Bigfoot levelers not working

[JimMartin]

I have a 1998 GeorgieBoy CruiseMaster 3590 DP with the Bigfoot leveling system on it. I bought this RV about 4 months ago from the original owner. He told me he hadn't used the jacks in years. I put on RV up on blocks, Ran all four jacks down all the way, bleed the air out of the system, and topped off the 4 separate fluid reservoirs. Ran the jack all the way back in, put the RV back on it's wheels to try and test the system.

All four jacks will go down just fine. Front ones will rise the front of the RV about 4"s, Won't lift the wheels out the ground, but when I left off the switch the jacks go back down about an inch.

Rear jack hit the ground and do nothing?

Should these jacks be able to lift my RV off the ground, or at least level it? What am I doing wrong?

[RayChez]

koda55 wrote:
First, I made sure that my fluid level was 3/4 to 1 inch below the cap. After letting it sit 30 minutes I ran the levelers up and down with the caps on. I was told that the jacks must be fully extended and not touching the ground to bleed them properly.
It sounds like you still have air in the system plus to much fluid in the tanks.
Before I fixed mine they would go down but not raise the rv.

I have the Quadra BigFoot on my coach. The coach weigh's around 30K and the levelers will lift the coach up off the ground on any of the four corners with ease.

[koda55]

First, I made sure that my fluid level was 3/4 to 1 inch below the cap. After letting it sit 30 minutes I ran the levelers up and down with the caps on. I was told that the jacks must be fully extended and not touching the ground to bleed them properly.
It sounds like you still have air in the system plus to much fluid in the tanks.
Before I fixed mine they would go down but not raise the rv.

[JimMartin]

koda55 wrote:
How did you bleed the levelers Also make sure your battery is fully charged. . Directions say to have the motor home off the ground enough that jacks will extend without touching the ground. Let them sit like that for about 30 minutes. Check fluid level with jacks retracted. Level should be 3/4 to 1 inch below top. As mentioned before, take the fill caps off and retract the levelers. See how much fluid comes out. When I bleed mine before I let it down I ran my levelers up and down 10 times. After that I had no more problems. I hope this helps.

When you ran them up and down 10 times did you do it with the fill caps off? Or did you just retract them that way and then put the caps back on first?

According to Bigfoot only the 2000 and up jacks have replaceable seals in them.

Bleeding the system might be a good idea too.

[koda55]

How did you bleed the levelers Also make sure your battery is fully charged. . Directions say to have the motor home off the ground enough that jacks will extend without touching the ground. Let them sit like that for about 30 minutes. Check fluid level with jacks retracted. Level should be 3/4 to 1 inch below top. As mentioned before, take the fill caps off and retract the levelers. See how much fluid comes out. When I bleed mine before I let it down I ran my levelers up and down 10 times. After that I had no more problems. I hope this helps.

[rvten]

http://thebigfootleveler.com/

Retract your jacks and open the fill hole. See if any Hyd fluid comes out.
Not sure but maybe you blew a seal inside.

[Executive45]

Jim, get yourself a manual if possible...these things are picky if you don't follow their instructions. I agree with Koda...you overfilled the levelers. On another note, since the levelers had not been used in years, perhaps it's best at this time to drain the system and refill with fresh fluid....Dennis

[JimMartin]

koda55 wrote:
You over filled your levelers. You fill them with them fully retracted.
You need to remove fluid in order for them to retract. The level should be about one half to three quarter inches below the fill hole.

Also if your battery is not fully charged your levelers will not work properly

They retract fine. Just won't hold the RV up when they are deployed.

[koda55]

You over filled your levelers. You fill them with them fully retracted.
You need to remove fluid in order for them to retract. The level should be about one half to three quarter inches below the fill hole.

Also if your battery is not fully charged your levelers will not work properly

[JimMartin]

rvten wrote:
when you filled the reservoirs. Did you have the jacks retracted? They should have been.

Go to the Quadra.com web site. for Big Foot. or call them for help.

I lifted my RV off the ground by driving it up on 12" x 12" wooden blocks. Then I extended the jacks all the way out. Added the fluid with the jacks at full extension.

[RayChez]

BigFoot or Quadra are very good levelers. Just call the company and ask them. They are another one of those good companies that are rare and few.

[Dennis_M_M]

Are you using the "Auto" setting? on my fiver, which may be different than a MH, the front jacks level front to back, then the rears come down and just touch, then both do the side to side level.

It will lift all eight tires on my fiver off the ground, but only in the manual mode.

Call Quadra, they are really helpful.

[rvten]

when you filled the reservoirs. Did you have the jacks retracted? They should have been.

Go to the Quadra.com web site. for Big Foot. or call them for help.

[GENECOP]

Yes, my Bigfoot Levelers will lift my 45' MH off the ground.....