levelers - which fluid

ATF is primarily a hydraulic oil, albeit a specialized blend with specific friction and other characteristics to meet the needs of the clutches used in transmissions, as well as the valving, cooling, etc. Standard hydraulic oils used to operate cylinders and such are typically more concerned with viscosity and abrasion characteristics, with a bit of anti-corrosion chemistry thrown in. Hydraulic RV leveling jacks are akin to power steering in that they both can use pretty much any common ATF successfully, although vehicle manufacturers usually specify the same type as used in the transmission for convenience.

jerseyjim wrote:
Don't mix anything. My opinion, of course. My PowerGear levelers owners manual says DextronIII, so that's what I use.

What the disclaimer means is to NOT use any other fluid other than Transmission oil. Do not use or mix Hydraulic oil and such. Doug

Trackrig wrote:
It appears you have the same leveling system as we do. Note that on page four it says to change the fluid every 36 months. This is a system that a lot of people ignore unless there's a problem with it. When we got our rig, I couldn't tell what was in it or if it had ever been changed. Ours was seven years old at the time, I had the fluid changed so I knew what was in it. Then I put a large Dymo Label on it with the change date and what was in it.

Bill

There is NO REASON to change out Fluid in a Slide/Jack system. LCI does state to do so, but there is no valid reason to do so. There are NO gears or moving parts to overheat or get debris in the system. Replace if it makes you feel good, but it is not necessary. Doug

I'm not a mechanic but I suspect that the mixing trans fluid is really just an issue when used in transmissions. In transmissions there are tons of different paths for the fluid to go through and the pressure by the fluid is what engages different gears (plates) - different consistencies would probably have very wonky results. I believe hydraulic jacks are a much, much simpler design where the pressure simply extracts / retracts one cylinder (for each leg but since each is controlled semi independently, there's no real consequence).

It appears you have the same leveling system as we do. Note that on page four it says to change the fluid every 36 months. This is a system that a lot of people ignore unless there's a problem with it. When we got our rig, I couldn't tell what was in it or if it had ever been changed. Ours was seven years old at the time, I had the fluid changed so I knew what was in it. Then I put a large Dymo Label on it with the change date and what was in it.

Bill

Don't mix anything. My opinion, of course. My PowerGear levelers owners manual says DextronIII, so that's what I use.

DailyDriver wrote:
They don't seem to be real picky on the type of fluid.
Operators Manual

Yeah, they don't seem picky but when searching online (google) found different articles about not mixing the different ATF fluids.
Would appear this doesn't apply with the levelers, maybe ?

Just wondering what others have done.

_

They don't seem to be real picky on the type of fluid.
Operators Manual