Stuck in the mud, any tips?

[Billinwoodland]

I store my MH, 35' Monaco Monarch, on a buddy's ranch next to his fiver. The spot we use is slightly higher then the surrounding ground, on dirt, but in winters past even after a good rain I have never had a problem getting the MH out. If you have been following the news, there is imminent risk that the Oroville overflow levi may breach. Yesterday he calls me to tell me that the mandatory evacuations for the Oroville - Marysville - Yuba City areas (N. California area) included his ranch and he was moving his fiver, and suggested I get my MH. As I started to move it, the rear wheels sunk, not bad, but sunk. We spent hours digging last night, and tried pulling it out with a tractor. Later, we discovered that the levelers in the back were in dirt. Against my better judgement with all the "experts" trying to help on the ranch, I tried extending the levelers to see if we could raise the wheels. And yes, they sunk and now won't retract.

So the MH was left last night, and the danger of flooding seems to be decreasing. I plan to go back out tomorrow after the ground has another day of drying out. Our next rain is Thursday. My thought is that I need to get under the MH to dig out an area by the levelers in the rear so I can get a long crow bar under there to get the leveler back up. Then, if I can get a large board under the levelers to provide more surface area to distribute the weight, my thought is to raise the rear wheels up enough to get gravel under the tires. That's my plan, any other suggestions?

[Billinwoodland]

Thanks for all the input fellas. I took the afternoon off work today as more rain is headed our way tomorrow. I did some more digging around the levelers and actually had to dig a trench to get under the coach. I cleaned the hydralic shaft with silicone, then went thru the emergency retract procedure by taking off the emergency brake, starting the motor, and taking it out of park. The control panel reacted with a warning, as it is supposed to, but unfortunately they did not retract. And, btw, i was able to id the fuse and it was ok. So, just as someome mentioned, which i just now saw, i loosened the nut on the hydralic line, and the spring pulled up the leveler. Thats a good trick to have up your sleeve.

Once the levelers were up, i called AAA. And btw, my good sam tow service would not come out bc they said there was liability for them to enter private property. They did suggest that i submit any payment to a third party for reimbursmsnt. AAA was there in 30 minutes with a big diesel tow truck. The driver assured me he could winch me out. I was worried that my back levelers, while fully retracted, would get damaged as they were still 6" below the ground level. The driver assured me that as he winched, the rear tires would rise and the leveler would clear. This guy was a pro and everything worked out perfectly. I need to take the rig into a service center to have the leveler system issue corrected. AAA rocks.

Thanks again fellas for the suggestions..

[vegasfoodguy]

Billinwoodland wrote:

The evacuation order has been lifted, so that issue is taken care of. Hopefully the GS/Allstate contractor was able to get the job done for you.

Yep, lots of people headed back to the area. I took the afternoon off from work and the DW and i, on Valentine's Day, dug out the leveling jacks. I sure love that woman! Unfortunately, the back jacks would still not retract. I think i must have blown a fuse or something. The manual was zero help, so im going to get a mobile rv tech out there to troubleshoot the leveler issue. This saga continues, sigh.

If the jacks are hydraulic, open the manual valves at the tank, They should come up by themselves if they are clean.

[down_home]

Afraid I wasn't much or any help.
Thinking about it you have a sturdy frame. Use big boards, and hydraulic jacks.
raise the jacks out of the mud, might require shoring and jacking a second time.
Fill the holes with gravel. You can buy it in bags many places. Probably two or three bags per side.
You should be able to clean off the jacks or more to the point the rams.
If they won't raise clear the problem with fuses or switches. If they are just glued up or not spray lube them with silicone and clean.
Put some wood blocks under the jacks with the switch in the rtract position.
Put boards over the gravel and ground.
Let the coach down and the jacks should retract enough or all the way up.
Drive off the wood blocks under the jacks.
However this advise is worth what you paid. 🙂

[hanko]

well I got my info from a very reliable source CNN.

[Mr_Mark1]

hanko wrote:
he been pulled out, washed up and on his way and you clowns are still trying to tell him how to get out, Hilarious.

Hey Hanko... not so fast. In his very last posts a few above he says:

----
"Yep, lots of people headed back to the area. I took the afternoon off from work and the DW and i, on Valentine's Day, dug out the leveling jacks. I sure love that woman! Unfortunately, the back jacks would still not retract. I think i must have blown a fuse or something. The manual was zero help, so im going to get a mobile rv tech out there to troubleshoot the leveler issue. This saga continues, sigh."
----

Looks like he has not moved the coach yet because of the stuck jacks.

MM.

[hanko]

he been pulled out, washed up and on his way and you clowns are still trying to tell him how to get out, Hilarious.

[slickest1]

Tinstar wrote:
If anyone ever gets one of those front end loaders or a bobcat to lift their motorhome, you should sell tickets. I know I would want to watch.

That would be interesting! The back of a Motorhome even a gasser would be way more than a farm tractor or bobcat can lift.

There would be alot of damage from trying!

O P you are doing the right thing and getting help from professionals.

[kdk]

we

Well did you get it out and how?

[Tinstar]

If anyone ever gets one of those front end loaders or a bobcat to lift their motorhome, you should sell tickets. I know I would want to watch.

[Billinwoodland]

The evacuation order has been lifted, so that issue is taken care of. Hopefully the GS/Allstate contractor was able to get the job done for you.

Yep, lots of people headed back to the area. I took the afternoon off from work and the DW and i, on Valentine's Day, dug out the leveling jacks. I sure love that woman! Unfortunately, the back jacks would still not retract. I think i must have blown a fuse or something. The manual was zero help, so im going to get a mobile rv tech out there to troubleshoot the leveler issue. This saga continues, sigh.

[Dutch_12078]

Billinwoodland wrote:

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
🙂 Hi, forget the motorhome and get out of there before the dam breaks.

Thanks for all the concerns. This area, while in what they now are calling an "advisory area" is fairly far away from the main evacuation zone. 180,000 people remain evacuated from the Oroville area. My motorhome is in a "safer" place, but should be moved.

I called Good Sam Roadside assistance last night. After bringing them up to speed on the situation, it sounds like the best thing I can do is free the levelers and then have them help get me out. That's the plan this afternoon. Thanks again for all the good advice.

The evacuation order has been lifted, so that issue is taken care of. Hopefully the GS/Allstate contractor was able to get the job done for you.

[Skyfarmer]

Must be a farmer nearby with a front end loader or bobcat to lift the end up..and then pull you out. Good luck!

[TNGW1500SE]

Make sure you paid the insurance and get out of there until all the storms pass. I'd leave it right where it is and worry about it when the ground drys up.

[time_to_go_now]

Your plan is good. I get my motorhome stuck at least once a year when going riding in the dessert. Will probably get stuck again this weekend based on the forecasted rain.

The only mistake you made was not putting something under the rear jacks before you lowered them to better distribute the weight. The jacks will raise the rear tires off the ground. You may need to use a tie down strap to hold the springs compressed so the tires go up with the jacks. Then you put something under the dual rear wheels (we use logs we brought for firewood). Then dig ramps in front of the tires. And drive until you get stuck again.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Until you get on terra firma.

Since this is not fun for me anymore, we have plenty of teenagers on hand to do the work.

Good luck.

[Billinwoodland]

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
🙂 Hi, forget the motorhome and get out of there before the dam breaks.

Thanks for all the concerns. This area, while in what they now are calling an "advisory area" is fairly far away from the main evacuation zone. 180,000 people remain evacuated from the Oroville area. My motorhome is in a "safer" place, but should be moved.

I called Good Sam Roadside assistance last night. After bringing them up to speed on the situation, it sounds like the best thing I can do is free the levelers and then have them help get me out. That's the plan this afternoon. Thanks again for all the good advice.