Dear Dave,
I have a fifth wheel trailer. It weighs 9,400 lbs. fully loaded. Is it safe to use plastic leveling blocks under the front landing gear? I’m trying to eliminate some weight by not using heavy wood blocks. Thank you, Dave. —Al
Dear Al,
There are several brands and styles of leveling assistance products including cones, blocks, and pads. Most of the cone styles such as the EZ Block are designed more for leveling jacks and only have a weight rating of 2,000 lbs., which might not work for your application.
The first thing I would suggest is to get your rig weighed to see what the front levelers will have for weight on each position. If your rig is 9,400 lbs., I would guess you might have only about 3,000 lbs. on the front levelers. This would probably be the max that the truck back axle could handle for GAWR.
Stromberg Carlson makes a cone design that has a weight rating of 6,000 lbs. that you can get from Amazon here.
The weight rating is lowered to 3,500 lbs. if they are stacked as in the photo.
Probably the most popular are the square plastic models that can be stacked, such as the Camco leveling blocks that come in a kit of 10 and can be stacked at various heights. They are 8.5” x 8.5” and 1.5” in height and will provide a 1” lift for each block. The larger pad gives a superior platform for the leveling jack and tires, if needed.
They do not recommend going over five blocks on each side. The entire 10-piece kit only weighs about 6 lbs. Quite a bit lighter and easier to store than your DIY wood blocks. There are several other brands on the market that are similar. However, I have used these on trailers in the past and they have outstanding reviews. You can find them at most RV dealers as well as Amazon here.
They do not publish a weight rating, so I called Camco and they said there is no weight rating and they can handle the weight of any 5th wheel and almost any large motor coach as long as they are only stacked five high. So your 9,400 lb. GVWR rig will be fine, according to the rep.
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook” as well as the Managing Editor of the RV Repair Club.
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Pressure treated 2 x 8 works well. I cut mine to 12″ running 16″ tires. If running bigger rubber, consider 14″. They are tough as nails – just store in a dry place when not in service. Been using this setup for 20 years.
I also tried the plastic type, but they failed after just a few uses – cracking around the edges.
My son’s a journeyman technician in a Kenworth shop and wood is not allowed anywhere in the shop to support anything. For me, after 50 years of RVing I only use wood and it’s under the full tread of the tire. I don’t use treated wood simply because untreated wood has worked fine over the years and I’ve wondered what Roger Marble has to say about what the chemicals in treated wood might have on the rubber tires. I’ve never trusted the thought of plastic for weight bearing as over time plastic can totally deteriorate. And, what about the knobbies on some of those plastic pads. Your tread is not being fully supported on those.
I started out leveling with 2×6 or 2×8 but i broke a lot of them
I found by useing laminated beams they last forever
You can usually get some from the dumpster on home construction sites
In 2015, 10 piece Camco 8.5×8.5 blocks w/bag was $19.99… In 2023, 10 piece Camco 8.5×8.5 blocks w/bag is $55.00 on Amazon/$38.00 at local Walmart w/o bag/Camping World is $36.00 w/o bag… why we love inflation.
For our 14K lb 5th wheel we have 2 sets of 10 integrated blocks and 2 sets of roll-on wedges to keep the tires on either side on supported, should leveling lift them off the ground. Ground tilt is hard to gauge so after placing a stack under each jack I use a laser level to determine which stacks need more or less blocks. Once the stacks are leveled I lower the jacks. The object is to not have to extend the jacks any more than necessary to achieve stability.
I with you on not extending the jacks too far. If I put 2 inches of blocks under the wheels, I try to put 3 inches of wide blocking under the jacks. To keep from putting side force on the jacks I also level the blocking to make sure the jack is coming down on something flat and level
Here is a link to a great set of leveling blocks:
[spoiler title=”http://www.qualityplasticscmi.com/blocks.php”] [/spoiler]
If Camco cannot answer the question on weight rating I would imagine that means they haven’t performed adequate testing to even know. But even if they could support a “large” motorcoach’s weight, the width specs I have seen on them are inadequate to fully support the full footprint of “large” motorhome tires.
Lynx blocks with their open design are way better than the Camco version. The Lynx do not trap water and dirt since it all passes through,
Hey Dave – good thoughts, but you missed THE BEST trailer leveling system I’ve ever used. Anderson levelers are dead simple, and incredibly easy to use. You put the big piece behind the low tire, and back up until you’re level side-to-side. Fit the little wedge under the front and voila! Now it’s just do front to back with your landing legs or hitch jack and you’re done. I’m surprised you haven’t seen or used these absolutely genius levelers.
https://parts.unitedrv.com/products/camper-levelers-2-pack-3604?currency=USD&variant=8197459673176&_vsrefdom=adwords&msclkid=e72b009ec38d1f5f7a396160aa3ee2fa&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=**LP%20Shopping%20-%20Catch%20All&utm_term=4583245501779595&utm_content=Catch%20All
So many people give Dave grief for not answering the original question, so…
Don, Al asked what he could use under his Landing Gear, not his tires. Anderson levelers are for tires, not landing gear. Just sayin’.