How do you use hydaulic levelers?

[Rlaubert]

I have a 2007 Safari Simba with Power Gear Levelers. I am still new to the Class A world and have been on the road about 9 months. I cannot seem to keep the RV from rocking. I have the plastic blocks under the levelers stacked about halfway to the leveler pad on top of a wood base, that doesn't seem to help, I have tried without the wood and plastic blocks and that doesn't help.

Seems to get worse a day or so after set up. I do not notice the levelers retracting. I did notice once after about a week to 10 days that they did seem to retract a little and I leveled the rig again. But the moving returned.

No documentation on how to level, so I figured first step is make sure I am doing it right and second step is to see what the experts say.

Educate me please.

[janstey]

JimM68 wrote:
The auto's will most often end up WAY to high, or with only one jack in the rear actually bearing any weight.
This will let your coach rock.

I sounds like your baseline level position is out of wack. There is a simple re-calibration process that can be run on your system to correct this if needed. Look on the manufacturers web site for this.

Mine works very well as I calibrated it correctly. I only use manual if the site slope is "challenging" and I might risk a wheel or 2 off the ground.

[prstlk]

I had power gear on my previous coach manual only and on my present coach which has both full auto or manual options. I believe m trumpet is on the right track as if the unit is solid when you first level, and the rocking comes after the rig sits for a while you have a valve or solenoid that is not holding pressure and alowing fluid the bleed back into the reservoir. As hydraulic systems go these are not super complex but when under pressure they can be dangerous. I would find a shop that's competent in RV systems and have them take a look. Power Gear can help you with manual for your unit. They can also recommend a shop in your area.
let us know how it goes

[We_Cant_Wait]

Get rid of ALL THOSE PLASTIC PADS you don't need to build up a big pile of them. IF the ground IS soft put ONE pad under each jack and then level. In all probability you're movement is coming from all those plastic pads you're building up.

[rk911]

othertonka wrote:
My procedure for power gear jacks is to first set up your MH with a set of Hoppy Calibrated levels, first leveling the MH with a long carpenters level front to back and side to side. Then fasten the hoppy's to the MH so they are indicating perfectly level, one level indicating front to rear, mine is inside on the drivers side wall where I can see it from the drivers seat, and the second level somewhere indicating side to side, either on the dash or other side to side suitable surface. Fasten them so they read level. Now to use them park in your site, look at the front to rear level and determine whether which end is the lowest, say for example the front end is low. Then operate the front jacks (Low end) and raise the front just until the level bubble is one half bubble past level, stop, now operate the rear jacks until the level bubble just comes back to level, stop, you are now level front to back. now determine which side is low and operate the rear low side jack (Power gear has that feature) until the side to side level bubble comes back to the middle level position. You are now level side to side. stop and turn the switch OFF. done. Of course this is a procedure to use on pretty level sites. if the site is way off level, you might have to use boards under the low end tires to get it a little closer to level before using the jacks. The calibrated level bubbles show how far out of level you are in inches. for example the front could be 2 inches out of level and the bubble will indicate that. This gives you an idea if you can level the MH in that position with out running out of jack extension before you actually start the job. By doing the low end first you usually end up with the jacks actually doing some lifting and not just being extended and running out of lift. I use pads under the jacks for soft spots to increase the pad surface size.

Calibrated levels

no offense intended but IMO you're making leveling way too complicated. I simply pull into the spot and manually adjust the MH to a comfortable level. I use a simple dot level on the arm rest next to me. if the humans inside are comfy with no sensation of walking uphill, downhill or leaning left or right then it's close enough. to each their own.

[othertonka]

My procedure for power gear jacks is to first set up your MH with a set of Hoppy Calibrated levels, first leveling the MH with a long carpenters level front to back and side to side. Then fasten the hoppy's to the MH so they are indicating perfectly level, one level indicating front to rear, mine is inside on the drivers side wall where I can see it from the drivers seat, and the second level somewhere indicating side to side, either on the dash or other side to side suitable surface. Fasten them so they read level. Now to use them park in your site, look at the front to rear level and determine whether which end is the lowest, say for example the front end is low. Then operate the front jacks (Low end) and raise the front just until the level bubble is one half bubble past level, stop, now operate the rear jacks until the level bubble just comes back to level, stop, you are now level front to back. now determine which side is low and operate the rear low side jack (Power gear has that feature) until the side to side level bubble comes back to the middle level position. You are now level side to side. stop and turn the switch OFF. done. Of course this is a procedure to use on pretty level sites. if the site is way off level, you might have to use boards under the low end tires to get it a little closer to level before using the jacks. The calibrated level bubbles show how far out of level you are in inches. for example the front could be 2 inches out of level and the bubble will indicate that. This gives you an idea if you can level the MH in that position with out running out of jack extension before you actually start the job. By doing the low end first you usually end up with the jacks actually doing some lifting and not just being extended and running out of lift. I use pads under the jacks for soft spots to increase the pad surface size.

Calibrated levels

[FIRE_UP]

Rlaubert wrote:
I have a 2007 Safari Simba with Power Gear Levelers. I am still new to the Class A world and have been on the road about 9 months. I cannot seem to keep the RV from rocking. I have the plastic blocks under the levelers stacked about halfway to the leveler pad on top of a wood base, that doesn't seem to help, I have tried without the wood and plastic blocks and that doesn't help.

Seems to get worse a day or so after set up. I do not notice the levelers retracting. I did notice once after about a week to 10 days that they did seem to retract a little and I leveled the rig again. But the moving returned.

No documentation on how to level, so I figured first step is make sure I am doing it right and second step is to see what the experts say.

Educate me please.

Rlaubert,
Well, lots has been stated here about certain things. But, in reality, what you need to do is, either go on line, or, go to an RV Service Center etc. and, find all the appropriate paperwork, owners manual, troubleshooting manual etc. that applies to YOUR SPECIFIC model of Power Gear Leveling System.

You really need to know HOW IT WORKS. Once you know how YOUR system works, the easier it will be to analyze any issues that might crop up. It's nice to have help from folks on here that have good experience but, knowing how your own system works, really helps.

Second, the actual use of your system should be laid out in the owners manual for the coach. Now, you've stated you have no such instructions on leveling procedures. Well, in reality, for gas coaches with normal every day suspension, that's pretty easy. For diesel coaches with air suspension, about 99.9999% of them require for the air bags to be depleted before leveling.

And, you say you have plastic and wood blocks under your jacks to help. Well, again, in reality, those have nothing to do with your problem. All they do is, one, decrease the travel distance any particular jack has to travel before it hits the ground or, blocks, and second, if the blocks you're using, are larger than the Jack foot, then that will provide a platform large enough to keep the jack foot from depressing into soft soil, mud, soft pavement etc.

But, while I had Power Gear levelers on our previous coach, a '99 Fleetwood Bounder 34V, I have HWH units on our present coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon, 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT. I'm by far, not a hydraulics expert but, I do know that, no matter who builds the system, it's supposed to stay put, when you're done leveling.

If, your jacks are "creeping" up, it's due to a faulty solenoid or, control valve that's letting the spring pressure of the particular jack, push that jack back up and therefore, pushing the fluid back into the reservoir.

Now, telling you how to level is not important at this point. Primarily because, based on your report, it's not holding, no matter what procedure you use. Obviously some repairs are needed to get every thing working as it's supposed to. This is why I stated in the beginning to for you to find any and all info pertaining to how your system works. For instance, if you have a rear, left jack creeping back up, you'll need to know if there is a specific solenoid or control valve for THAT PARTICULAR JACK.

And that's how you track down, issues. Hope at least some of this has helped.
Scott

[mtrumpet]

mtrumpet wrote:

dieharder wrote:
Check your fluid level. If the fluid is low, the jack could still extract but might not provide much strength.

While it's certainly always a good idea to check your hydraulic fluid, unfortunately, that's not quite how hydraulics work. The fluid being pumped into the jacks is what is extending the jacks. If the system were to run low on fluid, the hydraulic pump would have no fluid to pump to the jacks to make them extend. They would only go so far, until the pump ran out of fluid to pump, then stop extending. At that point, the pump would most likely start making some pretty awful noises as it starts to run dry. The worst thing to do to a hydraulic pump is to run it out of fluid.

*To be clear, I am not that familiar with PowerGear leveling systems. I have HWH on mine. I am speaking in terms of general hydraulics here...

Another thing that might be a consideration is that there may be a worn valve spool or spools in the directional valve (which directs the fluid to the jacks or opens to let the fluid back to the reservoir when the jacks are retracted) that might be worn just enough that over time, enough of the fluid/pressure leaks back through the worn spool(s) to ever so slightly retract your jacks to cause the rocking that you're experiencing. (It could also be a worn check valve, depending upon how PowerGear has their system set up.) In hydraulics, we generally refer to this as cylinder creep.

[Rlaubert]

Jim, other than dumping the air bags (we don't have air bags) I have done the same thing. Same results however that after a day or so the rigs starts rocking. I think it is time for the mechanic to look at the leveling system based on what I am reading here. System should hold the pressure, which it is apparently not doing very well.

[JimM68]

I have some 16" tripled plywood blocks I use on soft ground, or blacktop.
gravel or concrete I don't use them.

I NEVER EVER auto level. Coach ends up in the sky, if it levels at all...

Shut down the engine and dump the air. I stroke the brake to hurry this, get her down below 40psi and on the ground.

Hold down the manual button for 6 seconds, manual lite will lite.

Extend the front jack(s) enough to lift the front end an inch or 2.

Extend both rear jacks until I feel them hit the ground.
Hit one rear side to level side to side, then back to the front to level fore and aft.
Then hit the rear on what was the high side to touch the ground, and touch up as required.

The auto's will most often end up WAY to high, or with only one jack in the rear actually bearing any weight.
This will let your coach rock.

[mtrumpet]

dieharder wrote:
Check your fluid level. If the fluid is low, the jack could still extract but might not provide much strength.

While it's certainly always a good idea to check your hydraulic fluid, unfortunately, that's not quite how hydraulics work. The fluid being pumped into the jacks is what is extending the jacks. If the system were to run low on fluid, the hydraulic pump would have no fluid to pump to the jacks to make them extend. They would only go so far, until the pump ran out of fluid to pump, then stop extending. At that point, the pump would most likely start making some pretty awful noises as it starts to run dry. The worst thing to do to a hydraulic pump is to run it out of fluid.

[janstey]

X2 never used pads under jacks, they are built in so to speak.

[rk911]

janstey wrote:
It stays sturdy until we retract and leave.

as do ours. unless the ground is soft from rain we don't use any pads under the jacks.

[Rlaubert]

Fluid levels are good. Had a leveler replaced in Dec and had the shop drain and refill the system at that time. I check the fluids each time we pack up prior to moving (full timers).

[dieharder]

Check your fluid level. If the fluid is low, the jack could still extract but might not provide much strength.