Product Review: Milenco Quattro Levelling Ramps
Disclosure: I received a free set of ramps from Milenco for this review. I did not receive any payment and was not required to write a positive review. Links marked with (eBay⇒) or (Amazon⇒) are affiliate links. This means I get paid a small commission if you buy something after clicking on the links. This money helps to pay for the running of the website.
Levelling is something that many motorhomers and caravanners take very seriously. I do not always bother levelling myself, but there are certainly times when a set of levelling ramps can make all the difference between a comfortable evening and a less comfortable one. Being close to horizontal is also important for anyone running their fridge on gas, as gas-powered fridges do not work efficiently unless they are fairly close to level.
I recently received a set of levelling ramps to review that are quite different to the majority of products on the market. Milenco’s Quattro levelling ramps were new in 2009 and are visually and structurally quite different to most other levelling ramps.
A Look At The Levels
The Quattros are unlike any levelling ramps I have ever seen before. ‘Standard’ levelling ramps tend to be yellow, moulded plastic affairs that are about 40-50cm long and 10-15cm high. The Quattros dwarf such ramps and are 78cm long, 20cm high and 24cm wide. They are also black and constructed rather differently to conventional levels, with a solid base plate and a very strong lattice-style upper structure:
The longer, higher design means that you would have to be parked on quite a steep slope before you ran out of levelling ability. The Quattros get their name from the four ‘pockets’ on the ramp, which are designed to help your wheels sit stably at different levels without chocking. According to Milenco, the ramps’ lattice design improves strength, provides excellent grip and reduces the weight of these large ramps. The Quattros have solid bases, whose large surface area should mean that they do not sink into soft ground as easily as smaller levelling ramps can do.
In Use
Anyone using these levelling ramps for the first time may be surprised at how much effort is required to get a motorhome to drive up them. You do have to give it a bit of welly and slip the clutch if you are to drive up the levels slowly and avoid the risk of going off the top (something that would not be desirable, given how high these levels are). I also found that on wet tarmac, very sensitive control of the clutch/accelerator was necessary to stop the grips slipping on the tarmac and moving under the wheels.
The lattice design of the Quattros provides a high level of grip and they seem very strongly constructed, although my small van was nowhere near the weight limit for these levels, which is 1,500kg per wheel (i.e. a 6,000kg motorhome or 3,000kg caravan). Each level weighs in at 3.8kg – not bad for their size and strength, but quite hefty all the same.
When driving onto the Quattros, I did find that it was harder than I expected to ‘feel’ when my wheels were in one of the pockets, but it would probably get easier with practice. As it was, I drove up higher than necessary then had a look and rolled back slightly until the wheels were in one of the pockets.
The Quattros come with a strong storage bag that has a carrying strap – a nice touch and useful if you need to keep the levels in the living section of your ‘van when travelling.
Final Thoughts
Milenco’s Quattro levelling ramps are substantially different to most others on the market and their extra height means that they can provide a greater degree of levelling than most. They seem very well made but are quite large and heavy – an important consideration for storage and ease of use, especially for people with smaller motorhomes and caravans.
I like the pocketed, grippy design and the levels’ generous 24cm width. The extra width means that even the wheels of quite large motorhomes will fit safely and comfortably onto the levels, without requiring ultra-accurate positioning.
The storage space required for these ramps means that Milenco Quattros are probably best suited to larger motorhomes and caravans, but they should work well for any vehicle. Their generous size and strong, grippy design should work well on all types of ground.
Buy Milenco Quattro Levelling Ramps on Amazon
I purchased the melenco leveller ramp but I am very disappointed that it doesnt do what your advertisement says ie pocket the tyre eliminating the need for chocks.
I revisited West Country Motorhomes and explained the problems, with no satifaction, I explained that the tyre wasn,t pocket at any hieght very disapointed with Milenco products .
Regard Dave Howe
Hi Dave,
Sorry to hear you are disappointed with your Milencos. As I commented in my review (by the way, my article was a review, not an advertisement), it is hard to feel when your wheels are sitting in the pockets.
However, I found that my motorhome was perfectly stable once it was correctly positioned on the levels with the handbrake on, so I am not sure why you feel that you need chocks – I rarely see motorhomes using chocks when on levels of any kind.
Regards, Roland
I also purchased a set of Milenco Quattro levelling ramps. I took them back to Sunny Haven Caravans and explained that they do not cradle the tyre and that in my opinion, do need chocks as you are relying on the handbrake to hold the caravan on them, which means that an ordinary tapered wedge type block is better as you can use a chock as well as the handbrake. If you’re handbrake fails with the Quattro, the caravan can roll off them and put the weight of the caravan onto you’re corner steadies which are not designed to take the weight, and when you raise you’re steadies, the caravan can roll off them all together.
This situation would not occur with a motor home as it can be left in gear and when you want to drive off the blocks, you are sitting inside with you’re foot on the foot brake.
I also had no satisfaction with my complaint.
Regards, Terry
I purchased a set of these ramps this year at the Dusseldorf Caravan Expo as my Hymer is higher at the rear than the front, I needed something beefier than the typical yellow ramps. I too found that the ramps do not cradle your tyres. The dips in the ramps are far too small to cope with my size of tyre which are not an unusual size for a motorhome. Also, the moulding on the driving surface is fairly irregular and in some places there were noticeable ‘high spots’ which for sure were digging into the tyres with some pressure. On one of the ramps one of these high spots broke off (thankfully??). The height of them is fantastic as for the first time I could get my van level but I chocked the rear wheels and left the van in gear as the designed dips did not cup or hold my wheels. I will still use them as there is nothing on the market that matches their height and I will file down the other high spots to ease my mind and any damage to the tyres. A little modification with bigger dips for the wheels to sit in and they would be fine if a tad longer.
Same comment – these ramps are great in that they provide the best lift, and for my 8m motorhome with 16″ wheels they’re no problem to store or deploy, but the ‘pockets’ don’t work as advertised. I definitely need chocks as well to prevent the van intermittently creeping down, with ensuing hand-brake-slipping noises. Add chocks for these ramps and I’ll be happy.