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Thursday, February 25, 2021

ANDERSEN LEVELERS MODIFICATION

 I have written two articles about the leveling ramps we use - Andersen Levelers - to get our Roadtrek level when the campsite is not level. LINK 1 and LINK 2 to read these articles to see what I am talking about here. As they come, the surface of the ramp is very smooth. On one hot day the tires slipped slightly on the ramp - the Roadtrek stayed level but it was obvious the next morning when we were taking the Roadtrek out of the campsite for the day that there were black skid marks on the red ramps. Looking around the Internet I found a way to deal with this and enhance the levelers to work even better. I do not take credit for this but I did it with my set of Andersen Levelers and it works great!

I added strips of anti-slip grip tape that is usually applied to stairs to the top of each one.  This is sold in the home stores usually by the roll, but Ace Hardware sells this by the foot and for what is needed, there is no reason to buy a roll of more than you need. This is adhesive and comes in various widths. It is rough on the top and will prevent slipping of the tire - and gives better traction when pulling up on the ramps. 

Here is how I put it on -

 

Cut a piece the length of the leveler plus an inch or two for the back. Peel off the backing and apply it carefully to be centered on the face of the ramp. DO NOT PUT ANY OF IT OVER THE THIN EDGE OF THE RAMP (See in Photo 1). The reason for this is this is where the ramp stop block will be inserted and if it cannot be moved out easily it will be a problem getting off the ramps as you will not be able to remove it with the weight of the tire on it and the grip tape keeping it from moving.  On the back of the ramp - the tall side that goes to the ground (Photo 2) put an inch or two of tape lapping over from the top. This will hold the tape in place if it should the adhesive pulled by the tire as you roll up onto it. Do the same for both ramps.

That is all there is too this. It adds a few dollars to the ramps but it is well worth the difference this small modification makes. 

These are still the best things I have found to level the Roadtrek when a site is way off level.