Self Levelling System

[Tiger Bear]

Parked near to us is a Kontiki with a self levelling system. I mentioned it to our lass that may be desirable for us, and I may add it to the list of other mods for the future, the two main ones being air suspension and solar/battery/inverter upgrade. I told her how they worked.
She: "That sounds good; it'll save you the hassle of being in and out of the van, moving it back and forth, and fannying about with your spirit level. Anything to make it easier for you, you do enough already. How much would it cost to get it fitted?"
(Tippy tappy on t'internet)
Me: "Babe, guess how much it will cost"
She: "Well, you can go bollox with that! It won't hurt you spending a few more minutes doing yourself."


Joking apart, given that our van is a twin axle, and won't weight more than about 3900kg after the air suspension is fitted, and we don't plan to camp on the side of a mountain, is spending about £6,000 justified? I can see the benefit for the triple axle Kontiki, which looks like a Chinese bit of kit, but not necessarily for us.

 

[funflair]

Parked near to us is a Kontiki with a self levelling system. I mentioned it to our lass that may be desirable for us, and I may add it to the list of other mods for the future, the two main ones being air suspension and solar/battery/inverter upgrade. I told her how they worked.
She: "That sounds good; it'll save you the hassle of being in and out of the van, moving it back and forth, and fannying about with your spirit level. Anything to make it easier for you, you do enough already. How much would it cost to get it fitted?"
(Tippy tappy on t'internet)
Me: "Babe, guess how much it will cost"
She: "Well, you can go bollox with that! It won't hurt you spending a few more minutes doing yourself."


Joking apart, given that our van is a twin axle, and won't weight more than about 3900kg after the air suspension is fitted, and we don't plan to camp on the side of a mountain, is spending about £6,000 justified? I can see the benefit for the triple axle Kontiki, which looks like a Chinese bit of kit, but not necessarily for us.

You seem to have answered your own question, other people will come to a different conclusion we did.

 

[two]

Hydraulic levelling systems are great. But, as you've discovered, they're not cheap. If you can afford it, you will be rock steady at all times and the shower will drain correctly. There are other benefits beside. The best way to get it is to buy a s/h 'posh' van that has them already fitted. They add around 50kg to the payload, so are not normally fitted to the lighter vans: food, drink and other essentials are often considered to be more important.

 

[MichaelT]

Joking apart, given that our van is a twin axle, and won't weight more than about 3900kg after the air suspension is fitted, and we don't plan to camp on the side of a mountain, is spending about £6,000 justified? I can see the benefit for the triple axle Kontiki, which looks like a Chinese bit of kit, but not necessarily for us.

3900kg full laden for a twin axle van are you sure?

Your choice to justify but getting on site pressing a button and being level and stable in 2 minutes is worth it. Also great to.jack up and grease the rear axles

 

[Tiger Bear]

You seem to have answered your own question, other people will come to a different conclusion we did.

For now, I think. I was initially considering getting it fitted at the same time as the air suspension, that being the priority, but the potential cost put me off. Not that we haven't got the money for it. It just seems that the initial outlay may not justify the frequency of use. We may reassess the situation further down the line and then look at it as a good investment.

I'm open to folk changing my mind!

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[Tiger Bear]

3900kg full laden for a twin axle van are you sure?

I'm not sure what you mean.

Your choice to justify but getting on site pressing a button and being level and stable in 2 minutes is worth it. Also great to.jack up and grease the rear axles

I've posted since you replied (post #5).
Nothing is set in stone, and I am susceptible to arm twisting!

 

[Al n Val]

If we couldn’t have EP self levelling we wouldn’t have a Motorhome at all

Possibly the best upgrade I’ve had done and I’ve had a lot, an awful lot

 

[DuxDeluxe]

We had one on the Le Voyageur and now in the PVC. Would not be without it

 

[ShiftZZ]

Just be aware, if they fail and you need to manually retract, it will take forever with an Allen key, happened to us in Cadiz in a carpal, 38°c, not great, 100 turns lift it up 1mm or it would appear. Essential take an electric screwdriver.

The process is long and boring .

When they work great, my semi air suspension also failed..same trip.

 

[funflair]

For now, I think. I was initially considering getting it fitted at the same time as the air suspension, that being the priority, but the potential cost put me off. Not that we haven't got the money for it. It just seems that the initial outlay may not justify the frequency of use. We may reassess the situation further down the line and then look at it as a good investment.

I'm open to folk changing my mind!

OK then, they were the first option that we ticked on the new van, I say we but it was Mrs Funflair that insisted, yes they are a lot of money but you will use them every time you park up and will always be level without any hassle, then the secondary uses are wheel changing and self rescue from mudddy fields

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[icantremember]

100 turns lift it up 1mm or it would appear. Essential take an electric screwdriver.

........ or better still have an HPC system fitted in the first place which have a simple lever pump system to retract jacks in case of a fault .. but then in almost nine years I never had to resort to this as HPC systems don't go wrong.

 

[Manic]

The best way to get it is to buy a s/h 'posh' van that has them already fitted

That’s what we have done, 2016 Frankia with full air suspension and hydraulic levellers

 

[Tiger Bear]

I can see the benefit for the triple axle Kontiki, which looks like a Chinese bit of kit, but not necessarily for us.

Chinese? DOH! Bloody autocorrect!
That should have read, 'chunky bit of kit'

 

[Tiger Bear]

If we couldn’t have EP self levelling we wouldn’t have a Motorhome at all

Possibly the best upgrade I’ve had done and I’ve had a lot, an awful lot

We had one on the Le Voyageur and now in the PVC. Would not be without it

OK then, they were the first option that we ticked on the new van, I say we but it was Mrs Funflair that insisted, yes they are a lot of money but you will use them every time you park up and will always be level without any hassle, then the secondary uses are wheel changing and self rescue from mudddy fields

Well folks, the arm twisting may be working. Anyone else want to chip in with the sales pitch so I can overwhelm our lass?

 

[Jon Stewart]

If we couldn’t have EP self levelling we wouldn’t have a Motorhome at all

Possibly the best upgrade I’ve had done and I’ve had a lot, an awful lot

Currently £6500.

I'd really quite like it for the more mundane tasks of lifting the van for maintenance, changing a wheel etc. (5.4t van.... I have a 4t jack and axle stands, btw, but it's not exactly stress free getting the van lifted!)

I think it's worth it, but struggling with the cost!

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[TheMobileWanderer]

Well folks, the arm twisting may be working. Anyone else want to chip in with the sales pitch so I can overwhelm our lass?

It could also be an anti-theft device, if the jacks are lowered. Of course, with some, the handbrake release may cause their retraction but, I'm told, that part can be disabled or replaced with a buzzer in the cab to alert you that they're down, before you might attempt to drive, and they can be 'wired' such that ignition must be on for them to rise/fall.

I would go for hydraulic. I'd build my own if I could also find the bits that do the actual levelling. Lifting is easy. Lifting to make level needs more bits, the name if which I've yet to learn.

 

[Al n Val]

Currently £6500.

I'd really quite like it for the more mundane tasks of lifting the van for maintenance, changing a wheel etc. (5.4t van.... I have a 4t jack and axle stands, btw, but it's not exactly stress free getting the van lifted!)

I think it's worth it, but struggling with the cost!

It’s only money

 

[Tiger Bear]

It’s only money

That's right!
As I've frequently said to the kids, "When we're gone you can have the house and fight over your Ma's jewellery, but we are spending my pension".

 

[Jon Stewart]

That's right!
As I've frequently said to the kids, "When we're gone you can have the house and fight over your Ma's jewellery, but we are spending my pension".

Tiger Bear
Al n Val
I'm beginning to think the same!

Down to Off-grid for a rewire, and E&P in the same year!

 

[Roby2008]

Once you have it, you will wonder why you ever questioned not having it, for me it was a 'must have ' and not a 'would like to have' on this van. Madame is a wheelchair user and it makes such a difference to have a level van, we use it every time we stop.
There is a weight penalty of course and compromises must be made elsewhere if you have a non-C1 licence van, but it works and if in the unlikely event we change the van again, it will be the first option ticked.....
We have the AL-KO sytem.

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[AdrianChen]

Wouldn't be without ours - 2 mins and the van is level and stable, 2mins longer if I let some air out of the rear or front suspension. Next time I would want the version with weight display to save visits to the weighbridge Goldschmidt I think? Leave a slight bias to help the shower drain, and it has helped to drain the black tank when the manhole was in a pavement. Haven't had to change a tyre yet, but must help with that - all our weight on the supplied bottle jack - hmmmm

 

[MichaelT]

I'm not sure what you mean.

Twin axle vans are normally 8m+ long and are very heavy which us why they have twin axles to take the weight.

 

[Wh05apk]

Twin axle vans are normally 8m+ long and are very heavy which us why they have twin axles to take the weight.

I think when they referred to twin axles they meant 2 in total, not 2 on the rear.

 

[hja]

We spend most of our time on CL or CS sites or Aires. Many need us to use levelling blocks, and we are not too fussy about being absolutely level. So I would love to have something like this. But only in our dreams with a 3.5 t van.

 

[Ray-Vic]

A big benefit for us also is the lack of rocking around when Vic gets up for a pee in the night, or even in strong winds (weather ones, not hers).

Naturally the ability to level in minutes with no effort is very handy, and also many (E&P definitely) have a 'tank empty' option which tips the van to completely drain your grey tank. We saw a guy on a site in Whitstable on his first trip out slip off the blocks, one of which went under the van and snapped a handbrake cable. It took ages to get it sorted.

Definitely top 2 of the additions we've made (lithium and inverter probably being top).

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[Speve]

Have a look at AL-KO Hi 4 system each ram has its own oil so no need for hydraulic pipe runs under the van and also less hassle when changing vans.

 

[Roby2008]

Have a look at AL-KO Hi 4 system each ram has its own oil so no need for hydraulic pipe runs under the van and also less hassle when changing vans.

Totally agree, it is what we have....

 

[Whippet93]

Well folks, the arm twisting may be working. Anyone else want to chip in with the sales pitch so I can overwhelm our lass?

We have Ma-Ve system and had E&P on last van. It means you get no movement in strong winds when parked up. Also, we have a dog, and in previous vans, if she moved around during the night the van would rock a bit. But not with the legs down now. Also makes draining waste tank easier, just tilt to the correct side. Regarding the extra weight, bear in mind you can get rid of the jack and any levelling ramps, so more space inside.

 

[Tiger Bear]

I think when they referred to twin axles they meant 2 in total, not 2 on the rear.

Yes, that's what I meant

Twin axle vans are normally 8m+ long and are very heavy which us why they have twin axles to take the weight.

As above. I should have written two axles, so sorry for the confusion. Our van was 3500kg, and I uprated it as a paper exercise to 3650kg soon after purchase. We are going to look at air suspension now so figured that may give us another 250/300kg.

 

[Tiger Bear]

Once you have it, you will wonder why you ever questioned not having it, for me it was a 'must have ' and not a 'would like to have' on this van. Madame is a wheelchair user and it makes such a difference to have a level van, we use it every time we stop.
There is a weight penalty of course and compromises must be made elsewhere if you have a non-C1 licence van, but it works and if in the unlikely event we change the van again, it will be the first option ticked.....
We have the AL-KO sytem.

Our lass is a wheelchair user also but not in the van, she's able to furniture walk in it.

If we remained as we were, with no air suspension upgrade, we couldn't accommodate the extra 50kg or so for the levelling kit; so air suspension is a given.