I just think the more things touching the ground the more stable it is.

Quote: Aaron Calder wrote in post #1

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Perhaps I’m wrong? Does anyone have any opinions and what do you do?

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In the Caravan club's getting started brochure, attached, levelling is described as you state, with the wheel down and steadies firmly in contact with the ground.

The glossary of terms states that the jockey wheel is a device to support the forward end when detached from the vehicle and steadies are to stabilise once set up.

Jockey wheel down for me, it's no hassle leaving it down and it adds to the distribution of the caravans weight. Hymer manual specifically states the the corner steadies are only for stabilising and they are used in conjunction with the road wheels and the jockey wheel.
My Familia has the steadies attached to the subframe as I would assume all Eribas do, however some WWB vans will have them mounted directly to the floor which would be a lot of pressure on a non structural surface if you raised the jockey wheel......

The jockey wheel has a relatively small contact area on the ground, and I would imagine it may sink a little if it bears a portion of the overall weight. Especially on soft or wet grass. Why don't you see more jockey wheels settled on a pad to spread the load, like you get on the levelling legs?

Like others, I always leave the jockey wheel down, on the ground. But first I lift it up. Why? I generally use the motor mover to reverse the caravan onto the pitch. Castor action makes the wheel swivel so that it faces forwards. If I were to leave it like that, and when it came to hitching up again I lined up the towball with the hitch, moving the caravan forwards again would cause it to swing out of line. So on parking I raise the wheel up, swing it round through 180 degrees, and then drop it and lock it again. More trouble than it's worth? Probably - but then, that's me. 😳

[widget=9924] This member clearly does, from the other Hymer/Eriba models gallery.

Hi Pepe...yes its us evidently...I didn't know, but hubby thought that's what you had to do!!. No one told us at the meet in April we were doing it wrong as we were newbies. Keith has got another question then...................do you leave the handbrake on or off??? We leave ours off...is that correct??
Chris

I seem to remember being told that leaving the handbrake on could result in seized brakes. After a journey on which the brakes may have become heated it sounds like a possibility. So it's handbrake off for me.
TonyP

When at home and not in use I leave the handbrake off and I also fully chock the road wheels and the Jockey wheel.
When onsite and living in the van I will leave the handbrake on and wheels chocked, every now and then I will release the handbrake and put it back on again, I personally don't won't to risk the van slightly rolling and bending the legs with the handbrake off.
Winter usage will have the greatest danger of the brakes seizing due to the frost and slight rusting in the drums, and again it will be advisable to release and reapply the handbrake when living in the Eriba......

For me it's handbrake ON when on a campsite. To be honest I never considered the possibility of brake seizure due to heat although I also think that events of this nature happening must be an extremely rare. I do, however, chock both wheels (one chock at the front, on the opposite side the back) and when the van is level with steadies down, I wind up the jockey wheel just enough to turn it round so that it's lying side-on to the direction of travel.

In storage I used 'wheel savers', pump up the tyre pressures to 5 bars, lower the steadies and place a block(s) of wood under the triangular pointy bit (note the technical term), and then raise the jockey wheel just enough so that the inflatable tyre is clear of the concrete floor. Concrete and rubber do not go well together over any length of time. Using tyre savers and lowered steadies there is no possibility of the van moving and so the handbrake is left OFF.