Storing with hydraulics jacks up or down?

AllegroD wrote:
Unless I am extending slides, mine are up. If they are down for a couple weeks, I retract slides and retract the levelers. This cleans and lubricates.

Oil is not the answer for cleaning or protecting the cylinder. See HWH Maintenance guide ML47149. Suggest using only recommended ATF and if you use anything else, be sure to wipe it off before storing.

OMG... Thanks for that link as I don't have that info in my rig. I had a couple of guys tell me to use silicone spray and never WD-40 on the jacks if they had been down for more than a week.Then I had a tech that I really trust tell me to just raise and lower them once every couple of weeks. When I got my extended warranty last summer,the inspector told me that my jacks were leaking and they wouldn't be covered till I got them fixed even though I told him the crud was from when I used to spray them and that I hadn't had to add any fluid for over a year.

Yes, I do stow my rig with the jacks down to save my air bags and so that I can put my slides out whenever I want.

Our Greyhawk has factory-install Bigfoot levelers. I contacted Bigfoot asking about storing it with the levelers down. They replied that it is perfectly okay but for an extended period I should spray the extended legs with Teflon spray.

tmmar wrote:
I store my coach with the jacks up but I put 4x4's under the feet of the jacks so that when the air bags lose air and the coach settles, it settles on the 4x4's and it keeps the pressure off the tires and suspension.

X2, Takes care of both issues of jack shaft exposure (none) and giving tires and suspension a rest.

Your choice, another option is this:
Measure from ground to bottom of rail
Add .5 to an 1 "
Using 6x6 and 4x4 make 4 blocks
Now with engine running and Air suspension aired up
Place under rails
Drop air.
Rails come down
Your are done, as you only need to raise the rail a min of .5 inch to remove weight from tires.
If you place something under the tires (Recommended) then allow for that height.
Now you can do the same except perform your measurement with air suspension aired up and subtract .25 to 1 inch.

wildtoad wrote:
I have read in several places it is best to store with the jacks down and taking pressure off the tires and suspension.

Same here. My manual says to store with jacks down, that's what they are for. Also, I'd put some boards between the tires and the cement.

I'm not sure it makes a wit of difference to the coach. Since my pad and barn is level I leave them up and the slides either in or out depending on if I'm doing and work inside.

I store w/ jacks up for 12 yrs and it keeps them clean. No problems!!

Down

I found that it depends on how close you are to a salt-water waterfront. When we first got our GT 325, I stored it on the driveway with the jacks down. Within a couple of weeks, there was a thin film of rust on the piston rods. I polished it off and retracted the jacks.

I contacted the levelling system manufacturer. They said that if you're close to salt-water, you should not leave the jacks extended. When I queried what they defined as "close", they said "within 60 miles". We're probably less than 60 YARDS. The houses across the street are salt-water marina waterfront.

If you do leave them down and want to protect the piston rods, wipe them down with the kind of hydraulic oil your system uses, then be sure to thoroughly wipe off any debris that has stuck to the piston rods before you retract them at the end of the storage period.

I never left the jacks down again after that first experience. We've sold the MH, so we're retired RVers now.

Unless I am extending slides, mine are up. If they are down for a couple weeks, I retract slides and retract the levelers. This cleans and lubricates.

Oil is not the answer for cleaning or protecting the cylinder. See HWH Maintenance guide ML47149. Suggest using only recommended ATF and if you use anything else, be sure to wipe it off before storing.