Self-Levelling Issues (2 Viewers)

[Blackadder]

I think we've finally decided to take the plunge and get self-levelling fitted to our Travelvan. But what sort, electrical or hydraulic? Which brand? I've read all the existing threads and it seems that hydraulic is the most popular and Doncaster seems to be the place to get it but I'm more than a little perturbed by the numerous reports of E&P rams "dropping". MaVe claim their system has a lock to prevent this. No-one seems to mention the electrical variety which not only appears to be cheaper but presumably is immune to "dropping"; is there a problem with these that I haven't heard about? Most hydraulic systems seem to be in the same ball-park price-wise so how do you choose? What pitfalls should I be looking out for?

 

[Langtoftlad]

As a skilled engineer - you might be able to buy the components cheaper... but how do you value your time & skills?
A DIY'er can wallpaper a room cheaper than hiring a decorator

 

[Blackadder]

Thanks to all who offered advice either briefly or at extreme length
Went to the Newbury show today and talked to the MaVe importer and one of their installers. Also spoke to an Amplo installer and an HPC installer. All were scathing about electrical systems. The steel ram people were critical of HPC's aluminium rams because of corrosion - which argument the HPC guy reversed of course! We were amazed to learn that many people prefer one system over others simply because the control panel looks nicer. The HPC price quoted was a few £00 more than both Amplo and MaVe. MaVe appear to have the best warranty (at the moment) and have a mobile technician in case of problems.
So where does that leave us? At the moment the MaVe system looks favourite. Engineering seems sound and all our concerns were answered (except in theory a ram can still drop but that's true of all of them). We're not that bothered about the extra weight versus the HPC and I may be wrong but I think chromed steel might be more hard-wearing than anodised aluminium. We like the MaVe warranty and service (potentially anyway), the price is competitive and they have an installer in Bristol which is only an hour away. Now we just have to get our names added to the 2+ months waiting list - oh, and find the money...

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[stevewagner]

I’ve had MAVE for 2 years with no problems at all

 

[Peppadog]

I went for the E&P system as they are the most common ones fitted. Have a good reputation for reliability. Have a good network of installers and are broadly the same cost as others.

If Tiverton is not too far away, go and have chat to the engineer owner of Courtside Conversions before ordering. I did. They installed mine a few weeks later. That was a couple of years ago.

 

[funflair]

If you have air suspension it is good to have a levelling system that integrates with the suspension to drop it to its lowest point before starting the levelling process.

Our E&P does this with the VB air suspension.

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[Ian Smart]

Now we just have to get our names added to the 2+ months waiting list - oh, and find the money...

2+ months, try the 12 I waited before deciding on E&P instead, fitted 3 weeks after ordering and that was only because that was the earliest we could get to the fitter.

 

[WESTY66]

If you have air suspension it is good to have a levelling system that integrates with the suspension to drop it to its lowest point before starting the levelling process.

Our E&P does this with the VB air suspension.

Yes, that’s what I’ve heard Martin, had a quote for both off SAP

Anyone know how to start a crowdfunding page

 

[ChrisL]

I recently had E&P fitted by SAP, my installation was hampered by the presence of two lockers, one each side, where the rear rams would normally be located, SAP fabricated brackets to fit an alternative location and although this took additional work and materials they kept to the agreed price. Whilst I was there a customer came in with an issue where a ram had failed to retract and they'd had to remove it in order to bring it in, the van had been sat on the jacks for a year in a seaside location and the ram was seized, a new jack was fitted and the owner was advised to spray the rams with silicone spray and cycle them occasionally if in storage for long periods. I found SAP to be really good at what they do and I will be returning soon to have some solar panels fitted.

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[jockaneezer]

I think chromed steel might be more hard-wearing than anodised aluminium.

Both systems will have chromed steel rods, the outer cylinder is where the difference will be. Steel cylinders will be bare, honed steel inside and just painted on the outside, aluminium cylinders will either be plain or painted on the exterior and the anodising will be internal to give a degree of wear resistance.
I personally would always go for steel, unless weight is an issue, but in the case of moho levellers and the amount of cycles they will go through in their lifetime, aluminium will be fine.
If you were planning on swapping them from van to van in the future, I would go for steel as they will handle having their fittings screwed and unscrewed a lot better than aluminium ones.

 

[Andysprinter]

After all the products we’ve bought the only thing I’m certain about is E&P levelling from SAP.

 

[Boy]

Had ours fitted about two years ago very happy with the set up had them fitted by Essanjay in poole

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[Boy]

Had ours fitted two years ago very happy with the set up
we had them fitted by Essanjay in Poole

 

[ian-speedy]

I'm picking up my MH in the morning from Newport caravan centre , dropped it off on Thursday to have the E&P levelers fitted , see what kind of job they've done, got some good recommendations by friends

 

[HariSeldon]

From a precision engineering background, aluminium cylinders, hard anodised, are very wear resistant. Having honed them, they feel like your honing a hardened steel bore. A hard chrome steel surface is incredibly wear resistant. In both cases the wear surface is quite thin, but in practice they will never wear out from use, it’s damage to the surface from corrosion, damaged seals etc that is the issue.

The big question as always is how well it’s done, ( and fitted) either could work well from an engineering perspective.

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[stevel2]

Yes, that’s what I’ve heard Martin, had a quote for both off SAP

Anyone know how to start a crowdfunding page

Haha. It’ll be one of those things that, when fitted, you’re very unlikely to regret. Just makes life so much easier.

 

[Martin59]

Explain

I’ve an 2005 Burstner A576, had a habitation check yesterday, passed with flying colours, any motorhome can have problems, no you didn’t touch a nerve with me, just thought I’d put you right about all Motorhome’s

 

[weebill]

I was Going to have levellers and air suspension but decided to have VB air suspension all round first and I have to say I’m very happy with the amount of levelling I get from just the suspension , 4” up or down front and rear. Suits me.

Bill

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[ian-speedy]

Had my MH back yesterday after having the E&P system fitted , done a great job , and they have them on offer to promote them , the main thing is it's now rock steady , no rocking about when you're moving in it , and a couple of mins to get it level , thumbs up from me

 

[sparkyvanman]

My E&P system works a dream would definitely recommend it

 

[Richard Sale]

We have the HPC system and had it for 5 years and no issues at all. Great system good touch screen interface plus smartphone application, fitted by AS Suspension @Warrington

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[philmc79]

I'm with David and Sally and happy to recommend HPC levelling system fitted by AS Air Suspension, the guys there are brilliant

 

[bthwsp]

I think we've finally decided to take the plunge and get self-levelling fitted to our Travelvan. But what sort, electrical or hydraulic? Which brand? I've read all the existing threads and it seems that hydraulic is the most popular and Doncaster seems to be the place to get it but I'm more than a little perturbed by the numerous reports of E&P rams "dropping". MaVe claim their system has a lock to prevent this. No-one seems to mention the electrical variety which not only appears to be cheaper but presumably is immune to "dropping"; is there a problem with these that I haven't heard about? Most hydraulic systems seem to be in the same ball-park price-wise so how do you choose? What pitfalls should I be looking out for?

We have owned a Frankia I680SD. 4250kg. Needed the same for horizontal sleeping. In 2014 we have decided for the electrical levelers.
These have done a tremendous job. The system works on 12 volt leisure battery. System is now called Tesa. From Italy. Without any hesitation we can recommend the installation. Only one electrical cable needs to be put through the bottom floor. Installation will take some 4 hours. We never had any problems operating the system throughout 7 years. No maintenance necessary. Best Regards. BTH in NL.

 

[Blackadder]

Wow, that's put a cat amongst the pigeons! Not only someone that's heard of the electrical alternative but has long experience using it. Despite all the protestations of satisfaction I'm still dubious about the long term reliability of hydraulics, whether it's self-levelling, motorcycle suspension or JCB's. On one hand the Tesa (now distributed by Roadpro) system seems to be either totally ignored or dismissed as an expensive alternative to corner steadies by the only two people I've found that know they exist. On the other hand it's several thousand pounds cheaper, easier to fit, doesn't rely on seals/chrome shafts and now comes with at least one endorsement based on long-time ownership. The way they fold up out of the way is neat too! I don't know now; should I be a pioneer or follow the crowd into the abyss?

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[Oscar]

Anyone have any recommendations for an overnight stop before having work done at A S Suspensions in Warrington? Thanks

 

[icantremember]

We stayed over last week at https://www.vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/north-west/thestrettonfoxstretton before going to AS for servce & oil change on the jacks.

They were very helpful on the phone and we ate in the restuarant. We parked with our toad still attached right around the back in the overflow parking area.

it's about 7 miles or 15 minutes easy drive to AS.

 

[Steve N Tracy]

We have MaVe fitted after a initial problem with the Bluetooth link which was fixed with a firmware update they have worked well, we had the system fitted by Essenjay in Poole however I cannot recommend anybody using them as they fitted the system in a way that could have caused serious issues with the brakes failing by attaching the hydraulic pipes and power cables onto the brake pipes with cable ties which could have worn through with vibration, and just connected the fuse for the system by putting the cable connectors onto the fuse blade, for the money I think it deserved a fuse holder.
I did not take it back I informed them and MaVe and sorted it myself.

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[Hettie's Crew]

Anyone have any recommendations for an overnight stop before having work done at A S Suspensions in Warrington? Thanks

We stay at The Stretton Fox, Stretton just off the M56, no charge for the overnight stay, excellent food and about 15mins from AS.

 

[ian-speedy]

I'm away this weekend for the first time since having the E&P fitted , and annoyingly it's not working properly, even though we are parked on fairly level ground , when trying it on the auto setting its saying incline too great and wont work , it'll work on manual picking it up and trying to do it by eye, so at least it's not rocking about , but still annoying it's not working properly.
It did it when I tried it after first picking it up , the fitters told me to move the MH or turn it around , and it worked ok , but has done the same thing a few times after showing it to people interested in it , much to there amusement that something so expensive doesn't work !
The site I'm on this weekend states vehicles must reverse into the plot , and has enough room for my MH and awning, so I can't move it or drive forward onto the plot , I did drive off and on it when we first got here to see if it will reset and work , got fed up after 5 attempts, and many funny looks off fellow MH ers !
I have emailed E&P yesterday so waiting to hear what they say.
Anyone else had this issue ?
Cheers Ian

 

[Two on Tour]

I'm away this weekend for the first time since having the E&P fitted , and annoyingly it's not working properly, even though we are parked on fairly level ground , when trying it on the auto setting its saying incline too great and wont work , it'll work on manual picking it up and trying to do it by eye, so at least it's not rocking about , but still annoying it's not working properly.
It did it when I tried it after first picking it up , the fitters told me to move the MH or turn it around , and it worked ok , but has done the same thing a few times after showing it to people interested in it , much to there amusement that something so expensive doesn't work !
The site I'm on this weekend states vehicles must reverse into the plot , and has enough room for my MH and awning, so I can't move it or drive forward onto the plot , I did drive off and on it when we first got here to see if it will reset and work , got fed up after 5 attempts, and many funny looks off fellow MH ers !
I have emailed E&P yesterday so waiting to hear what they say.
Anyone else had this issue ?
Cheers Ian

It's not an issue, it's a safety feature.
If you park up on ground that is not within the parameters that the system considers as safe to deploy on automatic, then you operate the system on manual, which is no big deal.
It's to stop idiots using the automatic on ground that's way out of level. It the passes the onus onto you the operator to use the system IF you consider it safe to do so.
You don't have to do it manually by eye as both the remote and fix control panel have arrows which if lit orange, point to the low side that needs lifting and when the centre dot goes green, you are level.

It become very simple and quick when used a few times in manual mode.

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[funflair]

As above, it is the way the system is designed to work, as the rams have a finite stroke it is not always possible to level without the aid of blocks under the jack pads, when you get the message just use manual with or without extra pads, our system dumps the air suspension first to help give the rams more useable stroke.