Caravan Setup at Camp: Levelling, Stabilising and the 10-Minute Drill Every Towing Beginner Should Know

You can spot a first-time caravanner from across the campground. Doors that won't close properly, a fridge that won't fire on gas, water draining out one side of the sink, and a bloke pacing around the drawbar muttering about his back. Almost all of it traces back to one missed step at setup: the van isn't level.

Caravan setup is one of those skills that looks complicated until someone shows you the order to do it in. Then it takes ten minutes and becomes muscle memory for the rest of your touring life. Here's the drill we use, the gear that earns its space in the boot, and the small tricks that separate experienced tourers from people still arguing in the carpark.

The 30-second answer

• Pick the spot first, level second. Walk it before you reverse onto it.
• Level side-to-side before you unhitch. Use ramps under the low-side wheel while the tow vehicle is still attached.
• Chock the wheels every time. Even on what looks like flat ground.
• Unhitch, then level front-to-back with the jockey wheel. Always on a timber or plastic pad, never bare on soft dirt.
• Drop the corner stabilisers last. They steady the van — they do not lift it or hold weight.
• Whole drill: ten minutes if you're organised, longer if you're not.

Step 1 — Pick the right spot before you reverse

This is where most setups go sideways. Caravanners reverse into a site that looks fine through the rear camera, then discover the ground falls away two metres past where they stopped, or there's a tree branch perfectly placed to gouge the air-conditioner cover.

Walk the site first. Spend sixty seconds. Look for:

• Slope. Which way does the ground fall? You want to reverse so the slope runs across the van's wheels, not along the length of it. Side-to-side slope is fixable with ramps. Front-to-back slope is fixable with the jockey wheel. Both at once is awkward.
• Overhead hazards. Branches, dead limbs, low-hanging powerlines on a powered site, awning clearance.
• Drainage. If the forecast is wet, don't park in a hollow. You'll wake up in a puddle.
• Door swing. Where will the entry step land? You want it on firm, level ground, not in a wheel rut or a tree root.
• Awning side. If the awning is on the off-side, make sure that side has the open space, not the side jammed up against the neighbour.

Reverse with a spotter, every time

Two-way radios or a phone on speaker make this twenty times less painful than yelling. UHF handhelds work in any campground, with no signal needed. The driver agrees on hand signals before they get in. Stop and walk back to look whenever you're not sure — there's no prize for finishing fast.

Step 2 — Level the van side-to-side, before you unhitch

This is the step that catches new tourers. They unhitch first, then realise the van is leaning two degrees to the off-side, then have to either re-hitch or jack the corner stabilisers to lift the wheel — which is exactly what stabiliser legs are not designed for.

The right order is: van still hitched, wheels chocked on the high side, drop a single levelling ramp under the low-side wheel, drive forward (or roll back) until the bubble centres, then unhitch.

How to read the level

A small spirit level on the floor inside the door, or one of the cheap stick-on cross levels mounted to the drawbar A-frame, gives you a quick read. Some tourers swear by an app on their phone — it works, but a physical level lives in the van and never goes flat.

Aim for “close enough” — within one to two degrees of level is fine for the fridge, the plumbing and your sleep. Obsessing over a perfectly centred bubble is how setups stretch from ten minutes to forty.

Single ramp or stacked blocks

For most touring vans a single moulded levelling ramp under one wheel handles 95% of sites. Stack-style chocks (the LEGO-looking ones) give you finer control on really uneven ground but take longer to set. Carry both if you're heading bush.

One trick the experienced tourers use: take a cheap rubber mallet. Tap the chock or ramp firmly into position before you drive on it so it doesn't shoot out from under the tyre.

Step 3 — Chock the wheels, then unhitch

Wheel chocks go on both sides of the wheels on the high side of the slope, before you release the handbrake or unhitch. This is non-negotiable, even on what looks like dead flat ground. A loaded touring caravan can roll a long way before something stops it.

Once chocked, you can:

1. Apply the caravan handbrake.
2. Lower the jockey wheel until it just touches the ground.
3. Disconnect the safety chains, breakaway cable and electrical plug.
4. Wind the jockey wheel down to lift the coupling clear of the tow ball.
5. Drive the tow vehicle slowly forward, watching that the coupling clears.

Step 4 — Front-to-back levelling with the jockey wheel

With the tow vehicle out of the way, finish the level by winding the jockey wheel up or down. Watch the bubble (or your level) on the floor, not on the drawbar — a long van can be level at one end and out at the other if the chassis flexes on uneven ground.

Always put the jockey wheel on a solid pad. A piece of treated pine 200 x 200 x 30 mm or a purpose-made plastic jockey pad stops the wheel sinking into soft dirt, sand or hot bitumen. Without it, the van will quietly settle overnight and you'll wake up off-level.

Step 5 — Drop the corner stabilisers (don't lift on them)

Corner stabiliser legs do exactly what their name says — they stop the van rocking when you walk around inside or roll over in bed. They are not jacks. Trying to use them to lift a wheel off the ground bends the legs and twists the chassis mounting points.

The drill is:

1. Wind each leg down until the foot just kisses the ground.
2. Then give the brace handle one or two more turns to take the spring out of the suspension. You'll feel it firm up.
3. Stop. That's enough.

Do all four corners (or six on a long van). If the ground is soft, put a small timber pad under each foot, same as the jockey wheel.

Step 6 — Hook up power, water and gas in that order

Now the van is sitting still and level, the connections go on:

• 240 V power lead first, run from the site post to the van inlet. Always uncoil the full lead — a coiled extension lead under load will heat up.
• Water hose next, food-grade only, with an in-line pressure regulator if your van fittings are rated below 350 kPa (most are).
• Gas bottle on, regulator open, then test the stove ignition. If you've been towing on rough roads, the gas regulator may need a couple of minutes to repressurise.
• Annexe and awning last, once the van is settled and you know the wind direction.

The five-tip checklist that saves arguments

• Do the drill in the same order, every single time. Muscle memory beats memory.
• Pre-pack a setup tub. Chocks, ramps, level, jockey pad, mallet, gloves, headtorch, all in one crate near the door of the boot. No hunting at dusk.
• Mark a position on your awning arms with a paint pen so you wind it out to the same height every time. Stops the awning sagging or pulling tight on the rail.
• If you're on a slope, point the door uphill. Easier to step out, the fridge runs better, and water drains away from the entry.
• Keep one set of cheap rubber gloves in the setup tub for handling the dump hose, sullage and water connections. Different colour from your kitchen gloves. You'll thank yourself.

The pack-down drill is the same drill, in reverse

The morning you pack up, run the same checklist backwards. Awning in, gas off, water disconnected, power last. Stabilisers up before the jockey wheel comes up. Chocks pulled only after the van is hitched and the safety chains are on. Same order, every camp, every time. That's the whole secret.

Outcamp gear that earns its keep at setup

If you're building out a setup tub for the boot, the basics are cheap and last forever — a pair of moulded plastic levelling ramps, a set of stack chocks, two or three jockey-wheel pads, a small spirit level and a rubber mallet. Add a quality pressure regulator on the water side and a UHF handheld for reverse-spotting and you've got 90% of what experienced tourers carry. Have a poke through Outcamp's caravan accessories range for the bits that travel well, and the 12V accessories collection for the powered side of the setup.

The bottom line

A clean caravan setup is the difference between rolling into camp at 4 pm and being kettle-on by 4:15, versus still fighting with the awning at 6 pm in fading light. The whole drill is ten minutes once you've done it a dozen times. Pick the spot, level side-to-side hitched, chock and unhitch, level front-to-back on the jockey wheel, drop the stabilisers gently, then power-water-gas in order. Same drill every time.

How does your setup routine look? Got a tip that's saved you an argument or a hot afternoon? Drop it in the comments — happy to hear what works in real Aussie conditions.