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If you were to ask Stef if I had any annoying traits… well, I hope you packed snacks, because you’d be there a while. But somewhere in her list would be my obsession with getting our RV to complete, absolute, True Level – every time we spend the night. If you’ve ever seen someone running around behind the Cracker Barrel at 1:30 AM putting blocks under his tires – it was probably me.
Until they make “RV shims” in 3mm increments (wouldn’t that be cool!), this video will show you how I level our Winnebago EKKO using the LevelMate Pro+, and how I completed the install.
I had written here before (no video) on the LevelMate Pro, and that’s what we used in Lance. In the spirit of full disclosure, they sent me that previous LevelMate Pro to try out. This time though, there was no question. When we got our new RV, I knew we were going to install another one, so I just bought it on Amazon and paid full price. Once you’ve experienced level… it’s tough to go back.
I was happy to see that they had made some improvements since our last LevelMate Pro. The biggest improvement in my book is the addition of an actual physical on/off switch. That fixes what was my biggest complaint with our last LevelMate Pro – battery life. The previous version had an “auto shut off” that I’m never sure actually worked, and you had to replace the batteries every two months. This new version still has the auto-off, but it also has a physical on/off switch, so when you’re done leveling, just switch it off and you know you won’t be burning up your batteries.
The “+” version actually has a much bigger battery than our original LeelMate Pro as well. Between the switch and the ginormous battery… OH! AND the ability to power it via USB! I doubt I’ll ever find myself changing the battery in this thing.
Apart from that, the leveling experience works exactly like you see it in the video. The only math required is simple addition and subtraction. You do have to decide how granular you want the information to be. As in – right now, mine shows me data with a quarter-inch resolution… even though my blocks are each one inch tall. I left mine that fine a) because I’m me and I like as many significant digits as I can get, and b) because I can tweak the air suspension in the rear to a quarter inch, and c) because we’re going to install leveling jacks someday that might be able to use information that granular.
Even after we get leveling jacks installed and calibrated to zero us out, I plan to keep using the LevelMate Pro+ to double check and fine tune the results from the leveling jacks.
Any comments or questions, sound off in the comments below!
Hi!
This may or may not be a stupid question. I am never going to have all the jacks etc to level my Ekko anywhere to install this. If I install a level mate pro, can I just use a bubble level along the top and screw it in level without having to have the coach be level? Or is there some reason that would not work?
Well, you could do it with a bubble level, yes.
But I wouldn’t put a bubble level on top of the LevelMate. What if you had installed the LevelMate slightly crooked? Or if you had parked the RV off-level? You’d be telling the device that crooked was level.
Best approach would be to put the bubble level on the surface you care most about. That might be the floor. Or the dinette table. Or the galley countertop.
The LevelMate will guide you back to whatever you tell it is level. How accurate that level is is up to you.
If you can never get your RV level, then the LevelMate won’t help you.
James. I was watching a video about liquid springs and they now have a feature that uses their air suspension system to be used to also level large RVs (big class As). The air suspension system you installed in your EKKO might be able to do this too with some of your tinkering? Remove the jacking system you put in and save that weight. Also by using your air suspension you might be able to lower a side and raise another to achieve level instead of just having the raising up option only like with jacks. Keep it lower for ease of in/out etc.
Our air suspension is rear-only, so that’s one hurdle. And the system doesn’t have the ability to air up just one bag. I’d have to hack it to get it to adjust a single side.
But we do use the air bags as a leveling device some times. We can get maybe two inches up or down.
A side note, the air suspension deflates in coordination with the leveling jacks, so that the vehicle is leveled at the lowest point possible.
As always a great informative video that was fun to watch. I noticed when you backed up the Ekko to put it on the levelers at the end of the video the block slid slightly backwards. I have had worse experiences when they shoot out like bullets. ;-( Particularly if I’m leveling on asphalt or concrete I put a thin rubber mat underneath the block to prevent it from moving. This has worked well for me. Even when I had a Revel I enjoyed your site, now that I am a brand new Ekko owner you have become my go to site!
The sliding (sometimes violently, as you point out) blocks are indeed a problem. They’re one of the reasons we eventually went to an automatic hydraulic leveling system. You can see that in this video.
I still use the LevelMate Pro+ to double check and fine-tune the auto-level.
I understand getting level for comfort, but for many of us, it’s about getting our absorption refrigerator level. The freezer or refrigerator shelf may not be the same as your floor or counter. So when setting up apps for leveling our rig, I started with the reference point for being level as the freezer shelf and not the floor. It isn’t a huge difference but it is different.
A lot of highway and off highway pull-outs are not level. With a compressor fridge, being level is not a requirement, so I would like to some manufacturer or maybe some RV diy mod guy (anyone come to mind?) make a bed that you level, instead of leveling the entire RV.
Didn’t early versions of the Revel have a leveling bed?
Think of the “regular” bed lift systems, just with each corner able to operate independently.
But what happens when you walk around, or if Mel moves from one side to the other! You are still on your springs, right? Or do you use a strict Stef and Mel vs James balancing protocol! Ha!
A more informative question to ask, aside of teasing you, is how many inches or parts of an inch do you unbalance the van when you move side to side or fore-aft.
I’d love it if we could enforce a strict occupant balancing protocol. James would follow it exactly. Stef and Mel however, tend to be less compliant.
The rig does waggle a bit – less than an inch – as we move side to side. We don’t notice it so much front to back. That could be due to our air suspension, so I don’t know if a “standard” EKKO would behave similarly. All in all though, we’re maybe 300 pounds out of 11,000, so the movement is minor.
This is one of the things that we (OK… I) hope to eliminate when we finally find and install some leveling jacks that tie to the frame.
1) Question about leveling jacks:
We have an Era 170X.
Do you have a suggestion for leveling jack’s which could be used with that model?
2) Question about air compressor:
On our previous campervan (a Dodge van that was converted – which we used for 19 years!), we had installed an air suspension system that worked great to fine tune the leveling. We haven’t checked recently, but the last time we researched we couldn’t find anything compatible with the 170X suspension.
Any possibilities that you know of?
Thanks for any help you might be able to give.
Safe travels!
1) I haven’t looked into Mercedes leveling jacks lately. You might try looking at Advanced RV. Their Sprinter-based RVs can be outfitted with leveling jacks.
2) We have VB Air Suspension in our Transit. We also had VB Air Suspension in our ProMaster. I know they make a model for the Sprinter, and I can recommend them with confidence.
Thanks – we’ll check into this.
James:
You had posted a video a couple years ago on installation of a hydraulic leveling system on your previous Class B. You don’t have on the new one? Was your experience with hydraulic leveling systems bad?
Quite the contrary – we loved having levelers!
We just haven’t found any compatible with our EKKO that we want yet.
We are still on the hunt, and will be installing them as soon as we find any!
I have a Level Mate Pro and it’s a useful tool, but over the last four years I’ve refined my seat-of-the-pants leveler and use that most of the time. 🙂
And to answer the folks who ask if the Level Mate sending unit can be placed closer to the driver for convenience….well, you don’t want to do that. The sender should be close to your bed, which is the surface you want level. RV frames and unibodies flex on uneven surfaces. Your cab may be level but your bed might be off-center, so place that sender close to your bed!
The LevelMatePro+ can be left connected to USB power. That’s how we have ours, so we don’t ever have to worry about the battery.
We also leave ours turned on. It senses motion, and when we stop, it’ll be ready for a connection, then put itself to sleep a few hours later.
The + model is much nicer than the older one.
I’ve got USB power right there, if I ever decide to go that route.
LevelMate Pro vs Truma app? Truma app seems to do the same thing. Am I missing something?
Good question. The Truma app (which I’ve also used) relies on the sensors inside your phone. I don’t know how to compare the resolution or accuracy of those sensors with those in the LevelMate Pro+.
But the bigger thing for me is that the Truma app relies on you putting your phone in exactly the same position each time. If you’re taking the two hours to get your rig completely level to zero the app – you probably want something that screws into place and won’t move. Even if you only put your phone two degrees rotated from where you did last time… by the time you take that two degrees to 23 feet… you’ve got quite a distance. At least, that’s my take.
Mel was the best part.
Maybe if I had an RV I’d feel differently.
Mel agrees.
Great video and much appreciated!
– Was there no spot to put the LevelMate+ that would keep you from having to get out of the driver’s seat?
– I am sure you will be asked, SO did you pick Class B or C during the app setup?
– Lastly (leveling block question) where did you align the leveling blocks for the dual rear wheels?
Again, much appreciated!
There may have been a spot to mount it in the driver’s seat, but I would have had to mount in in plastic, which I didn’t like.
I picked Class C. Not sure how that would matter though (other than the graphic it might show me). The important thing is to get the wheelbase and track correct.
I have “double wide” leveling blocks for the rear wheels. I just line them up with both tires. These: https://amzn.to/3jRaXTP
Class selection is for the picture. Except if you’re talking about a towable, where it changes other functions.
Ah… towables…
If you leave it in the mode where it wakes up when you stop driving, then stays awake for a a limited time after, you never need to get up and turn the thing on. If you keep it plugged into USB power, you never have to worry about using up the battery, either. We mounted ours in a cabinet in the back of our Travato where there’s a USB outlet. Works really nicely.