Class A without leveling jacks?

[trailerbob]

First, I'm a Long time lurker and learned so much from the experts here on this site. Thanks to all!!!
We have been thinking about moving from a TT to either a used class c or class a in the 29-30 foot range. We went looking around today again to get a feel of which would suit us better used To make a long story short we know that most class c's I've seen don't have leveling jacks but today we ran across a 30ft Class a without leveling jacks. Really nice 2012 Windstar 29X. Appears to be a version of a Thor Hurricane. I've never seen a class a without jacks.
Couple of questions---
1. How common is this?
2. How big of a deal is it in a class a or c. I know my 24 ft. TT rocks and rolls pretty good at times.
3. Any ideas about retrofit?
4. Any comments, experience on a Class A Windstar 29X?

Your words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

[mike_brez]

Had a 5er for a few years no jacks then a class C for a few years no jacks then a class A gas for 14 years no jacks. Now a class A DP still no jacks but we do have air leveling

[Blaster_Man]

I'm not positive, but I think you'll find the some of the lower end coaches do not have jacks, and some of the very high end coaches also do not have jacks....Newell, Foretravel, etc. Most of those in the middle do have jacks. My guess is that those high end coaches have a very good air system, thus no jacks.

[hipower]

We have had it both ways. Started out with a pop up camper and now with a Dutch Star DP as well as several motorhomes in between, but I would never have a motorhome without jacks any more than I would have one without a generator. I wasn't impressed with the kick down jacks that we retro fitted to our 30 ft Coachman Mirada a few years back, but they worked and did what was needed at an aftermarket price of something around $4,000 if my memory is any good. Bottom line, I wouldn't be without them.

[dougrainer]

Leveling jacks are almost Standard on Motorhomes with slide rooms. 25 years ago, they were an option. Then when slide rooms became almost standard on all models they realized they needed Jacks to keep the RV from leaning to the side of the slide room. Originally you NEVER had a slide room on the Pass side. Always on the drivers side. That caused the RV to lean to the left and be out of a normal level. With the increase in slides on both sides and the COST of Class A Motorhomes increasing, they realized that leveling jacks were almost required. Dealers also realized they were at a disadvantage when selling a Class A without Jacks. Other dealers would point out the advantage of jacks with the slide outs and the cost of adding them would be more than what the Factory could install them for. A lot of entry level motorhomes(A and C) may not have Jacks and it is an option and to get the customer in to buy, the price point can shave almost 3k to 5k off the selling price. Then the dealer can upsell if needed. I would have leveling jacks on my motorhome. It WILL increase your used selling price whether trading or selling outright. Doug

[rgatijnet1]

Leveling jacks were listed as an OPTION on many brands. Hard to say how many were sold without them.

[Bumpyroad]

TNGW1500SE wrote:
Adding them would be expensive.

I wouldn't buy one without them.

I added them to my class A bounder. a little pricey but doable.
ordered them on my chieftain.
bumpy

[Dale_Traveling]

Since you asked here's your answer from a Thor built coach owner who installed jacks.

My coach, an older cousin of the WindSport you're looking at, leveling/stabilizing jacks were a factory option the original buyer choose not to include. Haven't conducted any research of how common not having jacks might be but knowing what I learned I would be reluctant to buy a coach without jacks unless it was discounted accordingly.

What I found owning a coach without, leveling on a reasonably flat campsite was fairly easy with ramps under the tires and such but the coach bounced on the suspension anytime someone moved around inside. Jack stands and a bottle jack with sufficient capacity will both level and stabilize but crawling under the coach each time we parked got very old very quickly.

I retro fitted and installed Quadra Bigfoot hydraulic jacks. Manual system with a single pump. Turned out to be fairly simple install. Other than hiring a mobile welder to install the five mounts to the chassis (four jacks and the pump) I did all the work in the driveway. The jacks were around $2900 delivered and took me maybe 18 hours of effort working solo.

Regarding the coach you have your eye on, Thor doesn't have the best rep of the coach builders. I acquired my Hurricane in 2011 and have been very satisfied with the it. The floor plan fit our camping plans and the price I was able to negotiate was well under the average for a comparable coach. Seven years, 351 nights on the road and 47,000 miles and so far the coach has never seen the inside of a RV service center and we have never been forced to come home early because something with the house side of the coach failed. Chassis had one failure while a few miles from home getting fuel that required a tow back home. Emergency road service arrange the tow and I was able to fix the problem the next day with little effort. With a used coach having a good pedigree helps but owner care and feeding has a much bigger part to play as a coach ages. Buyer due diligence is paramount to reducing the risk of buying a problem coach.

I will admit looking at the current Thor model line up I wouldn't buy one. Not because who the builder might be but because Thor is not offering a floor plan and options I'm looking for with my next and potentially last coach.

[wildtoad]

I’ve had both with and without. Just like a trailer, leveling with boards or leveling blocks is a pain, especially in inclement weather. I would not buy one that did not have them, period. levelers do not however mean you won’t need a set of blocks, cause at times the levelers by themselves will not be enough, and you may need some to put under the wheels.

Also keep in mind that some campgrounds in hot locals require the use of some kind of pad under the levelers to help keep the feet from sinking into soft asphalt.

[Isaac-1]

Most sub 30 ft class A's are built as entry level coaches as there was / is an attitude in the industry that people buy smaller coaches because they can't afford a larger one. As a result you end up with many entry level coaches where that are built to a price point by eliminating expensive features like leveling jacks, using lower quality fixtures and furnishings, (plastic sinks and showers, particle board cabinet work, vinyl graphics, ...)

p.s. having said that I have hydraulic leveling jacks on my 28 ft class A (2002 Safari Trek 2830), along with real wood cabinets, full body paint, solid surface countertops, .... and would not buy a coach without leveling jacks in the future.

[FIRE_UP]

trailerbob wrote:
First, I'm a Long time lurker and learned so much from the experts here on this site. Thanks to all!!!
We have been thinking about moving from a TT to either a used class c or class a in the 29-30 foot range. We went looking around today again to get a feel of which would suit us better used To make a long story short we know that most class c's I've seen don't have leveling jacks but today we ran across a 30ft Class a without leveling jacks. Really nice 2012 Windstar 29X. Appears to be a version of a Thor Hurricane. I've never seen a class a without jacks.
Couple of questions---
1. How common is this?

Not being an expert on ALL class As, I cannot speak as to whether or not it's very common or not, to build a class A, no matter what part of the lineup it's in, to be supplied or not supplied with levelers. (jacks) We've had four RVs. Two class Cs and two class As. Both Cs did not have any. Both As did and do.


2. How big of a deal is it in a class a or c. I know my 24 ft. TT rocks and rolls pretty good at times.

As you can read and see, about 98% of the folks that have them, wouldn't be without them. The ones that haven't had them, well, whether or not one CAN NOT feel any difference as far as stabilization is concerned, is a matter of opinion. ALL coaches are somewhat unstable if the there's no jacks stabilizing them. Some worse, some not so bad. But, put the jacks down and, it's a whole 'nother story. Not to mention, leveling is a whole lot easier.


3. Any ideas about retrofit?

My son used to work in an RV service center in San Diego. He installed quite a few leveling/Jack systems in coaches that did not come with them. The price tag ranged anywhere from about $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the kind of system and, just what kind of labor was involved. So, this is a matter of:
A. How much you value your RV
B. How long you plan on keeping it
C. Based on experience, how hard you work, on the average
to get your coach level and, stabilized with whatever form you
presently have or are using, WITHOUT the use of jacks.

4. Any comments, experience on a Class A Windstar 29X?

Nope. Other than, you mentioned it was a "version" or, possibly related to a Thor product. With that, I've seen many, many RV threads and posts about Thors not being a very good RV and having a pretty fair amount of problems. Never actually had one ourself so, I cannot speak with authority, just rumors.

Scott

Your words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

[LadyRVer]

I had 2 Class A's, both 31', no auto levelers. I was fine. Just leveled the same as a trailer with boards if I needed to. Yes, I also had 2 with auto levelers and it was nice. I didn't really feel the movement in the 2 without the levelers that much. 2 Adults, 1 dog. I think my fifth-wheels and my now trailer trailer have more movement than the motorhomes. Now just me and dog and I can feel him jump off bed or sofa. Have power jacks on the trailer.

[Dutch_12078]

I don't know how common it is in later model Class A's but our previous 1995 Coachmen 33' Class A was not equipped with leveling jacks when we bought it. At the time, Quadra Bigfoot had a single pump four jack system available with push button manual controls instead of auto leveling at a reasonable price. It took me about 10 hours spread over two days to install it, and it worked great. I don't know if Quadra still offers a similar system. Our current coach came equipped with a Bigfoot auto-leveling system, but the manual system worked well too.

[TNGW1500SE]

Adding them would be expensive.

I wouldn't buy one without them.