retiredtravelers2013 wrote:
My wife and own a 1998 Holiday Rambler DP. We bought it this spring.
On one of our first trips we had to extend the front levelers all the way to get level. That is when I saw that magic button to dump air bags. Problem is that it did not work. We had a few other problems which the seller fixed correctly. I went back about the airbags and got the old "We looked at it and everything seems OK" Well, it still does not work!
So amongst you smart people can anyone tell me 1:How is it supposed to work?
2:Where in the MH do I find the components to make it work?
It seems like it should be a pretty simple thing. One solenoid somewhere. Either a bad switch or a bad solenoid. Am I wrong?
Thank you to all in advance.
Retiredtravelers2013,
Well, as you can see, there's many opinions and experiences. It always amazes me that that some folks think ALL RVs and leveling systems work the exact same. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Different chassis makers and, different motor home makers and, different leveling system makers, all utilize different protocols for their operation. One of the biggest leveling makers in the system is HWH. And even they have different operations for their different systems.
The smart thing to do for you is, find, either on line, or through other members, operations manuals for your coach and, your model leveling system of YOUR year. Because even from year to year, things change, even a slight bit. So, what works on a system similar to yours, in a slightly newer coach, may not work for you and your coach.
From what I've learned in reading manuals and operating different leveling systems, about 95% of them require the air bags to be dumped prior to the leveling system to being engaged. And, there are, like our HWH 625 system, issues if not done in a correct sequence and operational method. For instance, our 625 system which, is fully automatic or, manual, requires the bags to be dumped, prior to starting to engage the leveling system.
And, the ignition MUST be off in one operation and can be either on or off, in the other. The primary reason it MUST be off while in one operation is, if left on, the ride height sensors go nuts trying to keep the system working correctly while, in fact, you're blowing the air out of the bags and, engaging the leveling system.
So, again, try and find info on your particular system and, sometimes, in the manuals, there's also trouble shooting sections too that may help you with your issue. Not all chassis act the same way, even within the same year/model. While ours immediately acts when the dump button (manually) is pushed and you immediately feel the coach drop, others take more time at dropping the bags and is not that harsh.
And yes, about 99.99999% of the air equipped systems require the parking brake to be applied prior to either dumping the bags or, using the leveling system. And, most of the time, all that does is complete a ground in the electrical side of the leveling operation when the parking brake switch is pushed. Good luck.
Scott
