Levelling Ramps: Yay or Nay

[pionte]

I use them all the time.... nothing worse than waking up with all the blood trying to get into your head.. or constantly rolling into the Mrs ( lovely as she is )

even at Busfest last year I used them as the ground was not level.

[California Dreamin]

Why is it that this thread is generating an obvious 'Yay' bias when I know from my own experience that when this discussion has come up 'on camp' the majority of users say the opposite. I can't help but think that there is a degree of 'I've brought some so I won't admit to the fact that they aren't that good'

Yes you can buy mine but as they appear to be 'THAT GOOD' I'm asking for 60% of new price...a bargain for something this essential

Martin

[itchyfeet]

Why is it that this thread is generating an obvious 'Yay' bias when I know from my own experience that when this discussion has come up 'on camp' the majority of users say the opposite. I can't help but think that there is a degree of'I've brought some so I won't admit to the fact that they aren't that good

Maybe you just camp with the same people all the time?

[Thorgills]

Yes you can buy mine but as they appear to be 'THAT GOOD' I'm asking for 60% of new price...a bargain for something this essential

Martin

It appears they're priceless - what's 60% of priceless!!

I am interested Martin, if only to create my own opinion - if you want rid, drop me a PM with how much, and let me know if any chance of collecting this evening!! I'm expecting bumpy ground this weekend....

[JonB]

Ha thanks for all the replies, I'm at the same place as Thorgills this weekend in a field next to a road to watch the Tour come past. On that basis I went to Spinneys Caravans on the way home last night.

They happened to have the 3 sets I was looking at; Thule, Fiamma and MGI midi. All came with bags and varied about £5 difference.

I went with cheapest in the end like these;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B ... d_i=468294" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No doubt they'll go in the van and never get used.

[pionte]

Why is it that this thread is generating an obvious 'Yay' bias when I know from my own experience that when this discussion has come up 'on camp' the majority of users say the opposite. I can't help but think that there is a degree of 'I've brought some so I won't admit to the fact that they aren't that good'



Martin

I can only speak as I find... The OP asked if they are a good idea, obviously people who use them are going to think that they are a good idea

I am happy to admit when I have bought things that turned out to be rubbish , betamax VCR, HD DVD player, little catch thingy to hold the tailgate slightly open etc etc

[itchyfeet]

I am happy to admit when I have bought things that turned out to be rubbish ,little catch thingy to hold the tailgate slightly open etc etc

use mine in France most years when it's very hot ( although I made mine didn't buy it), My guess if you only camp in the UK it's not hot enough to need it.

[California Dreamin]

Why is it that this thread is generating an obvious 'Yay' bias when I know from my own experience that when this discussion has come up 'on camp' the majority of users say the opposite. I can't help but think that there is a degree of 'I've brought some so I won't admit to the fact that they aren't that good

Maybe you just camp with the same people all the time?

We do quite a few shows throughout the year....with different people and with a closer group....we also take 3 to 4 weeks in Europe during the summer. We particularly enjoy the mountain areas of the Alsace and Alps mixed with French coastal resorts on the return journey. Flat featureless landscapes are not our thing however, that is not to say that campsites in mountainous areas would necessarily be on slopes.
If we are on a paid camp site we are usually on hookup, however, we do intersperse this with cheap camper stop overs which offer the bare minimum...the old absorption fridge generally works well and I can't say that I have ever noticed much difference in fridge performance when parked on the tilt (although I am aware that this can be an issue).

We took the decision back in 2008 (our second year with our camper) to omit the leveling blocks from our main euro trip. This was mainly because they were taking up far too much space in a typically fully loaded camper in 'holiday mode'. All I can say is we simply did not miss them and they have remained in the shed ever since.

We often have a bit of a chuckle watching other T25's (and campers in general) slipping clutches, revving the nuts out of their engines on what we regard as being fairly flat camping surfaces.
I can fully understand why you might want to use them on inclines but it seems to me that they are often used unnecessarily...'I've brought them so I'll use them' mentality.


Martin

[discipleofsketch]

We often have a bit of a chuckle watching other T25's (and campers in general) slipping clutches, revving the nuts out of their engines on what we regard as being fairly flat camping surfaces.
I can fully understand why you might want to use them on inclines but it seems to me that they are often used unnecessarily...'I've brought them so I'll use them' mentality.

To be fair, I think you'll find that out of those that do use them, they only do so when parked on enough of a slope to bother digging them out. You are welcome to laugh at my clutch and handbrake skills should I camp near you on a slope at any time in the future

[itchyfeet]

I bet half of you who never you your ramps have these fitted

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php/l ... shims.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CJH]

I've got a small pair (of ramps) but they don't help very much. Trying to find the right balance between the packing space they take up inside and the height they'll give you on site is tricky. I wonder how difficult it would be to rig up an underslung bracket so that more substantial ramps could be carried underneath.

[AdrianC]

I wonder how difficult it would be to rig up an underslung bracket so that more substantial ramps could be carried underneath.

Definite non-starter on a Westy, with the waste water, Eber and gas tank under there already.

[itchyfeet]

I've got a small pair (of ramps) but they don't help very much. Trying to find the right balance between the packing space they take up inside and the height they'll give you on site is tricky. I wonder how difficult it would be to rig up an underslung bracket so that more substantial ramps could be carried underneath.

seems to be loads of room above the gearbox, been looking at that space for years thinking how I could store stuff up there hanging from the floor

or just throw the ramps away an man up, if you can't sleep on an angle you probably shouldn't be camping.

[CJH]

As a coarse levelling device, how about driving the lowest corner up onto the spare wheel? Maybe not the sort of thing you'd want to do to a nice shiny alloy wheel, and clearly only practical if you're going to be on site for a length of time, in which case you could probably find a better spot I suppose. Oh well.

[CJH]

seems to be loads of room above the gearbox, been looking at that space for years thinking how I could store stuff up there hanging from the floor

Good idea - easy to get to too.

or just throw the ramps away an man up, if you can't sleep on an angle you probably shouldn't be camping.

Yeah, fix some D-rings to your sleeping bag and strap it to something solid, like rock climbers and astronauts do!