Leveling a MH v/s 5er

[cKarlGo]

I'm running into some issues with the leveling system on my new coach - or what I perceive as issues, anyway. Maybe it's normal.

I have a concrete driveway with only enough grade for proper runoff. I'm parking the coach in the same spot where I used to park my 5er. The Lippert system on the 5er could level there without issue. The coach cannot. I can do it manually, and only with placing blocks under the back jacks. This ends up with the back tires off of the ground.

Can anyone who has made the transition from 5er to MH weigh in on this, please? Maybe this is a normal difference between the types of campers, but I think I have a leveling system issue.

Thanks!

[4x4van]

msmith1199 wrote:
4x4van, although wheel chocks are a must if doing this, don't forget there may be a little give in those chocks too.

True. One should release the brake after placing the chocks, letting the vehicle settle against them, THEN re-apply the brake and THEN use the jacks.

[msmith1199]

4x4van, although wheel chocks are a must if doing this, don't forget there may be a little give in those chocks too.

[4x4van]

All the talk abouut physics and "experience" keep contradicting each other for one very clear reason; different forces come into play depending on which end of the RV you are lifting off the ground and what the tires are doing. The only time that side pressure on jacks comes into play is when the RV wants to "roll" forward or backward. What do tires do? They roll, unless they are fixed (parking brake or wheel chocks). In THIS case, one axle is off the ground supported by jacks and the other is still on the ground supported by the tires. So, IF the front end is off the ground, the parking brake prevents the rear wheels from rolling downhill and putting side pressure on the front jacks, meaning that all pressure on those jacks is straight down (or up?). BUT, if the rear end is lifted, the front end does want to roll downhill (unless the front wheels are chocked or you are sitting in the driver seat standing on the brake pedal), so there is now side pressure on those rear jacks. Bottom line... NEVER lift the rear axle off the ground unless the front wheels are fully chocked.

[AllegroD]

J-Rooster wrote:
You never want your back wheels off the ground the parking brake on the rear wheels is what holds the coach in place! Since your back wheels are already off the ground I would cut 2"X10"X 2'douglas fir planks and slide them under your back wheels then lower your jacks. Make sure the planks are under all tire tread. Then use a couple pieces of douglas fir beam to the height that they just slide under your rear jacks then lift the jacks just enough to level the coach.

X2

Have you located your fluid reservoir? Check the fluid level. Do you have any leaks in the system?

[J-Rooster]

You never want your back wheels off the ground the parking brake on the rear wheels is what holds the coach in place! Since your back wheels are already off the ground I would cut 2"X10"X 2'douglas fir planks and slide them under your back wheels then lower your jacks. Make sure the planks are under all tire tread. Then use a couple pieces of douglas fir beam to the height that they just slide under your rear jacks then lift the jacks just enough to level the coach.

[msmith1199]

wildmanbaker wrote:
mssmith, are you sure it was deleted? I sometimes have a post disappear, only to find that I actually did not post it, bit deleted by mistake.
JetAonly, yes lucky, the only damage was the inside duals valve stems were sheared off, and the rear leveling jack mounding plates were bent. Some work with a press and large crescent wrenches make them good as new.

OK lets hope the OP can get his problems fixed.

It was deleted. I've argued back with the moderators before so I'm convinced they have me on "the list." Whenever I post something alarm bells go off and they go check to make sure all is safe.

[cKarlGo]

Dale.Traveling wrote:

cKarlGo wrote:
,,, There's definitely something wrong with the system that needs attention from the dealer. I'm going out again next weekend and have a stop planned with the dealer to deal with a couple of the issues that have cropped up.

Sounds like a good plan. Suspect the system needs to be recalibrated and the dealer should have shown you how to perform during the pick up walk thru. Reply back what they find.

These issues are very similar to what I had with the same system on my 5er. That was the result of an improperly sized breaker or fuse on the system. As soon as that was corrected, the 5er system worked fine.

[Dale_Traveling]

cKarlGo wrote:
,,, There's definitely something wrong with the system that needs attention from the dealer. I'm going out again next weekend and have a stop planned with the dealer to deal with a couple of the issues that have cropped up.

Sounds like a good plan. Suspect the system needs to be recalibrated and the dealer should have shown you how to perform during the pick up walk thru. Reply back what they find.

[wildmanbaker]

mssmith, are you sure it was deleted? I sometimes have a post disappear, only to find that I actually did not post it, bit deleted by mistake.
JetAonly, yes lucky, the only damage was the inside duals valve stems were sheared off, and the rear leveling jack mounding plates were bent. Some work with a press and large crescent wrenches make them good as new.

OK lets hope the OP can get his problems fixed.

[msmith1199]

So I try and once again explain the dangers of jacking the rear wheels off the ground and it gets deleted, but the guy trying to tell everybody to go ahead and do it doesn't get deleted? Why do I even still come here?

[AllegroD]

If you have so much slope that the rear wheels are off the ground, the coach might lean to the rear, even if the levelers are straight. Not good as the rear wheels have the brake on it. It might move on you and damage the MH as well as the levelers.

[JetAonly]

wildmanbaker wrote:
Some on here seem to have lost grasp of common sense and the laws of physics. Where are these vector forces coming from? If a MH is on the jacks, it should not be moving. mssmith; of course it is going to move, just as it would if it was not on the jacks and you took the brakes off. If the ground, or area you are trying to level on is that unstable, what are you doing driving your MH on it?

We probably have used our leveling system in some of the worst conditions, and areas of anyone. We use to snowmobile, pulling the 2 sled trailer with the MH. The last time we went, the snow park and campground were not plowed, and I was not paying enough attention. Went down a 35 deg. ramp into the campground and was stuck. Had crappy cable changes that kept throwing off. Anyway, finely got to the snow park and someone was parked in the inlet road. Stuck again, put the chains back on and tried to back up a 30 deg road, but missed road, and was stuck again. Got someone to take me into Les Schwab to get real chains. Used the leveling jacks again, on the 30 deg angle, in large rocks to raise the rear of the MH to get the chains on. The front jacks were down and manually raised the rear. It did move forward about 1.5 feet before it anchored. Got the real chains on and drove out the road that I had plowed coming in, and parked for the night at another snow park not far from there. We leveled up on compact snow and the front wheels were off the snow slightly. It was solid as I tried to shake it and it never moved for the time we where there. This was REAL WORLD experience, either Fleetwood makes great choices in the leveling systems or the systems them selves are very robust.

Wow! I think you are very lucky something didn't break and no one got hurt.

The only confusion here is if the back wheels stay on the ground then they take up the side load. If you raise the rear wheels off the ground there is nothing to take the side loads of an incline however small or large they might be. The evidence of the side load is 1.5 ft you mention. You would be relying entirely on the integrity of the mounting system of the jacks. Whether they would sustain that is a guess and I'm certain the manufacturer of the jacks would consider that to be outside of their intended use.

The OP has a problem with his system and needs to get it fixed.

[cKarlGo]

I took the coach out for its first trip this weekend. I was still unable to autolevel in a fairly average, level campsite. Even with the additional help of blocks.

There's definitely something wrong with the system that needs attention from the dealer. I'm going out again next weekend and have a stop planned with the dealer to deal with a couple of the issues that have cropped up.

[wildmanbaker]

Some on here seem to have lost grasp of common sense and the laws of physics. Where are these vector forces coming from? If a MH is on the jacks, it should not be moving. mssmith; of course it is going to move, just as it would if it was not on the jacks and you took the brakes off. If the ground, or area you are trying to level on is that unstable, what are you doing driving your MH on it?

We probably have used our leveling system in some of the worst conditions, and areas of anyone. We use to snowmobile, pulling the 2 sled trailer with the MH. The last time we went, the snow park and campground were not plowed, and I was not paying enough attention. Went down a 35 deg. ramp into the campground and was stuck. Had crappy cable changes that kept throwing off. Anyway, finely got to the snow park and someone was parked in the inlet road. Stuck again, put the chains back on and tried to back up a 30 deg road, but missed road, and was stuck again. Got someone to take me into Les Schwab to get real chains. Used the leveling jacks again, on the 30 deg angle, in large rocks to raise the rear of the MH to get the chains on. The front jacks were down and manually raised the rear. It did move forward about 1.5 feet before it anchored. Got the real chains on and drove out the road that I had plowed coming in, and parked for the night at another snow park not far from there. We leveled up on compact snow and the front wheels were off the snow slightly. It was solid as I tried to shake it and it never moved for the time we where there. This was REAL WORLD experience, either Fleetwood makes great choices in the leveling systems or the systems them selves are very robust.