Leveling with hydraulic jacks
We have a Southwind 36 ft. New to us and also new to us are the use of leveling Jack's. We leveled some of the wheels with blocks to get close then used the Power Gear Jack's to finalize the level. We...
Forum Discussion
OnaQuest wrote:DSDP Don wrote:This is the same nonsense that Doug was pushing. It is NOT necessary to extend the jacks on a gas rig any further than it is on a DP.
This one has been beat to death, but there is a major point that is being missed. I think "dougrainer's" point was misinterpreted. When you drop the air out of a diesel, the suspension basically disappears and the jacks are lifting the frame. Here is the important part....jacks extended 6" are more stable than jacks extended 12"....they just don't wobble as much.True statement...
On a gas chassis....the jacks have to extend further to overcome the suspension and stabilize. Even then, they don't completely defeat the suspension which can allow for some bounce. This is a point that was missed when the OP was placing blocks under his coach. He just made the issue worse.
"dougrainer" provides a lot of information on this forum especially when it comes to A/C and refer issues. It's hard to always express things precisely and then others can misinterpret.
You don't have to completely lift the frame off the springs to stabilize the rig. The springs will have NO further effect unless you think you are heavy enough to stand (jump maybe?) in the rear and lift the front off the ground? You might get a little "bounce" when it comes down. You certainly aren't going to compress a jack to make it bounce.
I really don't want to jump in the middle of an argument, but....
Onaquest, I think the point that Doug is ttrying to make is....
As you earlier admitted the further you extend the jacks, the less stable they become. If you are able to dump the airbag suspension on the DP, it lowers the chassis. By lowering the chassis the jacks are already at an advantage by starting from a lower point (not having to overcome the height of the airbag rise) which in turn typically will allow for a more stable RV.
IOW, by dropping the chassis (by means of dumping the airbags) the jacks do not have to extend as far to level. Which in turn adds more stability.
Doug
