Truck Camper Magazine Blog

Time To Level With You

It’s time we level with you; we don’t.

If we’re parking at a Walmart or other free asphalt overnight parking location, we simply look for a level spot in the parking lot, and park.  If we feel fairly level, we’re good.  If we don’t, we’ll either move the rig, or just deal with being a little off level for the evening.

If we’re camping at a campground, we ask for a level campsite if they’re assigned, or look for a campsite that appears level.  Then we pull into the campsite and evaluate if it feels level.  If it doesn’t, we’ll try to move the camper within the campsite to a more level position.

In situations where don’t feel level in a paid campsite, we’ll first ask for a more level campsite.  If one’s not available, and the campsite is so off-level as to be uncomfortable, we’ll remove the turnbuckles and level the camper with the camper jacks.

Leveling our rig with the jacks is a very rare occurrence that might happen once or twice a year.  Even then, we never break out a level.  In fact, we don’t even have a level in our truck camper.  We just raise and lower the camper until it “feels” level.

I can hear a few readers saying, “But what about the refrigerator?  Don’t RV refrigerators need to be level?”  During our first truck camping trip in 2005, we perfectly leveled our truck camper everywhere we went for fear of damaging the refrigerator.  Then a service technician at a RV dealership laughed at us and said, “As long as the rig feels fairly level, the refrigerator is fine.”

Since then we have asked dozens of “experts” about refrigerators needing to be perfectly level, and had the same response.  As long as the rig feels fairly level, the refrigerator is fine.  If the Level RV Refrigerator Police contact me after publishing this, I’ll let you know.

At truck camper rallies we often notice that we’re one of the few truck camper rigs that don’t put the jacks down or level the camper with blocks.  I guess we all have our own tolerance for being off-level.  Or perhaps Angela, Harley, and I are just too lazy to level our rig every time we park or camp for the night.  I can assure you that’s absolutely true.  All our cat Harley wants to do when we finally stop for the evening is eat, sleep, and use the litter box.  Nine times out of ten, that’s all we want too.

Now it’s time you level with us.  This week’s Question of the Week is, “Do you level your truck camper rig when you park for the night?”  If you do, tell us how you level your rig.

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