spray lube for jacks?

Tom N wrote:
I was at the HWH Iowa factory some years ago. The technician there told me to wipe the jacks down with the same transmission fluid I use in my jacks. The transmission fluid in the jacks lubes the jacks and does not damage the seals.

We have a winner here. I work on airliners. We have to wipe the landing gear struts to get the dirt and crud off, every time we do trip check. You take a spray bottle of the lubricant (in this case, ATF) and squirt on the rag or the extended jack ram, and wipe it down. It will leave the finest oily film and this will be "scraped" off as the cylinder retracts. You don't need a spray bottle, but it just makes it easier for us.

Charles

Have had nothing but HWH jacks. Used ATF, silicone, WD40, and long 2x4. The best without a doubt is WD40. I spray em' down now before a trip and they are good to go without having to get the board out and give them that last few inch lift. All new springs so that is not the issue.

btw, im with doug on the blown hoses. hwh states in their manual that anytime
you have to go under the coach, that you use a jack stand or blocking.
its a safety issue that should never be overlooked, but is on a regular basis.

i work for hwh. i have worked on hwh jacks since 1973
hwh recommends either atf or wd 40. only.
some rv techs may have other ideas, but thats their opinion.
wd 40 is a solvent with fish oil in it as a small part of lubricant,
( i looked it up)
atf is the fluid that is used in the system. it cant hurt a thing on the jacks.
i know other mfg recommend other products, but
its your jacks, use what you think best.
i use dry silicone for a lot of things like my slide seals, my step and other areas that need lubrication. but not on my jacks.

Thanks for all your replies. My manual says silicone spray

johnhicks wrote:
So how many of you feel ok crawling under your rig to wipe down your jacks? Have you ever seen a rig fall because of a blown hose? Are you feeling lucky?

Well, I have 30 years of working on Jack systems and have NEVER had a blown seal or hose at the shop. It is possible, but extremely unlikely. But, if you are concerned, then never crawl underneath without installing some kind of floor jack or brace to prevent sudden failure dropping. Doug

So how many of you feel ok crawling under your rig to wipe down your jacks? Have you ever seen a rig fall because of a blown hose? Are you feeling lucky?

I called the manufacture a few years ago and they recommended WD-40. I was surprised they recommended it and questioned them and asked if Silicone spray wouldn't be better, they thought about it and said, you're right. We're going to start recommending that. True Story

X2 for ATF

Here's a trick I learned from a really sharp mobile tech. If you coach has set for any time, before retracting do this. Move your jack contoller to manual, raise each jack slightly an inch or so, then retract the jacks. Reason is that if a coach has sat for awhile the seals and the exposed jack may have dried out, even slightly. Just dropping the jacks may "roll" the seal and hence causing a bigger problem. He also recommended using spray silicone for jacks exposed for a long period. NEVER use any type of oil as it will attract dust and dirt. Silicone dries quickly leaving a dry lubricant behind.