will stop the ramp being spat out.

 

[nigel dewbery]

Getting a 2015 Swift Rio. FatMr G was obsessive about levelling our old Ford transit using his trusty spirit level and two sturdy chocks. Will the same work for our new van or should we get the 3 storey ones ?

We sold our Moho last summer and have a set of milenco quads left over for sale if you end up interested
They are heavy, but we used them regularly on our 500 nights in last 5 years, when needed they do the job

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[Fatmrsgeorge]

Ah. Thanks FatMrG couldn't wait and has bought them already.

 

[Jofang]

When we had a tandem axle caravan we made our own from 18mm plywood and cut out some of the centre of each board to save weight before screwing them together. At 2 feet long they're better than the plastic ones you buy and give you a platform on which to park. Also good for tandem axles, as driving up with one wheel on the ramp leaves the other off the ground to change a wheel.