Leveling systems - HWH and then there's ???

kmb1966 wrote:
Yes. I have used their website. It is very good. However, the scenario that I have is not one that I can figure out via the website, and I don't have a dealer in my area to service my jacks. My front driver side works perfect. Up and down. My rear driver side works partially. Goes down, but only up with help. On the passenger side, the jacks go down without a problem, but will not go up at all. If you open the valves, they do not go up. If I disconnect the lines, they do not go up. They only go up if I disconnect the lines and use a great deal of effort with a 2x4 or a bottle jack to push them back into place. Given this, I don't think it is a shuttle valve problem since 1 is working fine. I just don't know what is wrong. I suppose that I could need 3 new jacks, but I don't want to buy 3 new ones and it not solve the problem. I've already installed new tapered springs, but that did not help. If I had someone remotely close to my location that was qualified, I would just bring it in, but I don't know of anyone reputable in my area. I suppose I can drive it to Houston for service if I have to, but would like to solve this myself if possible.

Sounds like you need some new or repaired cylinders

Yes. I have used their website. It is very good. However, the scenario that I have is not one that I can figure out via the website, and I don't have a dealer in my area to service my jacks. My front driver side works perfect. Up and down. My rear driver side works partially. Goes down, but only up with help. On the passenger side, the jacks go down without a problem, but will not go up at all. If you open the valves, they do not go up. If I disconnect the lines, they do not go up. They only go up if I disconnect the lines and use a great deal of effort with a 2x4 or a bottle jack to push them back into place. Given this, I don't think it is a shuttle valve problem since 1 is working fine. I just don't know what is wrong. I suppose that I could need 3 new jacks, but I don't want to buy 3 new ones and it not solve the problem. I've already installed new tapered springs, but that did not help. If I had someone remotely close to my location that was qualified, I would just bring it in, but I don't know of anyone reputable in my area. I suppose I can drive it to Houston for service if I have to, but would like to solve this myself if possible.

kmb1966 wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
You have a 15 year old Motorhome and you are upset because you want to diag and fix yourself and HWH is backlogged for 2 weeks????????? You may be having trouble because you need the HWH system professionally checked out. Remember. the system IS 15 years old. IMO, HWH builds the best of the Levelor systems. Doug

No, I am not upset at all. I was just asking a question, which is what this board is all about. We've had problems with this system on and off for over 10 years. Thanks for trying though. Glad to know HWH is considered a good system.

You do know that the HWH website has an extensive easy to use service manual for ALL their systems? It gives a step by step procedure for various problems. Doug

http://www.hwhcorp.com/ml13514.pdf

My coach is 22 years old (1993) and has an HWH system. It is all original, with the original cylinders and springs. But, I have maintained it properly. I've changed the fluid (it only takes a gallon of HD3) and lubricated all the pivot points. I've also sprayed the exposed shafts of the cylinders with silicone every time I've extended them. That keeps the seals lubricated.

I had to replace one of the relays (and have many, many relays -all the same) but I considered that to be just a minor maintenance item due to age. I bought a box of 24 relays on the internet and I must have used half of them by now.

dougrainer wrote:
You have a 15 year old Motorhome and you are upset because you want to diag and fix yourself and HWH is backlogged for 2 weeks????????? You may be having trouble because you need the HWH system professionally checked out. Remember. the system IS 15 years old. IMO, HWH builds the best of the Levelor systems. Doug

No, I am not upset at all. I was just asking a question, which is what this board is all about. We've had problems with this system on and off for over 10 years. Thanks for trying though. Glad to know HWH is considered a good system.

You have a 15 year old Motorhome and you are upset because you want to diag and fix yourself and HWH is backlogged for 2 weeks????????? You may be having trouble because you need the HWH system professionally checked out. Remember. the system IS 15 years old. IMO, HWH builds the best of the Levelor systems. Doug

This is a good reason to belong to FMCA and attend the international conventions. Here in Madison,WI HWH will be here and they will be doing field work. If you were here, you could get it worked on.

There are other manufacturers here that will also be doing field work

Well,......is it like you could just switch it out if another was better ????

I had a lot of trouble w/ "no 12v contact" on the slide and the jacks. But my troubles completely stopped when I put a momentary switch on the dash that grounds the hydraulic solenoid, which does nothing more than bypass all the safety device switches in the system. And using just a touch of common sense,
it is still perfectly safe,.....like the MH should be stopped before dropping the jacks ???????? :):):):)

We've had Bigfoot jacks on two coaches so far, and they've worked almost flawlessly. We really like the no springs hydraulic retract. We did have a minor issue with our current coach where the "All Up" switches at each jack did not always trip, but a couple of dollars for rubber vacuum port caps cured that. The 24/7 tech support from Quadra Manufacturing has been excellent when we had any questions.

There is also BigFoot and Power Gear, but IHMO, HWH is the best.
Their customer service is frustrating- they always run way behind, but when they do get to you, they are great. It's driven me crazy for years now.

If you want to DIY, their troubleshooting guides are spot on.