A Guide to Buying Caravan Ramps

Spending some time in the great outdoors is beneficial for both body and mind and caravanning is one of the most popular ways to escape the stress of everyday life in these pandemic times. It’s all about adventure, discovering the beauty of nature and enjoying some quality time with family and friends.

Whether you’re caravanning for the first time or you’ve done it many times before, you must know that there are caravan parts and accessories that will make your life easier and help you make the most of your journey. That being said, caravan ramps, known as well as levelling ramps, should make it to your list of must-haves.

Why Do You Need a Set of Levelling Ramps?

Caravan levellers are designed for keeping your interior stable when parked on an uneven surface. Typically made from plastic or aluminium, they are a great solution for levelling large caravans, motorhomes or camper trailers. You don’t want to spend your trip in a caravan that’s unevenly positioned because it’s unsafe and can become highly annoying as well.

Your drinks and plates will most likely refuse to stay in place and roll off thanks to the decline in height between either side of your caravan or motorhome, but the main two reasons to level a caravan are for your fridge and shower to work as they should. A caravan fridge compressor needs to be level in order to work efficiently. And when it comes to the shower, you certainly don’t want water running onto your caravan floor instead of running down the drain.

Even though most caravan sites have level pitches, there are still chances you find yourself on uneven ground. A caravan levelling ramp is positioned beneath the caravan tires ensuring they sit evenly on various terrain in which your vehicle may be positioned. You can find a wide range of caravan ramps to choose from, but most importantly you need to make sure to select a levelling ramp that’s going to hold the weight of your vehicle without breaking.

Factors to Consider When Buying Levelling Ramps

Load Capacity

The load capacity determines the weight a caravan ramp can hold. Not all caravans and motorhomes weigh the same, so you’ll need to choose ramps that can support the weight of your vehicle when positioned below the tyres.

To make the right choice, you should know how much your caravan weighs and always keep in mind that the weight may differ when the vehicle is empty compared to when it’s stocked and prepared for the road.

Height

The height of the caravan ramp you need depends on the pitch. Most single slope caravan levellers are from 8 to 10 cm in height. You can also use a multilevel ramp, so you could alter the height of the tires depending on the surface.

Tire Diameter

The width of the ramp matters as well and you need to make sure it’s compatible with the diameter of the tyres. The right fitting will help to more evenly distribute the weight and make your caravan experience more enjoyable.

Non-Slip Coating

Caravan levellers that are designed with a non-slip gripped surface will hold the tyres securely in place and prevent movement, so your caravan won’t slide out of place and you can feel safe at all times.

Durability

Make sure to choose caravan levelling ramps made of quality and durable materials, made to last and withstand the harsh Australian weather conditions.

Wheel Chocks

Always get wheel chocks and in case they don’t come with your levelling ramps, then you can get them separately.

How Do You Level Caravan Ramps?

If you plan to travel around, you may not always stay on perfectly level sites. While the concrete pads in caravan parks may be flat, very often sites are on slopes or dips. After all, caravanning is all about exploring and adventure, so you don’t want to be limited to where you can stay. And sometimes you may need to use a ramp to get your van level.

Trying to level a caravan on uneven ground can be a challenging task, but using a caravan ramp can make things much easier. Most levelling ramps are easy to use, however, some will be easy for you to use alone, while others may require you to measure the height before driving your caravan or motorhome onto it.

Before you start, you need to assess if your caravan will fit onto the site and make sure the vehicle is in a position that you like. You may have a caravan water system and solar on your caravan, so for the latter, you’re going to want to ensure it gets as much as sun possible.

Consider the ground surface as well, what it’s made of, could it get muddy when wet, can you secure an awning onto it or are pests present that may disturb your holiday? If you’d like more privacy, check if there are neighbours around or not, and once you’ve found the ideal spot it’s time to get your caravan in a position that you’ll be happy with for your stay.

Then, you’ll need to level the caravan axle, right to left, which will most likely require using a ramp on one side and then level the caravan front to back using the jockey wheel. When you’re done levelling your caravan, you can lower the corner steadies to hold the caravan into position.