Auto levellers. Shall we ?

[Russ M]

Hi.
Thinking about splashing out on some auto levellers.
Research comes up with two options , E&P or MAVE.
Alko have also just introduced some , but not found any reviews yet as the are new product to the market.
There does seem to be some concern out there about reliability of the first two , along with concerns about warranty length and dealer support etc.
If I’m going to spend nearly 5k I want to be sure I’m not throwing money away.
Any views or recommendations please ?

 

[Chipster]

Pretty sure E&P=Alco now (Alco bought E&P?). Not heard reliability issues. Tell us more.

 

[mushy]

I have no doubt auto levellers are brilliant and well worth having if they were fitted before you bought the van but it takes me 5 minutes to level up with ordinary ones. There are so many other things I could spend £5k on I wouldn't know what to buy first. Each to their own after all its only money.

 

[Clarky]

E&P are the most popular by a long way I think, which must say something about the quality.
I believe that AlKo took over E&P last year so they are now one and the same.
We and many others on Fun have E&P fitted and love them.

Richard.

 

[Badknee]

E&P for our tag. Before it was impossible to chock up side to side with having three axles to lift, now it’s a doddle.

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[Greenway]

Go for it, you won't regret it. E&P for me.
I know it a lot of money and believe it or not my wife had to persuade me to splash out

 

[CazPaul]

These come in a bigger version too, someone gave us these so they have been a good investment over the years, we had to pay for the bigger version though, bugger,

 

[Two on Tour]

View attachment 281540 These come in a bigger version too, someone gave us these so they have been a good investment over the years, we had to pay for the bigger version though, bugger,

You just can't beat poncing about in the rain and muck with the old levelling ramps, well it is for us watch others going up and down them trying to find the sweet spot, nearly as much fun as watching drive away awnings being put up.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

Any views or recommendations please ?

Don’t forget HPC, we decided on them because they are lighter, don’t need the ‘brain box’ that E&P do and work from your phone via an app rather than a remote.
The only problem for you would be travelling to Warrington to AS Suspension, I don’t know if anyone else fits them.
Ours are brilliant and we wouldn’t be without them now, plus AS Suspension is great to do business with.
http://www.hpc-hydraulics.com/
https://www.as-airsuspension.co.uk/

 

[PaulW2]

I have the E&P levellers and have been very happy with them.

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[Lanerboy]

E&P for me I did 6 months in my new MH without levelling jacks and it was a nightmare struggled on most sites to get level caused rows with the missus and was just a real pain in the ass

I know people say they can get level with drive up blocks but I have been on sites where you would never ever get level without levelling jacks

Also when jacks down it stops 99% of the body sway you get when moving around inside the vehicle

 

[Theonlysue]

Had mine fitted by SAP at doncaster and don't regret it one bit.
They can be moved to another mh if you sell.

 

[Lanerboy]

Had mine fitted by SAP at doncaster and don't regret it one bit.
They can be moved to another mh if you sell.

Yep had mine done there and Mick has just removed it all ready to refit it on my new MH In March

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

Go for it, you won't regret it. E&P for me.
I know it a lot of money and believe it or not my wife had to persuade me to splash out

That is exactly what happened to me, get ours fitted in March

 

[Lenny HB]

Also when jacks down it stops 99% of the body sway you get when moving around inside the vehicle

That takes all the fun out of it, love the van rocking in take force winds.

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[Steve and Denise]

We have jacks (ep) overall cost on a new van small percentage and ease of use suits us,

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

That takes all the fun out of it, love the van rocking

Oh memories

 

[Mr porky]

We have a 9m a class with twin axle.yes get levellers we personally went for a & p .

 

[GWAYGWAY]

I got some E&P they work just fine BUT I now wish I had NOT bought them.. They weigha lot,with the special brackets abour 60 kilos and now they must be taken off as they are the biggest contribution to it being too heavy for me after November. It needs to get below the magic unobtainable 3500kgs for me to drive it. Or do I sell it using them as a selling point? Would not bring the value up one iota so would be worth taking off? Maybe not. I was so keen to get them I did not look ahead a year and a bit.

 

[Two on Tour]

I got some E&P they work just fine BUT I now wish I had NOT bought them.. They weigha lot,with the special brackets abour 60 kilos and now they must be taken off as they are the biggest contribution to it being too heavy for me after November. It needs to get below the magic unobtainable 3500kgs for me to drive it. Or do I sell it using them as a selling point? Would not bring the value up one iota so would be worth taking off? Maybe not. I was so keen to get them I did not look ahead a year and a bit.

Ours were countered to a certain extent by not now having to carrying the two sets of levelling ramps at 11.5Kg and the jack at 6.5Kg, so 17Kg knocked of the E&P weight.

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[Delboyarapaho]

I think you need to decide what you want levellers to do for you and whether the van you have makes levellers more of a benefit or not.
I have a 9M tag axle Elegance and had several reasons for going for E&P
1) Levelling has never been a major concern for us (to date) as we are pretty tolerant to small variances. That said we have had a few instances where we had to go up on ramps or struggled to level the back end. The wife hates the creaking as we move around the van and trying to level the back end, just forget it. The problem is less if you don't have a tag axle. An advantage we did notice after having them fitted is the van sits as solid as a rock even in high winds so for us that was an unexpected bonus
2) I had to have a tyre replaced and a couple of places I called would not touch the van because of the weight. Eventually I found somewhere but it made me think that when you get a puncture and need a tyre replaced, the last thing you want is to have to hunt around for a mobile fitter who can lift a 5 tonner. Again not such a problem if your van is lighter but I don't know what the threshold weight is that begins to make it a problem. With jacks fitted I have no such problem (we have the Martini advantage) anytime, anyplace we can lift the van for any man who has a spanner to fit our nuts
3) The tyre exchange incident made me also recall that having bought a van with no spare wheel provided, I had felt somewhat vulnerable on occasions. what if I get a puncture? not only do I have to find someone who can change it I am stuck until it is repaired. Mick (at SAP) fitted me underneath (as I had air suspension fitted at the same time increasing the typical height of the van. Again if you have a spare you have less worries but you still need to get lifted, jacks allow you to do that at the press of a button
4) I save quite a bit of space in the garage now as I don't need to carry my large ramps and blocks of wood
5) I now leave the van on Jacks over winter to save the weight being on my tyres for long periods

The drawback is they are heavy and expensive so if those issues are not a problem and you see advantages in the points above go for E&P

 

[funflair]

And don't forget if the front wheels are spinning on wet grass you can jack the front up and put some track mats under the wheels, I call it my get out of jail card, or rear wheels of course but they are less likely to spin.

Martin

 

[Mr David]

E&P levellers were already fitted when we bought our van and now I really wouldn't want to be without them. In a lot of wildcamping places in southern Iberia they tolerate wildcamping provided you don't exhibit camping behaviour and that can include using leveling blocks. Hydraulic levelers are so unobtrusive they would probably go unnoticed.

 

[awg]

We have E&P and I don't think auto leveling is that much easier than the few minutes it takes with ramps. However as @Delboyarapaho points out they make the vehicle rock steady. No movement when someone walks about and high winds have no impact. That's the main reason we went for them. Had them fitted along with full air suspension by Mick at SAP and would highly recommend him.

 

[funflair]

E&P levellers were already fitted when we bought our van and now I really wouldn't want to be without them. In a lot of wildcamping places in southern Iberia they tolerate wildcamping provided you don't exhibit camping behaviour and that can include using leveling blocks. Hydraulic levelers are so unobtrusive they would probably go unnoticed.

Unless the front wheels are,

Martin

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[Conal]

We have Al-ko Kober HY4 levellers fitted May 2018 and don’t regret it. They had a show price offer at the NEC which we took up but I think their list price then was £5,600.
I had a small error reading on the control in January in Spain, and the engineer came to our storage site today to update the software and check the system. I thought I would have a £200 mile round trip to get it sorted so was very pleased.
He told me that they spent a long time developing the product and have timed the drop and lift cycles at just over a minute each.
There is no maintenance requirement and they operate very well on uneven surfaces as the feet are large.
Just one point about previous posts. They very clearly state that the legs must not be used as the only means of support when changing tyres or carrying any other work out. I suppose it is a sensible health and safety issue.

 

[Podney]

I haven’t got them and don’t want/need them,and I quite like a bit of rocking in the wind (other causes are available).
But........if I was older or a bit crotchety,and had the dosh I would have them,for the reasons stated by others. For example: wilding,punctures etc.
I believe they may also add an element of security.

 

[BillandHelen]

We have E&P levellers fitted by Mick. Was parked next to @stewartwebr last weekend at CC Strathclyde Park, both had our levellers down, however his 7500kg gorgeous Morello probably took a bit more lifting than my 4200kg IH panel van!!
Bill

 

[peterc10]

We have E&P fitted by SAP at Doncaster as many others did. You can stay on SAP's forecourt overnight. Had a couple of nights parked next door to Paul AKA @Two on Tour who was having his fitted at the same time. Still happy with ours

 

[Two on Tour]

We have E&P fitted by SAP at Doncaster as many others did. You can stay on SAP's forecourt overnight. Had a couple of nights parked next door to Paul AKA @Two on Tour who was having his fitted at the same time. Still happy with ours

And over the moon with ours, money well spent, but of course we all have a different view on what value for money is.

We could of had ours fitted at a local E & P dealer 35 miles away, but opted to travel 120 mile each way to have them fitted at SAP because of their reputation.

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