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Jeccorp1usa's avatar
Jeccorp1usa
Explorer
Sep 17, 2020

Class A Troubleshooting for us Newbies

My wife I bought a 1999 National RV Class A Dolphin 5350 Motorhome with the Ford 6.8 liter V-10 Triton. It had 29K miles when we bought it. We are living in it fulltime. We gave up the place we were living in search of a relaxed and rent free existence. We knew nothing about motorhomes and have never owned of even been inside one. Its been almost a month now and although everything seemed to work in the beginning, it seems like nothing does now. Where to begin. The automatic leveling system. It worked the first time we turned it on. The panel lit up and we lowered and raised the metal legs or whatever they are called and when we were done we raised them up and turned the panel off. Today we tried to use them and nothing. The panel will not turn on, won't light up, seems dead. What happened? Did we blow a fuse, throw a breaker? Did it burn up, is it dead? What happened that it was working fine and then nothing? Please help us. We have many questions, this is just the first. We are out of our element, we know nothing, we are as green as the greenest grass on earth. But we want to learn, we have to learn, we are not going back to living in a $1,000 a month box. We are RV living now and not looking back. Please advise. Thank you

25 Replies

  • Mine has to have the ignition switch turned to ACC for levelers to work up or down
  • Leveling system requires the vehicle to be in Park and emergency brake to be set. For power try it with the engine running.
  • Nothing beats learning the basics by reading online. Google RV basics.
  • You say nothing works, is the battery dead? Are you plugged in or using a generator?
  • Welcome to the forum.
    Usually I would tell you to ask another RVer in the campground where you are staying. Most RVers are friendly and willing to help.
    Since you are living a rent free existence you are probably boondocking so asking a neighbor is not an option.

    If you know nothing about RV's consider hiring a mobile RV Tech, they could go over everything with you while checking out your jack/stabilizer issue.

    Did you check your breakers and fuses? It could be something simple or a little more complicated like a loose/broken wire.
    If you don't know where your breaker/fuse box is located let us know.
    Someone with a similar RV can tell you where to find it.
    On our 96 Southwind it's located under the refrigerator.

    Do you have a basic tool set and multimeter? They will be very helpful.

    There is a lot of information and experience on the forum, don't hesitate to ask questions. Someone will have an answer.