power leveling jacks

We had issues with our jacks. Took to service 3 times. Apparently they didn't do much. So finally we took or large level to prove it was not level and they adjusted something in the computer that worked. Find out not all service dealers are authorized Winnebago service techs

Effy wrote:
All sound like very logical explanations and they make sense. But why would the engineers, the same folks that tell you not to raise the wheels off the ground, engineer and attach them in a way that you can? More to the point, allow them to lift the coach off the ground but be under-engineered in way to allow for lateral failure. And why does the auto level feature ignore this "rule"? I've had mine lift off the ground in auto mode. Hydraulic rams for the most part aren't terribly expensive or complicated. Beefier ones could be installed pretty easily to prevent this type of failure.

Engineering is catching up. My rear levelers have a sensor to only allow them to extend so far. It will not allow me to raise the rear tires off the ground. Error I get is excessive slope and it stops. My previous coach did not have this safety feature.

Also on my previous coach, with HWH hydro, I learned not to have fronts off the ground. Once, when on a large slope I brought the front end up and with the rear (parking) breaks on, the front started twisting/moving sideways. I had manual joy stick on that rig. I immediately dropped the front but was too late. Shaft wqas no longer true and would not retract without a pry bar. Had to send it to HWH for repair and reinstall.

I do not take any wheels off the ground, except with blocks.

I never use the Auto Level feature. I always do it manually. Mine likes to lift the front wheels in the air if I let it do it on its own.

Another reason I do it manually is so that I can leave the front end just a tiny bit lower than the back end to help water run off of my slides. I use a digital level on my fridge to keep it within range. I shoot for about 2 degrees of downward slope.

dougrainer wrote:

Gjac wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

Gjac wrote:
It really depends a lot on the type of jacks you have. I have the HWH series 200 kick down jacks and have rolled forward several times. One time I pulled into a campground after dark and could not tell how unlevel the site was and rolled backwards and jamed the rams into the dirt and grass and they would not fully retract until I cleaned and lubed them. It is quite scary when a 16,000 lb MH rolls of the jacks. They ARE designed to roll off with no damage.

They are NOT designed to roll off with no damage. Granted, you may not experiance damage, but they are not designed to do that. Kick Down HWH jacks are designed to gently drive FORWARD to drive off. IF the Motorhome moves rearward, you will destroy the jacks if they go to far. They are NOT designed to roll backwards. They will lock and break or damage something. Doug

Not according to HWH when this happened to me I called them and they told me they were designed to roll backwards and forwards and not fail. I spent quite a bit of time with their tech on getting the pistons cleaned and working again. That was 6 years ago nothing broke and they still work fine. I know you disagree with silicone spray but he told me to clean them with silicone spray or WD 40 with I use once a year to keep them retracting quickly.

You misunderstood what they told you. You CANNOT roll backwards or drive backwards with Kick Down jacks. THERE IS NO PIVOT TO ALLOW THAT GOING BACKWARDS. It will damage the jacks and mounts. Doug(working on HWH for 30 years and HWH factory trained).

No misunderstanding, if you refer to the HWH web site http://www.hwhcorp.com/ml20673aafaq.html under FAQ, Question 78 explains this. 78. Can I drive off my kick-down jacks?
Driving forward or backward off kick-down jacks usually will not damage the jacks. This is exactly what the tech told me. His words were they were designed to not damage the jacks going forward or backward. Trust me I would not want that to happen to me again so I never pull into a camp site after dark anymore but it is nice to know that HWH designed the system to not fail which I can attest to. Doug, I am not challenging your knowledge or 30 years experience as a tech nor do I want to argue the point so please don't take it that way you have been a big help to me and others in the past, I am just going by what the company tells me, puts in writing and my own experience .

Gjac wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

Gjac wrote:
It really depends a lot on the type of jacks you have. I have the HWH series 200 kick down jacks and have rolled forward several times. One time I pulled into a campground after dark and could not tell how unlevel the site was and rolled backwards and jamed the rams into the dirt and grass and they would not fully retract until I cleaned and lubed them. It is quite scary when a 16,000 lb MH rolls of the jacks. They ARE designed to roll off with no damage.

They are NOT designed to roll off with no damage. Granted, you may not experiance damage, but they are not designed to do that. Kick Down HWH jacks are designed to gently drive FORWARD to drive off. IF the Motorhome moves rearward, you will destroy the jacks if they go to far. They are NOT designed to roll backwards. They will lock and break or damage something. Doug

Not according to HWH when this happened to me I called them and they told me they were designed to roll backwards and forwards and not fail. I spent quite a bit of time with their tech on getting the pistons cleaned and working again. That was 6 years ago nothing broke and they still work fine. I know you disagree with silicone spray but he told me to clean them with silicone spray or WD 40 with I use once a year to keep them retracting quickly.

You misunderstood what they told you. You CANNOT roll backwards or drive backwards with Kick Down jacks. THERE IS NO PIVOT TO ALLOW THAT GOING BACKWARDS. It will damage the jacks and mounts. Doug(working on HWH for 30 years and HWH factory trained).

dougrainer wrote:

Effy wrote:
All sound like very logical explanations and they make sense. But why would the engineers, the same folks that tell you not to raise the wheels off the ground, engineer and attach them in a way that you can? More to the point, allow them to lift the coach off the ground but be under-engineered in way to allow for lateral failure. And why does the auto level feature ignore this "rule"? I've had mine lift off the ground in auto mode. Hydraulic rams for the most part aren't terribly expensive or complicated. Beefier ones could be installed pretty easily to prevent this type of failure.

The auto feature has no idea and there is no way for that feature to know if a tire comes off the ground. The auto feature, if just one jack reaches its maximum extension will shut the system down because the system knows that 1 jack has reached its maximum extension and if that corner needs to go up to level it cannot and shuts the system down. As to your mention of why engineers "allowed" the design. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO READ THE OPERATORS INSTRUCTIONS AND THEY STATE TO NOT ALLOW A TIRE TO LEAVE THE GROUND. Doug

THANKS FOR THE EXPLANATION! smh

Our previous 2008 Monaco Dynasty had both hydraulic leveling jacks and air-bag leveling. I used both depending on the surface. Concrete or a very hard surface I used the jacks... softer surfaces like gravel, grass or asphalt, I used the air-bags.

Honestly, I like air-bag leveling the best as that is all we have on the new coach. I never have to worry about hydraulic fluid (ours had failed once, reservoir box needed replacement).

With air-bag leveling, I know that all of the tires are firmly planted.

MM.

dougrainer wrote:

Gjac wrote:
It really depends a lot on the type of jacks you have. I have the HWH series 200 kick down jacks and have rolled forward several times. One time I pulled into a campground after dark and could not tell how unlevel the site was and rolled backwards and jamed the rams into the dirt and grass and they would not fully retract until I cleaned and lubed them. It is quite scary when a 16,000 lb MH rolls of the jacks. They ARE designed to roll off with no damage.

They are NOT designed to roll off with no damage. Granted, you may not experiance damage, but they are not designed to do that. Kick Down HWH jacks are designed to gently drive FORWARD to drive off. IF the Motorhome moves rearward, you will destroy the jacks if they go to far. They are NOT designed to roll backwards. They will lock and break or damage something. Doug

Not according to HWH when this happened to me I called them and they told me they were designed to roll backwards and forwards and not fail. I spent quite a bit of time with their tech on getting the pistons cleaned and working again. That was 6 years ago nothing broke and they still work fine. I know you disagree with silicone spray but he told me to clean them with silicone spray or WD 40 with I use once a year to keep them retracting quickly.

Effy wrote:
All sound like very logical explanations and they make sense. But why would the engineers, the same folks that tell you not to raise the wheels off the ground, engineer and attach them in a way that you can? More to the point, allow them to lift the coach off the ground but be under-engineered in way to allow for lateral failure. And why does the auto level feature ignore this "rule"? I've had mine lift off the ground in auto mode. Hydraulic rams for the most part aren't terribly expensive or complicated. Beefier ones could be installed pretty easily to prevent this type of failure.

The auto feature has no idea and there is no way for that feature to know if a tire comes off the ground. The auto feature, if just one jack reaches its maximum extension will shut the system down because the system knows that 1 jack has reached its maximum extension and if that corner needs to go up to level it cannot and shuts the system down. As to your mention of why engineers "allowed" the design. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO READ THE OPERATORS INSTRUCTIONS AND THEY STATE TO NOT ALLOW A TIRE TO LEAVE THE GROUND. Doug

Gjac wrote:
It really depends a lot on the type of jacks you have. I have the HWH series 200 kick down jacks and have rolled forward several times. One time I pulled into a campground after dark and could not tell how unlevel the site was and rolled backwards and jamed the rams into the dirt and grass and they would not fully retract until I cleaned and lubed them. It is quite scary when a 16,000 lb MH rolls of the jacks. They ARE designed to roll off with no damage.

They are NOT designed to roll off with no damage. Granted, you may not experiance damage, but they are not designed to do that. Kick Down HWH jacks are designed to gently drive FORWARD to drive off. IF the Motorhome moves rearward, you will destroy the jacks if they go to far. They are NOT designed to roll backwards. They will lock and break or damage something. Doug