Age Old Question - Leveling Steps

[dmason]

Guess I've been reading too many posts on this subject and would like some current opinions. Here's how I understand the steps:
Arriving - air up, slides out, air down, jacks down, level
Leaving - slides in, air up, jacks up

[H. Miller]

I am looking at the owners manual as this is written - it is not ambiguous...
Slides are "first out and last in". That means air bags are full and jacks are UP.
Other products have their own procedures but this is Monaco's.

[WeBeGone2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by H. Miller I am looking at the owners manual as this is written - it is not ambiguous... Slides are "first out and last in". That means air bags are full and jacks are UP. Other products have their own procedures but this is Monaco's.

Not sure of your rig and if you have air leveling, but with my 04 Endeavor my book says the same as the above quote. You end up starting the engine getting to ride height then turning off engine and pulling in the slides.

[Diplomat Don]

dmason.....Owners of other coach brands will jump on here and tell you that Monaco is wrong in their procedure. Monaco is different than most coaches.

When your coach is at ride height and ready to travel, the frame and the slide openings are about as square as they can be, even in an unlevel campsite. Monaco wants you to put the slides out and in while in this position.

Airing down.....This is optional and here's why.....If you're staying for several days you should air down. If you don't the coach will start to lose air in the bags anyway. Airing down gets the jacks closer to the ground which gives them more lifting distance and more stability. It also gets your step closer to the ground and makes entering and exiting the coach easier. If you're just staying the night at a Walmart, Rest Stop etc, leave the air in the bags and drop the jacks. You're generally on even ground and don't need the extra lift from the jacks when the air is out.

Monaco also says the front jack needs to go down first. In automatic mode it does that for you. In manual mode you'll need to do it yourself. My coach did not come with the automatic jacks. I priced out the kit to update them, but it was very expensive. I later realized with just three jacks I could level the coach in a matter of a couple of minutes. The front jack goes down first so that the rest of the leveling can use the front jack as a pivot point, making the setting of the left to right leveling very easy and keeps from stressing the windshield.

Note: I connect my utilities right after I park the coach and before I put the slides out. It makes it easier to access the bays when I don't have to bend under a slide. It aslo adds additional pwer to the slide motors when they're being boosted by shore power.

When leaving and airing up......Again, Monaco only recommends that you bring the slides in when the coach is at ride height and ready to travel. Here is a tip that many of us use.....Start the coach and after you get oil pressure, set the cruise control to "high idle" via your Smart Wheel. Once you feel the coach start to lift, hit the retract all button on your jacks. You'll hardly notice the jacks retracting versus retracting them with no air in the system. I bring my slides in while still hooked to campground power to get the extra boost from being connected. Once the slides are in, I disconnect all of my utilities.

On occasion, I find myself at a camp site that is really uneven. To prevent excessive tweaking of the chassis, I still carry three leveling boards that I store on top of my propane tank.

[Mike Canter]

My Signature procedure as prescribed by Monaco is a little different. I don't have jacks because for some reason it was not an option with the Detroit motor. Monaco wants the MH level first before the slides go out and go to Travel mode after the slides are back in. I have tried dumping the air on mine and letting it level up and have compared it to just leveling and it is so close to being the same each way I don't worry about it. My bags don't deflate over time because I have an auxiliary 12 v air pump in the system that turns on if needed if the leveling needs a relevel. Mine system constantly is monitoring the leveling status and will adjust if required.