So I bought these Lego like leveling block way back when, actually on the way home from picking up our van from SMB West. I only used them 3 or 4 times in the 5 years we've had our van. I carried them around in the underfloor storage so to use them I would have to pull several things out to get to them and then put everything back. So I would just find rocks, logs or dig holes to level the Van. The few times I did use them they worked really good but I was ready to toss them to make some room for other things. After all, they're so class "C"motorhome, right? But then I thought what if I found a better place to store them and could get to them and put them away easily? Well here is where the extended body comes in. There is this empty space right behind the rear wheels. That's where these belong.
So here is what I came up with. An aluminum box that is latched up under the body. To get to it I unlatch it just behind the bumper, it swings down and the lid is now free to open. The 15 leveling block slide right out. I have a box on both sides so I can carry 30 of these Lego like blocks and that can get me out of a very unlevel situation. I thought this would be a great place to carry snow chains on our ski trips. I've never had to level out on a ski trip so I can leave the blocks at home.
The boxes are sealed so I can also carry things in them that I want to keep clean. The lids are held closed with a wedge that is mounted right behind the rear bumper. When the box is pushed up and the draw-latch is closed, the lid is pressed tight against the box. Just incase it would some how get unlatch I put a safety cable on it that will stop everything from flight up. There is a stop on the hinge/mounting bracket that holds the box at the angle you see in the first photo above.
The piece below is the hinge/ mounting bracket.
I know what your thinking,"looks like a lot of work for some leveling blocks". It's true, I started these over a year ago. At first it was just an opportunity to weld up some aluminum boxes
. This was my first attempt at welding aluminum and I'm really happy with how it turned out. But then all the hinging and latching and lid seals came into play and it became a challenge to complete them and make them work. Now I can take this off the list of things to do. That list that I lie awake at night thinking about
, that list that somehow only gets longer.
Now that I have these installed I have some room on my workbench. What's next
?
Cheers,
John
Sporty Spice
Sportsmobile (AKA Money Pit)
Linear Mode
