Forum Discussion

Hokiehall's avatar
Hokiehall
Explorer
Jul 28, 2022

Auto leveling question

We recently bought our 4th Flagstaff, a 2018 831RKBSS. This one has the auto leveling feature on it, which is the first one (of 6 total campers) that has ever had it. I have been experimenting with it here at home in its parking spot and it is a nice feature. One concern though is when I turned off shore power to test it with the battery only, the battery charge dropped to below the threshold it needed to complete the leveling. The battery is new and was fully charged. Is this normal? My only concern would be if we were dry camping w/o power. Thanks for any insight.
  • StirCrazy's avatar
    StirCrazy
    Moderator
    Jul 31, 2022
    Hokiehall wrote:
    We recently bought our 4th Flagstaff, a 2018 831RKBSS. This one has the auto leveling feature on it, which is the first one (of 6 total campers) that has ever had it. I have been experimenting with it here at home in its parking spot and it is a nice feature. One concern though is when I turned off shore power to test it with the battery only, the battery charge dropped to below the threshold it needed to complete the leveling. The battery is new and was fully charged. Is this normal? My only concern would be if we were dry camping w/o power. Thanks for any insight.


    what kind of battery do you have an how many of them. if it is just the one the dealers throw in for free they are a hybred deepcycle/starting battery and one of them will probably gove most of its capacity to level the camper and you will be left short for camping. I only have 4 point leveling in my 5th wheel but I also run four, 6V deep cycle batteries as I do a lot of caping in parks with out power.
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jul 31, 2022
    afidel wrote:
    Huntindog wrote:
    They can draw a lot of amps.Mine can do 80 amps. So yes a battery that is not healthy can be a problem.
    Unfortunantly there is no manual backup for it.. So you gotta really watch the battery(s)


    Yes there is, the motor can be driven with a 3/8 driver, or if the motor needs to be bypassed there's a 3/4 nut on the inside.

    https://support.lci1.com/documents/ground-control-tt-leveling-w-lcd-touch-pad-owners-manual
    Have you actually tried that?
  • afidel's avatar
    afidel
    Explorer II
    Jul 29, 2022
    Huntindog wrote:
    They can draw a lot of amps.Mine can do 80 amps. So yes a battery that is not healthy can be a problem.
    Unfortunantly there is no manual backup for it.. So you gotta really watch the battery(s)


    Yes there is, the motor can be driven with a 3/8 driver, or if the motor needs to be bypassed there's a 3/4 nut on the inside.

    https://support.lci1.com/documents/ground-control-tt-leveling-w-lcd-touch-pad-owners-manual
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jul 28, 2022
    They can draw a lot of amps.Mine can do 80 amps. So yes a battery that is not healthy can be a problem.
    Unfortunantly there is no manual backup for it.. So you gotta really watch the battery(s)
  • lenr's avatar
    lenr
    Explorer III
    Jul 28, 2022
    My dealer adds a second battery to trailers than come with a 6 point electric leveling system. Guessing he had some complaints. I added even more battery because we have a residential fridge. X2 on measuring voltage to see if the drop is all in the battery or down the chain. I too love the 6 point, but at the moment I have a bad jack.
  • TravelinDog's avatar
    TravelinDog
    Explorer II
    Jul 28, 2022
    If your batteries are original to your TT it is definitely time to replace them.
    They are over 4 years old and I've found my trailer batteries don't have a very long life.
  • 2112's avatar
    2112
    Explorer II
    Jul 28, 2022
    It might be a poor 12V connection somewhere causing excessive voltage drop when drawing high current. A poor connection will act like a resistor.

    Follow your battery cables and make sure everything is tight and clean
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Jul 28, 2022
    Hard to imagine this is a design problem as I would expect a major impact on new sales. I’d start by measuring the voltages during leveling to help determine the problem. Is the new battery the correct one per the mfg? Have it load tested as new batteries fail. Jump the battery with a car battery (engine off) might help isolate.

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