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.

 

[SteveInLeicester]

Excellent - I've got our new MH booked for an HY4 install at Southam for the week after we are due to get it.... in October

Considerably cheaper than the dealer and you can even get a CAMC discount which exceeds the joining fee!

 

[Holly's mum]

I have E&P fitted to my van. Being a solo traveller, I did not want to trust someone unknown (if someone was available) to guide me up ramps. One thing I have noticed, and I'm not sure if this is the way they work or not. A few times I have gone to use them, it has said the van was too far out of level for them to cope. So I manually lower them until nearly level, then select automatic, and it works fine. Is this the way they are meant to work, or should I just need to press automatic and they do all the rest, providing the levelling is within the range of the rams?

Ours do the same thing if they think the van is too far out of level to start with, it's perfectly normal and we do the same as you by using them manually to start with.

 

[two]

In reply to "Do they need regular adjustment?" the answer is No - at least, they shouldn't need to be on a decent system. It may well be that the vans you have seen are not levelled automatically, but manually, instead, and a bit too casually.
There must be several different systems and each will probably work differently. It will also depend on the initial settings.
In the past, they tended to always adjust in the same direction (upwards), using two rams at a time, and could end higher than necessary before achieving level. If they ran out of 'steam'/lift in the process, they'd be skewed (not livel). But that should not occur on a decent campsite (where pitches are fairly level). The latest systems may be different (adjusting down as well as up) so that they don't climb too high.
The decals on some models can give the illusion that a van is not level but the real test (if the van is well-made) is that doors should not swing open/closed, water should drain correctly, a pencil should lie still on a table and, if you're lucky, an egg should remain where you place it when frying. If that's not the case, it should be easy to make adjustments to an automatic system by re-setting the level.

 

[BusyBuilder]

Are you talking service or complete new install ?
Can you say how much please and what that discount was ? Thanks

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[Tugger67]

Check out 'M' level hydraulic levelling system

 

[bubble63]

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

But if you have just spent £5k+ you are hardly going to say anything but ‘possibly the best upgrade’

 

[Al n Val]

But if you have just spent £5k+ you are hardly going to say anything but ‘possibly the best upgrade’

I’ve spent more than that on other things believe me

 

[enark]

But if you have just spent £5k+ you are hardly going to say anything but ‘possibly the best upgrade’

£5k is cheap for levellers, where do you get them?

I agree must have for a motorhome.

 

[Al n Val]

£5k is cheap for levellers, where do you get them?

I agree must have for a motorhome.

He/She clearly won’t know

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[Roby2008]

Excellent - I've got our new MH booked for an HY4 install at Southam for the week after we are due to get it.... in October

Considerably cheaper than the dealer and you can even get a CAMC discount which exceeds the joining fee!

Worth the wait, you wont regret it

 

[enark]

Considering either Level M pro or HY4 levellers for new van, both have self weighing module, any views on pros and cons? Its a 4800kg van. Both come out at almost the same cost, HY4s are approx 16kgs heavier.

 

[Roby2008]

I only know the HY4, had it for 2yrs on a 3500kg van, so far its faultless....