Whether you call them RV jack pads, stacker blocks or levelers, a well designed set will help level an RV and prevent jacks from sinking into soft ground. Utility Blocks are the best we’ve ever seen.
UPDATE! FOR THE FIRST TIME, UTILITY BLOCKS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON! HERE’S THE LINK:
http://bit.ly/utility-block-rv-leveli…
Utility Blocks are still available on eBay, too:
http://tinyurl.com/mpucb3p
This is not a paid promotion! We’ve had our Utility Blocks long enough to be really happy customers and wanted to share what we think are the best all-around levelers we’ve found.
Every RVer has to deal with unlevel campsites from time to time. Even if your RV is equipped with a leveling system, some sites are so sloped, you just can’t get your rig level. This is why RVers carry leveling blocks, also referred to as jack pads, stacker blocks or stabilizer pads. Whatever you call them, they all serve the same purpose: allowing you to level your RV on a sloped campsite. They also help keep jacks from sinking into soft surfaces.
Some of the most common stacker blacks are the yellow or red plastic levelers typically found at RV or camping stores. A little Googling will reveal a wide array of other options too. If you have a circular or table saw, you can even home-make your own from blocks of wood. Unfortunately, for us full-timers, who are conscious of space & weight (and of course quality & cost too), nearly all of these options have their drawbacks.
Homemade Wood blocks are inexpensive, but they’re heavy, and can crack or rot over time. They also require tools and raw materials, plus you also need to be at least a little bit handy.
Basic plastic stacker blocks are reasonably priced, lightweight and compact for easy storage, but they have a waffle-like grid bottom which allows them to sink into soft surfaces, and they’re not always strong enough to support a heavier RV without cracking, especially on soft or uneven surfaces.
The wide assortment of higher-end jack pads we’ve found mostly suffer from one or more of the following problems: too thin to provide enough height; too flexible, allowing them to deform on uneven surfaces; too large and heavy to be easily stored; too smooth, allowing them to slide on each other when stacked. Worst of all, most of the higher-end jack pads are what we consider to be extremely expensive.
After 10 years of full-time RVing, Utility Blocks are perfect for about 98% of the places we camp. They’re the perfect balance of size, weight, strength and cost. They’re big enough to provide a good surface area, and thick enough to provide good lift, without being too large and heavy. Even though they weight slightly over 3 pound each, they seem indestructible, and the price for what you get is really reasonable compared to anything else we’ve found.
