janegowest wrote:
Well...there must be something better than all manual...how do electric and hydraulic jacks work?
Basically, you have an individual motor or hydraulic cylinder at each jack point. They are all connected to a computer that you first calibrate by manually adjusting the jacks until the rig is level; you use a carpenter's level to verify this. You then calibrate the brain at that point which tells it that this is now the zero point from which to start. (The computer has an electronic "tilt meter" that tells how far off level the FW is, and in which direction.) Retract the jacks and move to your camp site. As you're setting up you push a button which then levels the FW automatically. There are also features where you can set a "hitch point", so the rig automatically will jack itself to the proper point that you can just slide right under when you're ready to move. Personally, I don't have one, but I've read a fair bit about them and, when they work, they're great. Obviously, they're also another "device" that can fail; so can the "old school" jacks.
Lyle
