Level-Headed

When my OCD kicked in, I reached for a “digital protractor” to make sure the refrigerator was level enough to operate safely — and to keep the inside from taking a lopsided position.

Leveling an RV is more than just a process to make the inside habitable for human occupants. It’s necessary to keep the refrigerator operating properly — especially an absorption model that can fail when the cooling unit is operating out of the safe zone. So, what does that mean? In laymen’s terms, “level enough to be comfortable,” but that’s subjective. I’ve seen people live in RVs that defy logic. I guess some people are not affected by a lopsided house. Maybe they are okay with water in the shower puddling on the other side of the pan drain or when cabinet doors swing open wildly. How about sleeping?

Nevertheless, conventional wisdom suggests that it’s better to live in a level RV and not worry about damaging the cooling unit in an absorption refrigerator. That being the case, how do you know when the RV is really level?

Many owners use the quintessential “bullseye” level and try to keep the bubble half in the center ring. Unfortunately, doing so means you’ll quickly find out that countertops, the floor and refrigerator shelves are not typically on the same plane — and if the bubble is not smack in the middle of the center ring, it’s impossible to know if the positioning is within the mandated 3 degrees side-to-side variance and 6 degrees front to rear. I guess you can use a mechanical protractor, but that’s not convenient.

Since I’m a fanatic about keeping my fifth wheel level and complying with the refrigerator manufacturer’s specifications — even for the 12-volt DC model in my rig — I picked up what I call a “digital protractor” for just $16.99 on Amazon. It’s really labeled as a “Digital Angle Finder Magnetic PT180” and carries a R&D Instruments nameplate. This tool is actually targeted as a table saw angle finder and can read measurements from minus 4 to 90 degrees.

Many RVers rely on the quintessential bullseye level when leveling their RV if auto jacks are not provided. Usually making sure the bubble was at least half inside the center ring meant the RV was level enough to prevent refrigerator damage. The digital protractor allows those who are more fastidious to drill down to the “nitty gritty” when leveling their rigs.

Normally, the floor, countertops and refrigerator/freezer shelves are not on the same plane. I verified that by checking the floor with the digital protractor in both directions. As you can see, the floor is not absolutely level, but was pretty close.

Checking the level on the freezer compartment shelf shows that the refrigerator is well within specifications.

I simply place the electronic protractor on the refrigerator and/or freezer shelf and take a reading in both directions. This device operates on two AAA batteries and has a magnet on the bottom for use on other, unrelated projects — and the numbers displayed are big enough to decipher without reading glasses.

Once the exact level position in the refrigerator was notated, I placed the digital protractor on a flat surface near the leveling jack system controls to compare readings when the automatic leveling jack readout showed the fifth wheel was level—and made manual adjustments, as necessary. I can now also check the refrigerator when parked without unhitching to make sure it was level enough to be safe, especially if spending a few hours in a location. The digital protractor really comes in handy when stopping for lunch or a break; if the refrigerator is out of spec, I turn it off temporarily.

Maybe I have a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but that’s okay — I’d rather be safe than sorry.