Leveling Jacks Do's and Don'ts

[zach477]

What are some Do's and Don'ts for a newbie to be aware of. What surfaces to put (or not" put them down on? Or any thing else you think of, or mistakes you've made.

[WyoTraveler]

You may want to read your manual about operation of slides and jacks.

[zach477]

Good tips. Thanks Guys. Last week I went to home depot, bought a 12 foot long 2x12 and had them cut it into 10 pieces. Then I drilled a hole in each on and strung a rope through it to make a handle to carry it or to pull it up if it gets stuck in the ground.

I have yet to use the jacks myself other than watching them do it before I bought it. I drove it home for the first time two days ago. It's my one remaining major uncertainty.

Right now it's parked on the street, and its kind of a busy street, but I had no choice while I move out of my house and into the RV. Tomorrow I'll be brining it to a friends house for a couple of nights. I'll have to park on the street there as well, but its a very low traffic area. As of now I have a bunch of stuff that I can't put into drawers because I have to open one of the slides to access most of the bedroom drawers. I want to put the jacks down and open the slide so I can put everything away in its place. Any problems doing this on a street? Just for a short while. I'm concerned that the tilting towards one side will put stress on the jacks. Is it nothing to worry about?

[rdmike]

I have a 40' DP. I pull up, dump my air, hit the auto level, get the slides.2 times in 2 years 36 campgrounds, I used wood underneath. Always all parks I stay at are for pull throughs which most are near perfect. My jacks have large foot print pans.

[FIRE_UP]

zach477 wrote:
What are some Do's and Don'ts for a newbie to be aware of. What surfaces to put (or not" put them down on? Or any thing else you think of, or mistakes you've made.

zach477,
Leveling a coach, almost no matter what size/length/slides/no slides etc. sometimes, requires thought. And, sometimes, it's no brainer. I have always advocated to level your coach, using the tires and wheels, by driving up on, whatever type of lumber you carry. That could be home made ramps, blocks, stacks of plywood etc. If you do it that way, then you're not stressing various parts of the coach, by trying to make the jacks over work themselves and, possibly torqueing the frame/body etc.

Once you're "somewhat" level with your drive-on setup, then, I use the jacks to "fine tune" the leveling. And, if I've driven up on some blocks/ramps to help primary leveling operations, then I break out the blocks for the jacks. That way, they don't have to travel so far to help with the leveling and, stabilization. The farther they travel out, the more lateral movement they will have tendency to display.

And, by utilizing lumber and driving up on it, you get the stability of 6 tires on the ground and, also all four jacks too. This is just my thoughts on how it's done. Many will differ. No biggie.
Scott

[AllegroD]

I always put down a pad. The only time I feel I may not need it is on concrete. All other surfaces are softer and I want the wider weight distribution under my levelers. If I have to drive up on blocks, I add blocks under the levelers.

[Ava]

I carry a block for each jack made from plywood and 2x2s about 6 inches high as well as plastic base plates to spread the weight on grass or softer ground. The blocks give me more height if needed.
You should not have to lift the rig off the ground unless you are on a slope but then be careful not to raise the rear ones off the ground as you will not have any parking brakes. Good luck.