Buccaneer owners self levelling advice please
I am about to pick up a Buccaneer Cruiser. Can any owners of the self levelling caravans please tell me 1. What diameter are the rams feet that come down behind the wheels and 2. has anyone ever experienced them sinking into soft ground after arriving on a site after rain and would some type of larger weight spreader under the said feet such as wooden squares help in that situation? Thank you. Ian
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Wing as with all caravans it will sink in soft ground, your van may have come with pads fitted if not they are not expensive and are easy to fit no drilling involved, a caravan spares outlet would sell them. As to extra pads you may need either several blocks of wood to give extra stability or if the rear end legs need need help in touching the ground on a unlevel pitch.
Paul
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I think you are talking about a new form of levelling device, Wing.
The plastic 'feet' as Crusader described are fitted to standard corner steadies and many people use a wooden block under each steady as well.
Whatever you use, the van will inevitably sink into soggy ground.
You may get an idea here -
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I edited, JV, after disvovering the new system.
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Hi, I am not talking about the corner steadies, I am talking about the rams which come down behind the wheels, by the axle which level the van side to side. I was hoping that a Buccaneer owner knew what diameter the rams feet were and if the feet sank into wet ground as they are the bits that take the weight of the van.
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Yes, I realised, hence my edit after JV quoted my original post.
I think the video gives a fair idea but I think I'd want to use it on a hardstanding. It'll sink in mud - it's bound to.
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From memory the bottom plates of the rams are about 12" round plates.I would suggest that soft ground would require a larger square piece of plywood...size up to you but probably 18" square.Hope this is of some help.
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I don't have a buccaneer but I do have a Bailey Valencia fitted with the same system.
The centre feet do have large flat round discs. When the whole system is deployed the van is slighted lifted and the weight is lifted from the axle and spread between other two centre legs and a proportion to the corner steadies. It's my understanding of this process is that the ground is compacted as the rams/legs are deployed. In my opinion, it would have to be serious flooding and washing away of the ground to affect the stability of the caravan. In which case no matter what size pad was placed under the legs, would make little difference.
I have had no problems with my caravan sinking or moving and the caravan remains rock solid, even on grass pitches.
If I thought the ground was soft and unsuitable or there were any concerns when deploying the legs, I would be re-siting the caravan and not attempting to try and stabilise the ground.
The corner steadies are fitted with Alko Bigfoot's and they do not move either.
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We had this system retro fitted to our Swift 3 years ago and so far have not needed to use any blocks under the pads. As JC stated above the pads are fairly large and although we usually use hard standings, the worst pitch we used saw the adjacent vans with very big chunks under the corner steadies, but not needed on ours.
Be sure to have the nose tilted down before initialising the auto system otherwise nothing will happen apart from flashing red lights on your control pad.
The only concern I have with the system is that the centre jacks do not have a large ground clearance when retracted, so avoid lumps or humps between the wheels if possible. I have taken to going over both road humps rather than straddling one whenever possible.
As far as the size of pads goes, I guess that the pads have a larger footprint than the tyre that usually sits on the ground, and although the van is lifted on one end of the axle, you still have one wheel firmly on the ground and the other still bearing some weight. Therefore there is a better spread of weight across two pads one and a half wheels and 4 corner steadies.
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Hi the Wing, I have pitched on sloping ground, but have never been in a position that I needed to add any additional support under the jack/pads. Even to a point when the jockey wheel wouldn't reach the ground
There is a lot of travel in the corner steadies and I have never reached the stops when pitching. As for the centre jacks, I use the manual override when I park up at home and lift the wheels clear of the ground, to relieve the weight from the suspension and fit the wheel lock. By lifting just one side it is possible to get approximately 4" clearance under the hanging wheel, so if I found a pitch that out of true, then I'd move to another position.
Its a great aid in wheel changing and in my opinion, safer - easier- quicker and cleaner than trying to place a jack under a caravan with a flat tyre
With the quicker and rock solid pitching, you will value the system 🙂
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. I can now use them for something else!! This is going to be some experience as its our very first ever caravan.