Over the years, Kylie and I have spent hundreds, actually thousands of dollars on accessories and modifications to our RVs. Some have been a complete waste of money while others have been proven to be money well spent. Fortunately we have learnt from our mistakes and we now have a few golden rules that we apply to anything before we commit our hard earned towards it. These are:

1. The item must make our lives in the caravan easier
2. The item must be able to save us precious holiday time
3. The item must represent value for money
4. Where possible, the item must replace at least one other item we carry
5. Where possible, we prefer to buy from an Australian manufacturer

Now that is pretty tough criteria to apply but it has worked for us. We’ve been able to reduce the number of items we carry in our van and we have reduced our total weight in the process.

This brings me to the subject of this review; the BOS Stabilising Legs. By way of introduction, BOS manufacture towing equipment designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia to achieve a simple, effective and easy way to raise and lower a caravan, camper trailer or any towed vehicle. Their products are based on their patented gear box which uses an electric or battery powered drill to lift or move a caravan. Their products are innovative and very easy to use.

We first came across BOS when researching an alternative to the standard jockey wheel fitted to our van. Like many others, I found ours to be very annoying. Removing it, fitting it, storing it, all irritated me. The BOS replacement jockey wheel completely eliminates all the problems with traditional units. You fit it and forget it. It’s a delight to use.

At the time, I noticed the other products BOS manufacture and their stabilising legs caught my eye. These use the same gearbox as the jockey wheel and allow you to raise the whole caravan off the ground with sufficient clearance to change a wheel. Anyone with ordinary stabilising legs will know that you cannot do this with them. You need to use a jack and most vanners will have a hydraulic jack for the job. I’m not a huge fan of using these for that purpose. They operate much like a high lift jack in that there’s a lot of weight resting on a very small base plate with an associated high risk of the jack toppling over if the van is not secured properly.

The BOS stabilising legs allow you to jack up your van at the two ends of the van creating a very stable base. Check out the above video to see what I mean. You will notice there is little to no effort involved. You let the battery drill and the patented gearbox do all the work. What’s more, if you have a heavy van like ours, chances are you’ll have a larger jack that weighs around 20 kgs…! By fitting the BOS stabiliser legs, you can do away with that jack for ever.

The other advantage of the BOS legs is that they can be used to level up your van if you find yourself on an uneven site. We have just returned from a trip to Mallacoota, Victoria, and we were faced with a sloping site and not a lot of room to manoeuvre. Trying to get the van up on blocks was going to be very difficult. Using the BOS stabilising legs, we were able to put the van on the site and just raise up the downhill side and chock the wheel once the van was level. It couldn’t be easier or safer. It was an impressive demonstration and we got a round of applause from our neighbours who, I’m fairly certain, were sad to have missed the anticipated entertainment. We fielded a lot of questions about the system.

To cap it all off, dealing with BOS has been an absolute delight. Bronwyn has been fantastic and provided a very high level of customer support. Deliveries have been made quickly and any questions we’ve had have been answered to our complete satisfaction. The products themselves are very easy to install. Anyone who can wield a socket set can install the BOS Stabilising Legs in less than an hour.  

Now the cost of these legs can be a bit daunting at $750 a pair (or $1,560 for 4 including delivery) but when you consider the cost of the 3,500 kg bottle jack can cost over $500, and is not as safe at the BOS legs, the price is more than reasonable. Further, I can guarantee you the first time you use these legs on an uneven site, you’ll be very pleased with your investment.

If you’re in the market for a new caravan, I would highly recommend you negotiate with the manufacturer to fit BOS Stabilising Legs all round as well as their jockey wheel in place of ordinary legs, jack and basic jockey wheel. You’ll be very happy you did.

The BOS Stabilising Legs easily earn a rating of 5 wesites.

For more information contact Bronwyn on 02-9623-6922 or visit