Leveling a MH v/s 5er
I'm running into some issues with the leveling system on my new coach - or what I perceive as issues, anyway. Maybe it's normal. I have a concrete driveway with only enough grade for proper runoff....
Forum Discussion
wildmanbaker wrote:msmith1199 wrote:wildmanbaker wrote:
If you have straight up and down jacks, the MH is not going anywhere. As others have said, check the actual level condition of the MH with a level. I believe that there is a procedure for re-calibrating the leveling system, in your MH information packet.
This is a little bit of bad info. The straight up and down jacks is not what causes the motorhome to move or not, it's the slope of the surface you are on. If you have to raise a set of wheels, you are on a pretty good slope. If you raise your back wheels on that slope then the only thing holding your motorhome in place is the friction on the pads of your jack. There will be a lot of pressure being put laterally on those jacks and that is a direction they are not designed to take pressure. They take pressure straight up and down. The jacks can snap right off. The good news is once they do snap off and the rear wheels are back on the ground, then the parking brake will hold again.
Huh? Gravity does not exert more force on either end of a MH when it is Level, and the force is straight down, not sideways. You are right about taking the friction from the rear tires, and transferring it to the jack pads, which are a smaller foot print than the tires actually have, so more pressure per square inch is on the jack pads.
The assumption is the back wheels are being lifted because the ground is not level. If the ground is level and you lift your wheels off the ground, then yes you are probably fine. But why are you lifting the wheels off the ground if you're already level? If the ground is not level you most certainly run the risk of damaging your jacks (and other things) by lifting the rear wheels. And yes it will be caused by gravity.
