When you arrive with your Airstream at a new campsite, the spot may not have a nice, level pad waiting for you. If your new home base is a bit unlevel, you can level and stabilize your travel trailer to make it as comfortable as possible.
Why Do I Need To Level And Stabilize My Travel Trailer?
A level and stable travel trailer ensures you have a comfortable home base during your next adventure. Here are a few examples:
- If you travel with children or dogs, their high-energy activity could rattle, rock, and even roll your travel trailer if not properly leveled and stabilized.
- If you have a propane refrigerator, it will only work if your Airstream is level as the propane has to be able to flow freely.
- In unlevel travel trailers, gray water can make its way into your shower pan.
- When sleeping, you could feel like you are on a boat on the open sea instead of on land in your silver bullet.
- Even worse, you could roll out of bed!
For the best Airstream adventure, always level and stabilize your travel trailer when you arrive at your destination.
What Do I Need To Level and Stabilize My Travel Trailer?
This Stromberg Carlson Airstream Travel Trailer Stabilizing & Leveling Kit improves the stability of your parked and leveled travel trailer, providing almost everything you need to get off on the good foot.
The kit includes:
- 1 Base Pad Peak
- 1 Base Pad (4 Pack) size: 6" x 9" x .625"
- 2 Trucker Style Wheel Chocks
- 2 Base Pad Levelers
- 1 Storage Bag
A nice carpenter’s level will be useful to get the most accurate reading on if your travel trailer is level. Most smartphones include a leveling app that is built into the "Measure" app (comes standard with iPhone) that makes it a breeze and saves you precious cargo space.
You can use Tandem Axle T-Chocks for stability. This tool applies pressure against each axle, locking your tires in place and stabilizing the floor of your Airstream.
To stabilize your travel trailer, you can use stabilizer jacks. Always remember, you should not be leveling your travel trailer with the stabilizer jacks. Stabilizers should only be lowered enough to make contact with the ground and tightened to be snug. Be sure to not use the stabilizer jacks to level the travel trailer as they're not for weight bearing, only to take the bounce off your step while inside.
How to Level an Airstream Once You Arrive at Your Site
How to Use Airstream Stabilizer Jacks
Stabilizing a Bambi (Manual, Light Duty Stabilizer Jacks)
Stabilizing a Classic (Powered Stabilizer Jacks)
Stabilizing a Globetrotter (Powered Stabilizer Jacks)
Stabilizing Basecamp (Manual)
Airstream Manual, Heavy Duty Stabilizer Jacks
What are the best methods for leveling my Airstream?
After identifying your parking spot, place your Airstream travel trailer about a foot and a half from where you want it to end up. Take a level and place it from side to side on the inside of your Airstream about where the axles are to determine whether you need to elevate the right side or the left side. You want to level side-to-side first (as opposed to front-to-back) because you are still connected to the tow vehicle at this point.
Next, place RV leveling boards or blocks behind the wheels of the side you want to raise. You could bend the tires’ steel belts if your tires don’t rest perfectly flat on them, which can cause a blowout on the road later.
Note: If you use wood blocks, ensure they are sturdy enough to handle the weight of your Airstream trailer and that they are wider than your tires.
After your blocks are in place, slowly back your Airstream travel trailer up onto them. Once it is situated, check your level on the inside of the Airstream to make sure you raised the side enough (but not too much). Once level from side to side, be sure to chock your wheels on the other side (that does not have leveling blocks in place).
IMPORTANT: Always ensure your wheel chocks are in place before unhitching. Failure to secure wheel chocks can result in the trailer moving once unhitched, creating a potentially dangerous situation.
To level the travel trailer from front to back, there is a level on the front jack. Place a leveling lock pad under the jack and lower it. Once the tow vehicle begins to lift, disconnect the chains, undo the coupler, and pull the 7-way off of the tow vehicle. Finish lowering the jack and disconnect the tow vehicle. Adjust the jack until your Airstream is level.
For a fun method of leveling your travel trailer, add a perfectly level line to a glass. You can do this by using the edge of a level as a ruler - just make sure it’s level before you draw it! Then, pour a glass full of your drink of choice up to that line. Sit the glass in your Airstream and adjust the level until the liquid matches the level line. When it does, reward yourself with your favorite beverage!
When you first start embarking on Airstream adventures, it’ll probably take a few times of adding or removing blocks and attempting again. But the more vacations you take, the better at this process you will get!