How Many Leveling Blocks Do I Need?

Buy one ten-pack for a single-axle trailer and two ten-packs for a tandem axle. That covers the great majority of sites with something in reserve. You almost never need more than two blocks stacked under any one wheel, and if you do, the site is the problem rather than the block count.

This is part of our leveling and chocks guide, and it is the question people ask right before their first trip, usually with a cart already open.

The short version

How to turn a bubble reading into a block count

You do not need to calculate this precisely, and nobody does it at the campsite. But understanding the relationship stops the guessing feeling random.

A standard interlocking leveling block gives roughly an inch of lift. A typical travel trailer is around eight feet wide across the tires. So one block of lift on one side tilts the trailer by roughly half a degree across its width.

That is why most sites need one or two blocks. A site that reads two degrees out needs about four inches of lift on one side, which is four blocks stacked, and at that point you should be repositioning rather than building.

The practical method

Put a level on the floor across the trailer. Note how far out it reads. Then: barely off the mark is one block, clearly off is two, and if the bubble is against the end of the tube, move the trailer.

After three or four trips you will stop measuring and start eyeballing it, which is genuinely what everyone ends up doing.

Why a tandem axle needs twice as many

This catches people out. On a tandem axle, both wheels on the low side need to end up at the same height. If you only build a stack under one of them, the other wheel hangs or takes all the weight, and the suspension ends up loaded strangely.

So the practical count is: blocks for wheel one, plus the same again for wheel two, plus a ramp piece. A ten-pack does one wheel comfortably. Two ten-packs does a tandem axle comfortably.

When more blocks is the wrong answer

Building higher on soft ground. The taller the stack, the smaller the effective contact patch with the ground, and the faster it sinks. On grass, more blocks laid wider is the fix. More blocks stacked higher makes it worse.

Three or more high anywhere. Manufacturers generally cap stack height for good reason: a tall stack is less stable laterally and more likely to shift as the tire rolls on. If the site needs that, reposition the trailer.

Compensating for a site you should not be on. Some pitches are simply bad. Asking for a different site is free and takes less time than three attempts at leveling.

What to buy

A ten-pack per axle side, a wide-footprint set if your sites are soft, and a bag so you still own all ten of them next season.

Best for Most first trailers

Camco FasTen Leveling Blocks (10-pack)

The default first purchase for a travel trailer: interlocking blocks you stack into a ramp, cheap enough to buy two sets.

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Best for Heavier rigs and soft ground

Tri-Lynx Lynx Levelers (10-pack)

The upgrade you make after your first soft-ground site: the same stacking idea with a structure that spreads weight instead of concentrating it.

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Best for Not losing blocks

Camco Leveling Block Storage Bag

A bag, honestly. But the reason people lose leveling blocks is that they never had anywhere to put them.

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Do you need blocks at all?

For a travel trailer, yes, at almost every site. Absorption refrigerators work best close to level, doors stop swinging shut on their own, and sleeping on a slope is worse than it sounds until you have done it. Very few campsites are level enough to skip this.

If you would rather not stack anything at all, the curved-leveler approach exists specifically to replace the counting: you drive up until the bubble centers and stop. That comparison is in Andersen versus Beech Lane.