The problem with guessing
You pull into the site. It looks pretty level. You chuck a block under one wheel, drive on, check the bubble — still off. Add another block. Drive off, reposition, drive back on. Your partner is standing in the rain doing the signal. Twenty minutes later, you're close enough and you've decided that'll do.
Every Australian motorhomer has done this. It's not a skill issue — it's an information issue. You don't know how far off level your site actually is before you start. So you're guessing.
The fix is simple: measure first, place blocks second.
The formula
Ramp blocks raise your wheel by a fixed increment per step — typically somewhere between 35mm and 50mm depending on brand. To know how many you need:
📐 The calculation
Blocks needed = ⌈ Rise (mm) ÷ Step height (mm) ⌉
Step heights for common Australian ramp brands
These are the brands you'll find at most Aussie caravan suppliers. Step heights are approximate — always verify against your specific product, as manufacturers occasionally update designs.
| Brand | Step heights | Max rise | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camec (standard) | ~38mm per step | ~115mm (3 steps) | Most common in Aus; fits between tandem axles |
| Tufway | ~35mm per step | ~105mm (3 steps) | Budget-friendly; single and dual axle variants |
| Milenco Quattro | 40mm, 80mm, 120mm, 160mm | 160mm (4 steps) | OzLevel Pro supports 4-step ramps like this |
| Redfoot Multi-Stage | 40mm, 70mm, 100mm | 100mm (3 steps) | Larger footprint; better on soft ground |
| TRED GT | ~38mm per step | ~115mm (3 steps) | Interlocking system; short enough for tandem axles |
| Mean Mother | ~33mm per step | ~100mm (3 steps) | 0–100mm range stated; check your specific model |
| Fiamma Level Up | ~30mm per step | ~90mm (3 steps) | Lighter; more common on campervans |
| Generic/unknown | Measure with ruler | Varies | Enter your measured height into OzLevel settings |
How to measure how far off level you are
This is the part most people skip — and it's why they end up doing multiple passes.
You have a few options:
Option 1 — Your phone (recommended)
Your phone contains a precision accelerometer — the same chip used in every spirit level app. Park the vehicle, open OzLevel (or any spirit level app), and it reads the exact angle of lean. OzLevel converts this angle to millimetres of rise required at each wheel based on your vehicle's track width.
OzLevel Pro then takes that rise figure and divides it by your specific block step height — giving you the exact block count before you've even opened the storage bay.
Option 2 — Bubble level inside the vehicle
Many motorhomes have a bubble level stuck to a wall or window. The problem: these only tell you which direction you're leaning — not by how much. You still end up guessing how many blocks to use.
Option 3 — Dedicated Bluetooth sensor
Products like SavvyLevel and the Oricom RVLS01 mount to your vehicle and pair with an app. Accurate, but $100–$350+ before you've started — plus something else to charge and pair. For most people, your phone does the same job.
Front-to-back (pitch) vs. side-to-side (roll)
Most sites are primarily off in one direction — usually left-right (roll), because roads and campsites are often crowned or have lateral drainage fall. But sometimes you'll have both.
With roll only: raise the low side, done. With both roll and pitch: you need to level both axes simultaneously or in the right order. OzLevel's dual-axis mode shows both at once and tells you which wheels need raising — so you don't accidentally fix your roll and make your pitch worse.
The maths gets tedious when you're dealing with both axes. Which is another reason to let the app do it.
What if the site is too uneven for your ramps?
Sometimes the site simply can't be levelled with the ramps you have. Common causes:
- Rise required exceeds your ramp's maximum height
- Cross-fall in two directions simultaneously
- Soft ground causing ramps to sink unevenly
OzLevel Pro includes a reposition vehicle warning — if the required rise exceeds your ramp's maximum, it tells you before you start wrestling with blocks. Move forward or back a metre, re-measure, and try again.
A note on slideout-equipped motorhomes
If your motorhome has a slideout, "perfectly level" isn't always ideal. A slideout seal pressed flat against the body with water sitting on top of it degrades faster than one with a slight downward bias draining water away.
OzLevel Pro's slideout seal protection mode biases the slideout side a few millimetres lower than perfect level — within appliance tolerances, but enough to encourage drainage. It's a small thing that protects an expensive seal over years of use.
The quick reference
| Rise needed | Camec (~38mm) | Milenco Quattro | Tufway (~35mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 38mm | 1 block | 1 step (40mm) | 1 block |
| 39–76mm | 2 blocks | 2 steps (80mm) | 2 blocks |
| 77–114mm | 3 blocks | 3 steps (120mm) | 3 blocks |
| 115–160mm | ⚠️ Over max | 4 steps (160mm) | ⚠️ Over max |
| Over 160mm | Reposition — beyond ramp range | ||
Summary
To calculate how many ramp blocks you need: measure the rise required in millimetres, divide by your ramp's step height, round up. The table above gives you quick reference figures for the most common Aussie brands.
But the real answer is: measure with your phone before you touch a single block. You'll place them right the first time, every time.