OK, so we just got back into the caravan scene and have had 2 weekends away, but I've struggled to get the caravan 'steady' - it shakes/rocks a little when someone walks through the van. I only wind the steadies half a turn to 1 full turn (no more than that) when I have levelled the van. I keep the jockey wheel down when I have set up etc., if that makes any difference (most people seem to advise to keep it down) and I don't use the steadies to level the van or anything.
I'm afraid to wind the steadies much more in case I damage the floor, although when I had a quick check under the van, the steadies look like they are bolted to the chassis and not the floor directly. The steadies all seem to work fine, though one of the steadies at the rear of the van was replaced by the previous owner.
When I try to shake the van from side to side with one hand, it moves more from the back than it does the front and when inside, it does seem to be a little less steady at the rear of the van than the front.
Should I try raising the rear legs a little more on my next outing and just one of us jump in to see if it's any steadier? Anything else worth trying?
I also thought it might have been the tyre pressures causing this 'bounciness' in the van, but they are both around 45psi, which is the recommended pressure for my van ('93 Fleetwood Garland 148-5).
My last van had a delaminated floor which caused a 'bouncy' feeling in the van, but the floor in this van seems to be rock solid, so I don't think this is the issue.
Is it normal to have a little movement in the van? Maybe I'm just over-worrying about this? We have had 5 people in the van with no major issues apart form a little rocking, but it feels exactly the same when there's just the 2 of us in the van.
Also worth noting that we had the same issue on both a grass pitch and a concrete one.
I leave jocky wheel down to take weight and level front to back.You should not level the van with the corner steadies but i wind them down just till the van body starts to move,then its solid but not taking weight,I also use a block of wood under each leg so it spreads the weight and dont sink into the ground.You will always get a small amount of movement in the van but i guess thats just the chassis flexing.
you need to put a little tension on the steadies.. not too much but some..
they will take some weight they have to.. if you set them up with an empty van they wont have much weight on them but if five people all get in and stand at the rear of the van the rear steadies will be taking a fair bit of weight.. if you leave the jocky wheel down that will take extra weight off the front steadies.. the rear ones wont get any help though.. but they should be designed to stand the extra out of balance weight if all the vans occupants move to the rear of the van at the same time..
with no steadies down two people at the rear will tip my van on its bum..
You don't need blocks of wood if you have the plastic "feet" on your steadies that spread the load but don't be afraid to wind the steadies down a little more.
You will probably always get a little movement though.
my van rocks about a bit if i push the read end from side to side with no steadies down..
i just retro fitted some alko shocks to try and lessen rear end rock.. but the flex is mostly in my tyre sidewalls.. 175 x 13 inch high profile radial ply tyres dont help..
larger diameter wheels with a lower profile cross ply (less sidewall flex) tyre would help with a caravan.. retro fitting the shocks helps a bit as regards sideways rock but it would need a wheel and tyre change to really fix it..
steadies with a bit of tension on them should get rid of most of the rock when the van is stationary.. mine do..
how much weight a steady is supposed to take seems to be an unknown mystery.. to work they do have to take some weight..
trog
ps.. if you dont have big feet and the ground is soft they need winding down into the ground a bit more..
After the 'van has been sited & in use for a couple of hours, go round & tighten steadies again as 'van will have settled a bit. Don't be afraid to wind them down hard, its ok as long as you are not actually jacking up 'van.
I remember the advice that simply said, "wind down to the floor and one turn more" it seems to work for me. However after a coulple of days the hard standing seems to settle so I take up any slack.
You get a 'feel' for it after a while if that makes sense, I also do the adjusting with a socket on a ratchet so that I can't 'give it too much welly'
Dave
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
Cheers for all the advice folks. When I mentioned pushing the caravan at the rear end, that was with the steadies down. I normally put the steadies down as far as they just start to lift that corner of the van and then stop, but I think when we're away this weekend I'll experiment a little when putting the steadies down, without putting them down so far as to lift the van too much.
Quote: Originally posted by trog100 on 25/9/2014
you need to put a little tension on the steadies.. not too much but some... but if five people all get in and stand at the rear of the van the rear steadies will be taking a fair bit of weight.
trog
I hope five people don't get in my 'van and all stand in the rear - it would make it very difficult to reach the toilet roll
------------- Camping Gear expands so as to fill the space available for its transportation.
Quote: Originally posted by Pickled Onion on 25/9/2014
I remember the advice that simply said, "wind down to the floor and one turn more" it seems to work for me. However after a coulple of days the hard standing seems to settle so I take up any slack.
You get a 'feel' for it after a while if that makes sense, I also do the adjusting with a socket on a ratchet so that I can't 'give it too much welly'
Dave
Yep, we've always done down to the ground then once more round...ours moves a bit, but not so it would bother us.
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Topic: Correct steadying procedure?
