Motorhome Levelling Systems in Australia — Do You Need a $10,000 Hydraulic System?

The honest version upfront

This article is written by OzLevel. We make a $9.99 levelling app, so we have an obvious interest in you not spending thousands on hardware. We're telling you that upfront because the comparison below is still accurate — and we'd rather you trust it than wonder.

Here's the part most comparisons skip: an automatic levelling system and a levelling app are not really the same product. An auto-leveller physically lifts your motorhome level and replaces ramps entirely. An app measures the lean and tells you exactly how much to correct — you still drive onto ramps to do it. One does the work for you; the other tells you precisely what work to do. Whether the several-thousand-dollar gap between them is worth it depends entirely on which of those you actually want.

What each system does

Australia has a healthy market for these systems. Redfoot Levelling is the best-known local name, supported by a network of more than 60 installer-dealers across Australia and New Zealand, with Bluetooth one-touch operation and an auto "all retract" feature. Ma-Ve, HWH, Lippert (LCI) and Technosys systems also appear here, often factory-fitted to top-end vans from makers like New Age, Jayco and Regent. Broadly there are two flavours: electric auto-levellers start from around $6,000 fitted, while hydraulic systems — stronger, better suited to heavy rigs — start from around $9,995. They are good systems. The question isn't whether they work — it's whether you need what they do.

Why they're not the same purchase

A hydraulic system and an app sit at opposite ends of the levelling problem, and it helps to be clear about which end you're solving.

The hydraulic system solves the physical effort of levelling. Four legs, a pump and a control box take a heavy vehicle and lift it dead level while you sit in the driver's seat. You never touch a ramp. For a big, heavy motorhome — or an owner who physically can't be climbing out to check and re-check — that's a genuine quality-of-life upgrade.

The app solves the information problem. How far off level am I, on both axes, and exactly how many ramp steps under which wheels will fix it? A phone answers that to within a fraction of a degree, and you do the driving-on yourself. If you're already happy to use ramps — as most Australian motorhomers are — the app removes the guesswork that made ramps annoying in the first place.

The real cost of an automatic system

An electric auto-leveller starts from around $6,000 fitted; a hydraulic system from around $9,995, climbing with the weight and size of the vehicle. But the sticker price isn't the whole story for a piece of hardware bolted to your chassis.

On the app side the numbers are almost boring. Two ramps are the practical minimum and three are ideal for bigger corrections — and a two-pack of ramps is about $40 at Supercheap Auto, so two packs cover you with a spare. Add the $9.99 app and the whole levelling kit is about $90 all up.

Two costs on the hardware side matter more than owners expect. The first is weight. The app-and-ramps option adds none — the ramps and the phone are already aboard — but Australian motorhomes often run close to their GVM already, and an auto-leveller's legs, pump and framing eat into the payload you'd otherwise spend on water, gear or passengers. The second is the failure mode: an app has nothing to go wrong, but a levelling leg that won't retract in a remote spot is a real and expensive way to end a trip. Neither is a reason to avoid a system — but both belong in the maths.

Where a hydraulic system genuinely wins

It's a fair comparison, so here's where the expensive hardware is worth every dollar — because for some people it absolutely is.

Heavy rigs

On a large, heavy A-class or a hefty coach-built motorhome, driving onto ramps to get level can be awkward, and the corrections are bigger. Hydraulic legs lift that weight effortlessly and hold it. The heavier your rig, the stronger the case for a system.

Mobility and physical effort

If climbing in and out to place ramps, check, adjust and re-check is difficult — through age, injury or disability — one-touch levelling from the driver's seat is a genuine quality-of-life purchase, not a luxury. This is the use case where we'd tell you the money is well spent.

Daily movers and stabilisation

If you change sites most days, the seconds and effort saved add up, and a proper system also stabilises the vehicle and cuts the rocking you get from ramps and jacks alone. For full-timers on the move, that convenience is real.

On accuracy — you're already covered

It's worth clearing up one thing, because it's often used to justify the spend. A hydraulic system is not more accurate than a phone in any way that matters on a campsite. Both get you level; one just does the lifting.

Levelling a parked motorhome is a static reading. The phone reads gravity on a stationary vehicle and achieves better than 0.5° — and your appliances don't need anywhere near that. Dometic and Thetford specify a maximum of around 3° side-to-side and 6° front-to-back for their absorption fridges. Whether a $6,000-plus system or a $9.99 app gets you there, "level enough for the fridge and a good night's sleep" is the same finish line. We're not levelling a pool table.

Feature comparison

Who should choose what

Choose the app (and ramps) if…

• You're happy to use ramps and just want the guesswork gone
• Your motorhome is light-to-mid weight and payload matters to you
• You don't want hardware to install, maintain or worry about failing remote
• You want dual-axis accuracy and the exact ramp step count done for you
• You have a slideout and want seal protection built in
• You'd rather keep the thousands for diesel, sites and the actual trip

Choose a hydraulic system if…

• You run a heavy A-class or coach-built rig where ramps are a genuine chore
• Mobility limitations make climbing out to place ramps difficult
• You move sites most days and value one-touch levelling and stabilisation
• Payload headroom and the purchase price aren't primary concerns
• You want the vehicle to level itself with zero physical effort

The verdict

For the vast majority of Australian motorhomers, a $9.99 app plus a set of ramps does everything a $6,000-to-$10,000 auto-levelling system does at the only metric that matters on a campsite: it gets you level, on both axes, well within your fridge's tolerance. The app adds the exact ramp step count, hands-free audio and slideout seal protection, and it adds zero weight to a rig that's probably already close to its GVM.

Hydraulic systems like Redfoot, HWH and Lippert are good products with a real use case — heavy rigs, owners who can't handle ramps, and constant movers who want one-touch levelling and stabilisation. If that's you, the money is well spent. But if you're deciding based on getting level, and you're happy to use ramps, the app wins on price, wins on weight, and wins on the one thing that never lets you down in a remote campsite: there's nothing to break.