Storing on a slope
Hi,
We store our Eriba on our drive, which has a reasonable slope to it. The drive slopes up from the road up to our house. I have been levelling the Eriba which means it sticks out quite high at the bottom of the slope and I have a couple of bricks at the bottom for the corner steadies because of the extra height.
Do we have to store it level?
Clearly we wouldn’t be able to use the eriba stored at an angle and things like the fridge would not work in gas. That wouldn’t be a problem as we wouldn’t be using it if stored like this. I am wondering about winter when it wouldn’t be used.
Is there any reason why we couldn’t store it at the angle of the slope? Would it put undue stress on the frame or chassis etc?
~ N
~ 530 and proud
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:14 amby eribaMotters • | 5.604 Posts
You should have no problem. You are wise in using a couple of bricks to make up the height difference is the best way to avoid using the corner steadies at the limit of there travel and putting any stress on them.
Colin
Skoda Yeti diesel 2wd _ ex 430, 552, camplet trailer tent, 310, now a nice white 2017 430.
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:35 amby Pixietroll (deleted)
We have just purchased a Troll 540 and will have the same problem (if it is a problem) However our drive slopes down towards the house, I am a tad worried that the handbreak won’t hold. We used to chock our Motorhome, just in case, but the Troll has a motormover fitted behind the wheel, so not much room for the section of railway sleeper we used to use. I’m guessing backing it down the drive with the mover will present no problem (although I will be a little nervous 1st time lol), but once I have put on the handbreak I guess I will be disengageing the motormover with fear and trepidation. Tempted to tie my Moomin-Troll to our tree just in case haha.
Toyota Landcruiser with Moomin our lovable Troll 540
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 12:13 pmby Randa france • | 13.287 Posts
Don't forget the caravan overrun braking system. http://www.al-ko.co.uk/edit/files/handbo...em-handbook.pdf
When parking on a slope and after applying the Eriba handbrake manually, the van will tend to run back by about 6" or so before the handbrake lever kicks back another couple of notches. It is then that the van brake is secure. (it doesn't happen if reversing up the slope but it is as well to try and get the overide brake to kick in some how. A lot of pushing perhaps).
There is a large concensus of opinion that believes that it's good to store the van with a slight nose up or down posture as it allows gutter, window and hollow chassis drainage.
Randa
ERIBAFOLK POP UP EVERYWHERE 1999 Eriba Troll 530 pushing a VW Touran 2L TDi Match
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 12:43 pmby Randa france • | 13.287 Posts
I've been thinking some more about this subject and was wondering what effect leaving the handbrake on for a long period of time would have. We always try to park ours up with the handbrake off.
What do others think?
Randa
ERIBAFOLK POP UP EVERYWHERE 1999 Eriba Troll 530 pushing a VW Touran 2L TDi Match
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 12:55 pmby DognWheel (deleted)
I’m probably being stupid, as I don’t have a motor mover so probably don’t understand them properly... but if it’s only on one wheel, could you not chock the other?
2000 Puck L225 pushing a Peugeot 207SW 1.6HDi
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 1:33 pmby Pepé Le Pew • | 2.752 Posts
Quote: Randa france wrote in post #5I honestly can't remember the last time we used the handbrake it was that long ago. I'd far rather chock the wheels unless it was really steep, and if it was really steep we'd try and find somewhere that wasn't.
I've been thinking some more about this subject and was wondering what effect leaving the handbrake on for a long period of time would have. We always try to park ours up with the handbrake off.
What do others think?
Fortunately the van lives in a barn with a nice level floor when we aren't using it, so we don't need it there.
Brake shoes do seize to drums, so it's always a bit of a risk if the handbrake is left on for a long time.
Quote: DognWheel wrote in post #6Movers work on both wheels. If they didn't, you'd just go round in small circles.
I’m probably being stupid, as I don’t have a motor mover so probably don’t understand them properly... but if it’s only on one wheel, could you not chock the other?
You can leave the mover engaged (i.e. with the drive rollers pressed against the tyres and using the dead motors as a brake), but I wouldn't want to leave it that way for any length of time, partly because the rollers are distorting the tyre in one place, but mostly because components last longer if they're at rest and not under constant stress. Same kind of thing with a handbrake left on semi-permanently.
I appreciate that this is probably a bit of an old duffer's view of life, stress and handbrake cables, but thanks to modern advances in genetics, that's my dad's fault rather than mine.
.
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 1:51 pmby Randa france • | 13.287 Posts
Although we don't park on that much of a slope, we use wheel cradles which, I suppose, stop a bit of rolling.
https://www.grasshopperleisure.co.uk/fia...AiABEgKMuPD_BwE
We also use one of the glazed bricks with a drainage channel cut out of it, to park the jockey wheel into, at an angle of 90% to the direction of the van (sorry don't remember what they are called. We found ours on a pile of rubble).
Randa
ERIBAFOLK POP UP EVERYWHERE 1999 Eriba Troll 530 pushing a VW Touran 2L TDi Match
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 2:10 pmby Pixietroll (deleted)
I absolutely agree and used to store our old caravan with the handbreak off, but our driveway now slopes downward, we haven’t brought our new Troll home yet, but ideally if we can find a safe way to chock it, it would be the way to go I guess.
Toyota Landcruiser with Moomin our lovable Troll 540
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 3:19 pmby Nthurrzzz (deleted)
My concern isn’t so much rolling down the slope (chocks, ramps, brakes, movers and all sort of options there). It is whether leaving the caravan at the same angle as the slope instead of levelling it puts undue pressure on the chassis or frame and cause damage or distortion.
~ N
~ 530 and proud
RE: Storing on a slope
in Anything Eriba-related Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:44 pmby highmiler • | 367 Posts
Hi Nthurzzz,
We have a 2001 Troll 530 parked on our sloping drive, it lives here most of the year, and has done since December 2014.
I have a Reich mover which we leave engaged all the time it is parked, we also leave the brake on all the time, and we chock the wheels as well.
I have never had any problems with the brakes binding, or with the mover being engaged all the time.
I endorse Randa's comments about a van reversing down the slope of a drive and the brake delay.
The van gets serviced every year and we have yet to encounter any problems from storing / parking in this way, with regard to distortion or undue pressure on the chassis.Eriba's are built to last, and they do.
I have never read in any of the manuals that parking in this way is a problem though there is a lot of scheptisism.
Highmiler.Troll 530GT and Skoda 2.0 TDi
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