Purchasing a Class C with questions
I will be purchasing an RV hopefully within the next few months. Questions always pop into my head so here goes... 1. Pros and Cons of jack levelers? Is there maintenance with levelers? It seem...
Forum Discussion
About Bounce and Sway... If you haven't installed heavy duty front (1-3/8') and rear (1-1/2") anti-sway bars, you'd be amazed at how they help a PARKED RV. We have a 31' Class C on a Ford E450 chassis. It's equipped with HWH kick-down leveling jacks, so I can tell you that's true. Even with jacks down, the coach is still sitting on its tires and suspension. It's not like a diesel pusher that squats down onto its jacks by dumping the airbags.
Of course Levelers don't help on the road, and Sway Bard don't level.
We had a 21' Class C on a Ford E350, again with HWH kick down levelers. Here's what I've learned from having those two RV's:
1. They're more satisfactory on a longer Class C. This is because the front jacks are the same distance behind the front axle, and the rear jacks are the same distance behind the rear axle. The construction of the chassis dictates this. The shorter the wheelbase, the more unwanted lift you get on one end when you try to raise the other end to achieve level. Longer wheelbase reduces that effect.
2. Same thing happens side to side too, whether the coach is short or long. Look under one. You'll see how closely spaced the chassis rails are. If your coach is 4" off level side to side, you may find you have to lift the low side 6" to reach level.
3. Simple controls are good. The 24' coach had separate controls for each jack. That's not done anymore, because owners were racking their coach by lifting one corner at a time. So the jack companies tried to protect us from that by making controls that are Front, Rear, Left, and Right. So Raise Right deploys both passenger side jacks. Raise Front deploys right front and left front. I still think I'd rather have separate controls. That makes me also think I'd take the two-jacks-at-a-time arrangement than a fully automatic system and have to deal with still more unintended consequences. Why? Because...
3. Kick Down Jacks are BAD. I have never had a jack fail to extend or fail to retract. What I have almost always had, is jacks extending without kicking down. 4. I also believe kick down jacks are not as steady as direct acting jacks. The kick down pivots introduce a wobble that direct acting doesn't have.
So, If you want power levelers, I recommend Direct Acting with Basic Controls. One of the brands (Big Foot, I think... ) was running a very attractive sale.
Of course Levelers don't help on the road, and Sway Bard don't level.
We had a 21' Class C on a Ford E350, again with HWH kick down levelers. Here's what I've learned from having those two RV's:
1. They're more satisfactory on a longer Class C. This is because the front jacks are the same distance behind the front axle, and the rear jacks are the same distance behind the rear axle. The construction of the chassis dictates this. The shorter the wheelbase, the more unwanted lift you get on one end when you try to raise the other end to achieve level. Longer wheelbase reduces that effect.
2. Same thing happens side to side too, whether the coach is short or long. Look under one. You'll see how closely spaced the chassis rails are. If your coach is 4" off level side to side, you may find you have to lift the low side 6" to reach level.
3. Simple controls are good. The 24' coach had separate controls for each jack. That's not done anymore, because owners were racking their coach by lifting one corner at a time. So the jack companies tried to protect us from that by making controls that are Front, Rear, Left, and Right. So Raise Right deploys both passenger side jacks. Raise Front deploys right front and left front. I still think I'd rather have separate controls. That makes me also think I'd take the two-jacks-at-a-time arrangement than a fully automatic system and have to deal with still more unintended consequences. Why? Because...
3. Kick Down Jacks are BAD. I have never had a jack fail to extend or fail to retract. What I have almost always had, is jacks extending without kicking down. 4. I also believe kick down jacks are not as steady as direct acting jacks. The kick down pivots introduce a wobble that direct acting doesn't have.
So, If you want power levelers, I recommend Direct Acting with Basic Controls. One of the brands (Big Foot, I think... ) was running a very attractive sale.
