Jacks installed on Sunseeker not working

[jane_spaulding]

Are we going to have to sue the RV Dealership that installed the Jack from HWH on our Motor Home? Our MH didn't come with jacks and I got tired of driving up on pieces of wood to level. So I called Jims Outback RV Center in Delta, Colorado--we have done business with him for a long time, Ask if he could install the jacks and he said yes. We paid him $7000 for the kick down jacks and installation in 2012. First they installed the wrong panel and HWH sent a new one, because they didn't work. We installed the new one per HWH. The front ones work all the time. The back ones, not much. Either one comes down and the other ones doesn't. We went to Arizona this Spring for several days and the back ones would only come down at a little less than a 45 degree angle on a cement pad. I have written the RV Owner and ask for part of the money back. I feel we should get back part of our money as these jacks don't work. We called HWA and they said to go back over and make them fix them. We did. They didn't get fixed, the Mechanic said that we need another set of Jacks to make them stable and level.So that would be 3 sets of Jacks? Why--He said the Jacks don't come down far enough and need a lot of wood under them. They are suppose to be automatic, they are not automatic. They can only be worked by manual control and then when you push the up arrows, the jack comes down, this is really messed up. I am not taking it back, but I feel they should refund some of my money. Poor job of installation. WE either have to use them like they are or take to someplace that can fix them. We are limited as to where we can go to get them fixed.

[ron_dittmer]

azpete wrote:
hi, sent you a pm. i can help.

Nice! I hope you can help him out.

The OP has a very sad story to share. I am sure the dealer wasn't out to do poor work, but apparently they really didn't know what they were doing. They surely didn't have enough integrity to make it right one way or the other.

I have heard it from others that it is wisest to take rigs to dealers who specialize in these types of leveling systems due to system complexity and rig-specific variation.

I know it doesn't help the OP......more like a warning to others.

[azpete]

hi, sent you a pm. i can help.

[j-d]

Oh, Yuck!!!

There are many exceptions to this, and you may not be able to take advantage of it, but an OP here recently said "If you need a Hand, look at the end of your Arm." I wonder if it's time to get a detailed install instructions from HWH and backtrack every step in the install process. Up when you command Down, for example, can't be much more than some component or connection inverted or reversed.

The comment that the Rear Jacks won't kick to 90* because they can't reach the ground is NONSENSE. The only thing that should happen, given that a jack can't reach the ground, ONCE it's straight down (!!!) is stop extending. Then its "partner" (which would be either the opposite rear jack or the front jack on the same side) would extend till it was maxed out and you'd hear the pump bog down.

We've had two sets of HWH Kickdown jacks. Both sets far older than yours, and both worked, but with similar faults. All too often they extend before they are kicked vertical. Nothing in the way, just the way they get after awhile. The first set had only what I'll call a "main jack" (the one that does the lifting to achieve level) and depended on springs and linkage to get vertical. The newer set has a little supplemental jack on each unit that's supposed to make that process more reliable. Not so much... With both coaches I often have to use an awning rod to help the jack get vertical, and by then it may have extended enough that I can't get a block under it. The block isn't for height, it's for soft surface on the campsite. It seems some Class C coaches can accept "direct acting" jacks which stay vertical all the time. They must have a telescoping piston to get extra extension. I haven't seen them so I don't know.

Still, your situation is somewhere way south of totally unsat. Are you able to do some troubleshooting? Do you have all the Install and Operating instructions? Can you plan a trip to HWH in Moscow Iowa? That doesn't sound outrageously far and they can settle your hash. Have you talked with HWH taking the view these things aren't going to work till they talk you through the corrections?

What type of control do you have? Ours is NOT the "fully automatic." It has lights for the status of each jack (extended or retracted) and a light for Front, Rear, Left, Right of the Coach. I Extend the Jacks for the light that indicates the part the unit says is low. Till that one goes out. Then if another lights, I extend that set. If Front is lit and I command Front Extend, BOTH Front jacks extend. If Left is lit and command Left Extend then Left Front and Left Rear extend. I really don't like that arrangement because in this scenario Right Rear is still Retracted, and I don't get any steadying from it. All I can do then is command Rear Extend and hope the weight on Left Rear causes nothing to happen but Right Rear Extend till it's solidly on the ground. At that point I'm listening for the load on the pump to change and release the switch, hoping the Right Rear hasn't bugged up the level position I just attained. Is this the control system you have?

Your post just oozes frustration and I don't blame you a bit. Be assured, we care and we will try to help. Send a PM if you want to talk and I'll call you.

Just looked at your Profile and see New Member Two Posts. So WELCOME PILGRIM! It WILL get Better.

[Desert_Captain]

Unfortunately the salesmen never mention that auto jacks add weight about as fast as they lighten your wallet. They also add another system that can and often does see mechanical issues... all in search of solution for which often, there is no known problem.

Don't know what size coach the OP has but at $7k for a set it must be huge so perhaps stacking isn't an option but subtract a couple of hundred pounds from the CCC. Did you test them before driving off or did the problems start after initially working?

I have yet to have a site that required more than two (stacked), plastic Leggo blocks but have seen lots of rigs with their pricey jacks atop Leggo's or 2 by's. Good luck but doubt you will be seeing a refund anytime soon.
:E