Rear Steadies - to use or not and when

1 Cup said:
Yep if I had them I'd use them .better than chocks to level van from side to side . Not sure about a 1,5 m overhang thow. ,!

I'm still looking at hydraulic lift system or independent air bags
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You cannot use them for levelling. The warning that comes with them makes that plain, they have no serious load bearing ability.
 
UFO said:
The Chausson Allegro 83, first registered early 2006, that we have just taken delivery of has wind-down rear steadies. We have no experience of these. The motorhome is 6.9m long and the overhang from the rear axle to the rear of the vehicle is 1.9m.

So the question is whether to use or not and when? It seems a bit of a faff winding them down and up and of course there is the very real possibility of me forgetting they are down and driving away!

Thank you for sharing your experience.
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If you use them check that they have the feet attached to them - usually grey plastic jobbies. If not carry a couple of pieces of decent thickness wood (or other) to use a bases for when you wind them down. It'll stop them sinking into soft ground.
 
Jo001 said:
Could you leave the drill in the cab with the cord wrapped round the steering wheel?
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OR, a handwritten note in block capitals taped to the Steering Wheel ... Still have the note from the Caravan, 'RELEASE HANDBRAKE/CHECK JOCKEY WHEEL' for the Ferry Crossings :ROFLMAO:. Low tech functionality, aka Idiot's Guide, although the latter is a misnomer, since one needs a modicum of intelligence to realise that one needs an Idiot's Guide ... (y)

Steve
 
r4dent said:
Worthwhile winding them down and back up occasionally to prevent them seizing.

Otherwise, if you are on honeymoon or it is your birthday use them.
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Are we referring to the leg steadies or the male anatomy? Or both? ... :ROFLMAO:

'Good vibrators' by The Beach Boys, as the background music ...

Steve
 
I used to put the wind down handle over the pedals once the steadies were lowered. You could of course do the same with a drill. This will remind you to raise them before driving.
I put something in front of the speedometer or on the driving seat if we stop for a few minutes and open a top window and this reminds me before driving away to check they are closed.
 
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Already fitted on our Autotrail Miami when purchased 3 yrs old. We tend to use them if stopping overnight on a site etc but not when in laybys etc.
They have "feet" attached but I still use a couple of 2x4 off cuts to prevent sinking. Secondly we do have quite an overhang (never measured it!) and a couple of times they have become skids when turning into car parks with steep turns! The previous owner must have thought them a good idea to have ordered them as an extra when originally purchasing the van. They do prevent the van from rocking -no matter what you're doing at whatever time of day!
 
I have just the feet on the end - and being an Autotrail, probably have the same steadies as you do - but I was going to get some snap-on pads to put on the ends once measured the feet size (I would think same size as the steadies used on caravans?).
 
Used ours once and never bothered with them since. We like to turn up to our chosen spot, stick the kettle on, crack open a beer or whatever, just can't be ar5ed fannying about doing something with so little impact on our MHing experience. Yes, we have been in windy weather situations, sloping sites, uneven ground, not once did we think it worthwhile lowering the steadies.
Each to their own.
 
izwozral said:
Used ours once and never bothered with them since. We like to turn up to our chosen spot, stick the kettle on, crack open a beer or whatever, just can't be ar5ed fannying about doing something with so little impact on our MHing experience. Yes, we have been in windy weather situations, sloping sites, uneven ground, not once did we think it worthwhile lowering the steadies.
Each to their own.
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Yes, I'm inclined to agree with you. We have managed for 15 years in our panal van conversion for most of that time without levelling ramps (a neighbour gave us some a few years ago but we have rarely used them) and very few slopes have defeated us, as long as the wine stays in the glass and we can sleep with our heads higher than our feet. Most of the time it's only for one night so if it's not level it's no great hardship. The MH has limited payload so we can leave the winding handle at home.
 
Every van we bought came with ramps and EHU cables, we did use them in the early days and were sold with them still in, as UFO says you don't need them, near enough is good enough, and we're not precious about being level, not saying we would not have the fancy hydraulic ones but, certainly not a must-have, and the fridge excuse isn't valid either we've never had one not work due to being out of level.

The only thing we do sometimes if it is a bit far out sideways is Liz will put a cushion under the mattress to stop her from rolling out of bed.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
Every van we bought came with ramps and EHU cables, we did use them in the early days and were sold with them still in, as UFO says you don't need them, near enough is good enough, and we're not precious about being level, not saying we would not have the fancy hydraulic ones but, certainly not a must-have, and the fridge excuse isn't valid either we've never had one not work due to being out of level.

The only thing we do sometimes if it is a bit far out sideways is Liz will put a cushion under the mattress to stop her from rolling out of bed.
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I let Izzy sleep on the floor at the side of my bed, if I fall out I have something soft to land on!
None of this "equal partnership" in our house.

😗😗😗😗😉😉😉😉😉
 
I liked the idea of having a bigger footprint for the steadies to help spread the load but I like more the idea of not faffing around with putting pads down each time better, so decided to get some bigger feet instead :)

So my steadies have these feet

Steady Feet - old by David, on Flickr

Removed the bolt and swapped out for these instead

Steady Feet - new by David, on Flickr

That extra footprint should be quite useful. I can put the old feet back if I wanted :)
 
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The steadies on my 33 year old autotrail are like scaffolding all tied into the rear steel bumper and towbar and onto the chassis. I always use them if I'm on a site with the kids in tow. It stops the van rocking about when someone turns over in bed....I'm a very light sleeper
 
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