Hydraulic levellers (2 Viewers)

[Two on Tour]

Any idea of the additional weight of these footplate covers and any impact ( if any) on the ram with the additional weight being carried when retracted?

Thanks

The E&P website says that the four weigh a total of 3.1kg and the only inconvenience I had was to trim the rear mud flaps a bit to accommodate the larger diameter of the covers.

 

[funflair]

Personally, I’d never spend that sort of cash to do something I can do myself, for free (maybe because I was born in Yorkshire).

However, I was involved in a case last year where a lady had paid out £6K+ for hydraulic ‘levellers’ on a tag axle MoHo. It was a disaster! One leg leaked oil from day one, the 2 forward legs weren’t long enough to actually level the MoHo without crawling underneath to add packers, and the ‘expert witness’ claimed it was unrealistic to expect them to level the Moho, only stabilise it…. You can do that for a £100 or so…

Possibly the system was poorly designed for that particular van, the length of the front rams may have been dictated by underbody clearance, it is actually easy enough to put spacers under without crawling underneath.

 

[Beltie]

Personally, I’d never spend that sort of cash to do something I can do myself, for free (maybe because I was born in Yorkshire).

Personally, I’d never spend that sort of cash to do something I can do myself, for free (maybe because I was born in Yorkshire).

However, I was involved in a case last year where a lady had paid out £6K+ for hydraulic ‘levellers’ on a tag axle MoHo. It was a disaster! One leg leaked oil from day one, the 2 forward legs weren’t long enough to actually level the MoHo without crawling underneath to add packers, and the ‘expert witness’ claimed it was unrealistic to expect them to level the Moho, only stabilise it…. You can do that for a £100 or so…

However, I was involved in a case last year where a lady had paid out £6K+ for hydraulic ‘levellers’ on a tag axle MoHo. It was a disaster! One leg leaked oil from day one, the 2 forward legs weren’t long enough to actually level the MoHo without crawling underneath to add packers, and the ‘expert witness’ claimed it was unrealistic to expect them to level the Moho, only stabilise it…. You can do that for a £100 or so…

That is a ludicrous defence. You would have thought that the fittings in question are advertised as 'Hydraulic Levellers' would have given a court pause for thought. The technology is well proven and used on vehicles much heavier than motorhomes.
It sounds like very poor workmanship and inappropriate rams being fitted. It would be interesting to know who fitted them.

 

[funflair]

Some vans are very low on the front which of course is not a good starting point for levelling, most of these hydraulic systems are designed to integrate with air suspension and are at their best when they can also control the suspension before starting the level, failing that it might be best to park facing uphill

 

[MartinH]

As i use our van most weekends working we invested £5K in hydraulics, great system rock solid in the harshest of winds and no walk rocking either - one issue to consider on older vans is if the providers will still install - having said that when we change vans the hydraulics will be on the list for the new van be it transferred or new

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[SewFloralRose]

As i use our van most weekends working we invested £5K in hydraulics, great system rock solid in the harshest of winds and no walk rocking either - one issue to consider on older vans is if the providers will still install - having said that when we change vans the hydraulics will be on the list for the new van be it transferred or new

Which system did you have installed out of interest?

 

[MartinH]

Which system did you have installed out of interest?

HPC system at LNB Bristol, loan car for the 3 days as they had a wee struggle with the 05 Elnagh

 

[Ditcha]

Possibly the system was poorly designed for that particular van, the length of the front rams may have been been dictated by underbody clearance, it is actually easy enough to put spacers under without crawling underneath.

Made these bad boys from 300mm dia nylon stack on top of each other and use a broom handle with a hook to place them and retrieve them no problem.

 

[SewFloralRose]

HPC system at LNB Bristol, loan car for the 3 days as they had a wee struggle with the 05 Elnagh

I have been quoted £6250 for the HPC system at AMC near Eastbourne, with 3 year warranty as I have heard good reports on HPC. . Although am also considering the Amplo or Ma-Ve systems at Motorhome Workshop in Goring by Sea which are coming in £300- £700 cheaper, I just don't know though if they are as good? HPC are Dutch, Amplo and Ma-Ve are Italian.

 

[BeeHappy]

Here's a mad idea ...

my biggest problem with wheel ramps is the faffing when trying to drive onto them, especially when you're on gravel. It's hardly brain surgery, but I don't enjoy the process, and neither does my clutch.

So, why not use a 5 tonne electric car jack to lift up a wheel, one at a time, then put your ramp underneath the wheel and lower again?

More faff than a push button hydraulic system for sure, but arguably (and I think that might end up being the keyword here ) about £5.85k cheaper.

I'll get my safety hat on ...

Nice idea in theory, but if you jack the van, with the suspension extending as you jack up the van you will need to jack the van up really high to get enough clearance to get a ramp under the wheel… if you want to try and jack an individual wheel you need to jack off the bottom ball joint or similar and then you’re laying on the ground trying to carefully position a jack on a very specific location, on a slope, possibly on uneven ground… it’s neither particularly convenient or safe and a lot slower than driving onto the ramps… or using levellers.

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[daventess]

Nice idea in theory, but if you jack the van, with the suspension extending as you jack up the van you will need to jack the van up really high to get enough clearance to get a ramp under the wheel… if you want to try and jack an individual wheel you need to jack off the bottom ball joint or similar and then you’re laying on the ground trying to carefully position a jack on a very specific location, on a slope, possibly on uneven ground… it’s neither particularly convenient or safe and a lot slower than driving onto the ramps… or using levellers.

All good points. There goes my million pound investment from Dragon's Den...

 

[IGMH]

I have been quoted £6250 for the HPC system at AMC near Eastbourne, with 3 year warranty as I have heard good reports on HPC. . Although am also considering the Amplo or Ma-Ve systems at Motorhome Workshop in Goring by Sea which are coming in £300- £700 cheaper, I just don't know though if they are as good? HPC are Dutch, Amplo and Ma-Ve are Italian.

We had M Level system fitted to our Auto Trail F60 in early March by S&G (nr Woburn) for £5,350.
We tend to tour so move on everyday or so meaning the convenience is important.
Have now dumped the jack etc and ramps (which were a pain to store)
M Level is UK based and uses UK suppliers.

 

[68c]

I wonder how hard it would be to fit a simple manually operated system. We are almost always needing to lift the front so just a pair of rams at the front. A hand pump and a couple of shut off valves.

 

[Littlewheels]

Made these bad boys from 300mm dia nylon stack on top of each other and use a broom handle with a hook to place them and retrieve them no problem.

View attachment 884286

I would have thought you might have “splashed” out on Stainless Steel Obolts

 

[Roby2008]

Lots of good advice here. Im also considering for our new Pilote 740 in June. Apart from the obvious benefits, one question I’d like to understand is can you leave Van on legs when in winter storage. We had mice this year on return - so maybe a slight lift can possibly help? Anyone had any experience? Any risk of legs jamming on return after 4 months?

I had the AL-KO system fitted in Feb and that was one of my questions, We have a side slope to the driveway, meaning that one side is at the top of the ramp and the other side on the wheels (when using ramps).
The answer was that it will not harm the system (you may get a few mm drop over a month or so) but in my situation, the suspension would be compressed on one side and extended on the other for a period of time (Nov-March) if using the jacks.
My compromise is to use the jacks in between trips and pop the ramps under when covered and stored.

If you have a flat storage and all 4 are of the ground then it should be ok; if you would be leaving an odd wheel hanging, then probably not.

2023 Pilote 696 so a similar size to yours.

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[Ducatian]

You need to improve your levelling skills. 30 seconds is my average.

Took me that long to get out the cab and dig the levels out!

 

[Ditcha]

I would have thought you might have “splashed” out on Stainless Steel Obolts

They are, Chinese stainless

 

[BeeHappy]

I had the AL-KO system fitted in Feb and that was one of my questions, We have a side slope to the driveway, meaning that one side is at the top of the ramp and the other side on the wheels (when using ramps).
The answer was that it will not harm the system (you may get a few mm drop over a month or so) but in my situation, the suspension would be compressed on one side and extended on the other for a period of time (Nov-March) if using the jacks.
My compromise is to use the jacks in between trips and pop the ramps under when covered and stored.

If you have a flat storage and all 4 are of the ground then it should be ok; if you would be leaving an odd wheel hanging, then probably not.

2023 Pilote 696 so a similar size to yours.

I have been using mine for about a year, the van gets used monthly with a couple of longer summer trips. The front wheels are off the ground when it’s parked on the driveway… not had any issues as yet…!!

 

[Henry Walton]

Dear fellow Motorhomers
We are just in the process of buying our 2nd Motorhome. We have had a 2005 Autocruise Stargazer for 7 years, we pick up.our 2019 Autotrail Imala 615 with side dinette, 4 seat belts, sleeps 2. We have for the last 7 years used Milenco levellers and also had back leg steadies to help with any bounce if on a site more than a couple of nights. But thinking of splashing out on hydraulic levellers. Any opinions on whether they are worth the outlay or should we just continue to use the ramp levellers and have back steadies fixed to our new (to us) Motorhome?

Had mine for a couple of years been great press a button on the remote down come the legs all nice and level don’t have to go out in the rain. Van doesn’t move in the wind , when in storage it takes the weight off the tyres. Not cheap but I wouldn’t be without them now.

 

[jdk62]

The E&P website says that the four weigh a total of 3.1kg and the only inconvenience I had was to trim the rear mud flaps a bit to accommodate the larger diameter of the covers.

Great

Thanks

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[lusseray]

This has honestly never been an issue for us. We have HPC fitted by LNB in Bristol. Utterly transformational.

to the OP. Do consider joining as a paid member so you can access all the helpful resources and discounts.

I had LNB Bristol fit mine to my sprinter, brilliant!! As a lone traveller I got fed up after nearly twenty years of messing with ramps. Great company and brilliant product.

 

[Happy Jack]

Need to contact a local supplier tomorrow. Does anybody know the hydraulic cylinder sizes that are used by the £5k companies. cyl bore size. cyl rod size. rod stroke length etc. We get small rams like this in kit form and weld the ends on. Or if the dimensions are ok a lot can be found on ebay. Very roughly rams around £100 each. 12v powerpack around £300 and a four spool valve around £120. Will be back with more info.

Hi fifthwheel.
Have been looking at what rams to get myself.
The ordinary rams at £100 each are single stage and possibly a bit too tall to accommodate. The 2 stage ones are more like £500 each much stubier and also come with mounting flange but would of course make would be a lot more expensive.
Happy Jack.

 

[stevewagner]

For me £10 a night is expensive for something that can be achieved in less than a minute with a £30 set of ramps. Of course most nights I find I don't need to use them so even more expensive.

Ramp’s don’t stop the van rocking though

 

[stevewagner]

I have been quoted £6250 for the HPC system at AMC near Eastbourne, with 3 year warranty as I have heard good reports on HPC. . Although am also considering the Amplo or Ma-Ve systems at Motorhome Workshop in Goring by Sea which are coming in £300- £700 cheaper, I just don't know though if they are as good? HPC are Dutch, Amplo and Ma-Ve are Italian.

Had MAVE on a previous motorhome and they were really good. The only thing I didn’t like was that they come with one length of hydraulic hoses which means they cable tie the excess to the chassis. The upside is they had a three year Europe wide warranty

 

[Roby2008]

I have been using mine for about a year, the van gets used monthly with a couple of longer summer trips. The front wheels are off the ground when it’s parked on the driveway… not had any issues as yet…!!

That´s cool, real life experience thanks

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[mike@solutionsdevel]

Dear fellow Motorhomers
We are just in the process of buying our 2nd Motorhome. We have had a 2005 Autocruise Stargazer for 7 years, we pick up.our 2019 Autotrail Imala 615 with side dinette, 4 seat belts, sleeps 2. We have for the last 7 years used Milenco levellers and also had back leg steadies to help with any bounce if on a site more than a couple of nights. But thinking of splashing out on hydraulic levellers. Any opinions on whether they are worth the outlay or should we just continue to use the ramp levellers and have back steadies fixed to our new (to us) Motorhome?

I’ve never had an auto levelling system but I do like the idea of having one fitted. I’ve always been put off by the weight and the impact on the payload but my outfit is 3500 max

 

[Two on Tour]

I’ve never had an auto levelling system but I do like the idea of having one fitted. I’ve always been put off by the weight and the impact on the payload but my outfit is 3500 max

By the time you knock off the weight of the jack and levelling ramps that you no long need to carry, then you will be adding about 37kg to your payload with the E&P system.

 

[GeeCee]

The only way you can justify auto-levelling is through the saving in stress, time and convenience. It's almost impossible to do it in terms of cost. But if like me you used to spend several attempts at getting it level front and side, plus the heated discussions with your partner in the process then it's well worth it. Anyone who says they can get a van level on uneven ground in a matter of minutes is either not getting it properly level, or lying.
There are other benefits - wheel changing for example. But also we got caught on a campsite in Spain where the front wheels started digging a hole in the soft sand instead of driving forward. We used the levellers to lift the front wheels, fill the holes created manuaaly and put down some skid mats over the sand. Then dropping the wheels and driving off successfully.

 

[VXman]

Anyone who says they can get a van level on uneven ground in a matter of minutes is either not getting it properly level, or lying.

Well, I don't appreciate being called a liar. Maybe you are just inept at levelling. or, maybe it's the definition of 'properly' level. For me being level enough not to particularly notice is good enough.

Methinks you try to hard to justify yourself. If you want it, can afford it then go for it. Enjoy. Me, I enjoy not having it.

 

[VXman]

Ramp’s don’t stop the van rocking though

Don't particularly notice my van rocking. Occasional odd movement but nothing to bother me. I'm in a van. If I want a perfect flat, wobble free living space I have a house for that.

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