Lippert 6 point LevelUp System and cold weather storage

[rkassl]

I am new to this system, my 05 5'er did not have the LevelUp System which is really amazing. That being said I called Lippert about cold weather storage this morning and they said to exercise it periodically thought the winter. I was surprised at this because you don't operate the slides during the winter. I already have the battery out and said good night to the trailer till spring. Would like to hear from folks who lives in the northern areas of the country if they do this on their LevelUp system?

Thanks!

[Mile_High]

I leave mine stored in an unheated garage with the landing gear extended only. I level it, then retract the rear pistons.

I made the mistake of trying to move the landing gear in -17 F temps to hook up to the truck, and one gear got struck, struggled, then leaked all winter. It did quit after use in the summer, but I just don't touch anything on the RV when its been sitting in storage below 0. Not the generator, not the slides, nothing.

It was said the manufacturer is the expert, but that is a pretty general statement. Chances are if you picked up the phone and asked the question, you were no where near an expert, rather you were talking to the customer service guy that is paid to give you an answer even if its wrong. You really have to dig to get back to the design engineers. Saying you need to exercise your landing gear through the winter is a blanket statement with little regard for actual circumstances.

[Winged_One]

ford truck guy wrote:

Winged One wrote:
Unfortunately we cannot exercise ours, it is enclosed storage and we have no access. I guess the good thing is we have done this for 4 winters and no issues relating to not exercising it yet. (jinx)

Do you store it leveled ? with all the jacks extended ? or just the landing gear exposed ?

I plan on leveling , and applying a protective spray ( recommended by lippert) on all the pistons. . . ?

It is put in a barn and removed by personnel at the county fairgrounds. Thus I have no options to extend the leveling jacks. Only the landing gear is slightly extended (mine is older having the square pin style landing gear).

I clean off any foreign objects and apply dry lube every time I raise the pistons and landing gear.

[ford_truck_guy]

Winged One wrote:
Unfortunately we cannot exercise ours, it is enclosed storage and we have no access. I guess the good thing is we have done this for 4 winters and no issues relating to not exercising it yet. (jinx)

Do you store it leveled ? with all the jacks extended ? or just the landing gear exposed ?

I plan on leveling , and applying a protective spray ( recommended by lippert) on all the pistons. . . ?

[Winged_One]

Unfortunately we cannot exercise ours, it is enclosed storage and we have no access. I guess the good thing is we have done this for 4 winters and no issues relating to not exercising it yet. (jinx)

[Allworth]

The manufacturer is the expert. You called and they told you the answer. You don't like it so you are fishing for another option?

I understand that winterizing is a PITA and I'm lucky that I can put the trailer in the back yard and not worry about it, but ignoring what Lipert told you is at your own risk. If it fails next Summer and they deny warranty, you brought it on yourself.

I would block up the frame with cribbing or concrete blocks (like a mobile home) or something and retract the levelers. YMMV.

[laknox]

rkassl wrote:
I am new to this system, my 05 5'er did not have the LevelUp System which is really amazing. That being said I called Lippert about cold weather storage this morning and they said to exercise it periodically thought the winter. I was surprised at this because you don't operate the slides during the winter. I already have the battery out and said good night to the trailer till spring. Would like to hear from folks who lives in the northern areas of the country if they do this on their LevelUp system?

Thanks!

I might be tempted to unweight the tires some, put the frame on jack stands and retract the levelers completely. When I was farming, we never really worried too much about hydraulics sitting for months at a time...except for the hoses. Those we'd either wrap or remove and plug the holes in the cylinders.

Lyle

[dennyida]

Good question RK , We are going to put ours to bed for the winter this weekend and will not be able to get to it for five months.