Hardtime01 wrote:
I have a new class A that has the auto leveling jacks. I am new to this and need to ask this question. We are leaving on a tour of the west, and towing a 20ft trailer with two motorcycles on it. It says that the unit needs to have the jacks down to put out the slide. That being said if I set it to auto I'm afraid it will jack up the trailer. Can I just manually put the jacks down so that they are stable and then put the slide out, or do I need to disconnect the trailer and set it with the auto to let the slide out? I might stay somewhere that it only needs to be out for an hour or two, not all night. Will I do the unit harm? Thanks...Mark
Hardtime01,
First off, congrats on your new rig and, the RV life style. With that being said, in reality, there's no "cut and dried" answer to your particular question. What one person does, with his or her rig, in a given situation, may or may not work for you and your rig and trailer, in that same situation. There's way too many variables for a "set" answer here. But, as one poster told you, it very well may depend on just how level or, un level you start out with in a given situation.
And yes, the primary reason for stabilizing and or, leveling the coach prior to extending the slide(s) is to provide a square, level platform for the slides to extend and retract on so there's no twisting and binding. The more level and square your rig is, the easier it is on your slide mechanisms.
Now, as for your trailer and whether or not to disconnect it, prior to leveling, again, it depends on many factors.
1. Just how level your site is prior to starting the leveling sequences.
2. What is the height level difference between the trailer tongue and the hitch of the coach? Some have risers and some have lowering receivers to make things level.
3. How uneven is the terrain where camping?
Now, with that much to think about, one more thing to check. If you haven't done this yet, take your rig, without the trailer hooked to it and, if you don't have one at your residence, find a flat, level place to do this experiment. Most Home Depot, Lowes etc. parking lots are fairly level. Now, once you find such a spot, measure from the body or, bumper of the coach to the ground. Record that measurement(s). Then, hit the automatic leveling button and, when it's done with it's movements/adjustments/etc. and your coach is level according to the leveling brain in the system, go out and take your measurements again.
What this will tell you is, the approximate height that the coach will move, in at least a somewhat level situation/camp spot. Of course the more un level it is to start, the more possible chance that your coach will climb, to achieve level. And, of course, the more it climbs, the more your trailer tongue will climb and, that results in less ramp angle of the ramp, for off loading the bikes. But, that also means unstable conditions when removing the tie downs off the bike(s) in the trailer.
So, as you can see, there's just some things to think about. Personally, I'd leave it connected. I did. When I towed our 7' wide x 16' long, V-nosed enclosed trailer that carried our GL 1800 Honda Goldwing, I'd leave it connected while I leveled the coach. It really never presented a problem while un-securing the tie-downs and, off loading the bike. Good luck.
Scott
really gonna depend on the trailer and how unlevel the ground is.
if your jacks have to raise the coach a significant amount, you could have too much tilt on the trailer (one way or another) and have a problem off loading your motorcycles.
the ideal behind having the jacks down, before the slides are extended is so that there is no twisting or damage to the sides and the slide hardware.
if your jacks have to raise the coach a significant amount, you could have too much tilt on the trailer (one way or another) and have a problem off loading your motorcycles.
the ideal behind having the jacks down, before the slides are extended is so that there is no twisting or damage to the sides and the slide hardware.
