Diplomat leveling

[Ed S]

I have a question that goes along with this. OK, forgive me if I come across silly asking this but I wonder. Alright, question is there any reason to dump the air other to drop the coach down closer to the ground and not have the jacks extended more than they have to be?

Thanks
Ed

[SacsTC]

No, not really..One safety item that may factor in is that the brake cannot accidently be released if there is no air in the tanks.. So, dogs paws and little children cannot cause what could be a large problem.

[Robin_M]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">is there any reason to dump the air other to drop the coach down closer to the ground and not have the jacks extended more than they have to be? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Ed,

That's basically the reason, but aside from what Sacs just said, there are other reasons why getting the coach low is a good idea. If the ground is unlevel, there is a much greater chance you can get the coach level without lifting a tire off the ground. If the ground slopes down to the front of the coach, you won't have to climb as high to get in and out of it. When it's time to retract, you can load up the air bags first and lessen the possibility of twisting the frame and stressing the windshield.

Of course, all of this is moot if you are parking on a flat level concrete pad.

[Ed S]

Good points!! Thanks Sacs and Robin for your reply. Think I will make it a habit of dumping air before leveling from now on. Just makes more sense.
Ed

[AKBrick]

Yup, we do the same as Robin and Sacs.
Here's a quick safety tip though. Just in case you have large dogs or monkeys that jump around the coach, you can put a clothespin or other clips under the brake knob ,around it's shaft, to keep it from inadvertantly being pushed down. Luckily our dogs are pretty light, but we still do this anyway after hearing some folks' stories.
See ya,

AKBrick

[mom2mastiffs]

Since we heard about a Bernese Mtn dog hitting the brake and sending the coach rolling we cut the bottom of a water bottle off and put it over the brake. It's tall enough so it won't set off the brake and sturdy too. Thank Goodness, Sparkle ONLY likes the passenger seat! She has turned on the map light a few times

[BudtheDiplomat]

Well, I thought maybe I was wrong and had a chance to go to the Dip today. There is a sticker on the Power Leveler that states, "Engine must be running to operate the leveler." If I'd had a camera, I would post it for you.
Robin_M, I think you are right on the money about a dead or weak battery. Even though I had flipped the coach and chassis disconnect switches, when I turned the ignition on, an alarm kept flashing, "LOW BATTERY". I took the MH out and drove it for 2+ hours and hit the disconnect switches when I parked. Hope that helps. If not, I'll have to make a trek back to the dealer (that's probably $100 in gas now)!
Thanks again for all the good advice. I never thought about the baby hitting the brake - that could be disasterous!
Bud

[Ed S]

just another newbe question for the pro's.
If you level manual what do you use to know if you are level. I have no bubble by my leveling pad. If you use a buble or level what kind or type do you suggest. I too think the auto level is just to rough but never tried to manual. Thanks a bunch. Have a o6 Endeavor.

Ed

[nodine]

I use this:
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm/Outdo...Z-Level/skunum=35617

Bob

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ed S:
just another newbe question for the pro's.
If you level manual what do you use to know if you are level. I have no bubble by my leveling pad. If you use a buble or level what kind or type do you suggest. I too think the auto level is just to rough but never tried to manual. Thanks a bunch. Have a o6 Endeavor.

Ed </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[BudtheDiplomat]

Ed;
That is a good question! On mine, a green light in the center of the Power Leveler comes on once leveled automatically. I wonder if it comes on in Manual mode - will try and let you know.
It'll take a few days. One of my daughters is getting married in 2 days and my wife won't let me play with my new toy !

[Robin_M]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BudtheDiplomat:
Well, I thought maybe I was wrong and had a chance to go to the Dip today. There is a sticker on the Power Leveler that states, "Engine must be running to operate the leveler." </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Bud,

I haven't seen that before - no label like that on my coach. The jacks are powered form the chassis batteries, and the ignition must be on. I'm just guessing here, but I'd say Monaco may have put label there because the jack pumps do take a bit of power, and once you're parked, the chassis batteries don't get charged. As Sacs said earlier, you really should install some system (like the Xantrex echo~charge) to charge your chassis batteries while you're plugged into shore power. Then you won't have to worry about it.

As for the battery, I'd call Monaco and see if they will allow you to have it checked out locally by a truck garage and replaced if necessary under warranty. Not sure how they'd react to that request as the battery replacement may be the responsibility of the dealer and not a warranty item. If that's the case, you may want to have a local truck mechanic confirm the battery condition before you trek it back to the dealer. How far away is your dealer?

[BudtheDiplomat]

Robin;
Thanks again. I looked at the picture MM posted on Sacs echo~charge and it is a terrific idea (very complicated looking!?!) I can't park very long at my house due to neighborhood restrictions. I rent covered parking, but there's no power. Maybe I could plug a trickle charger into a chassis electric outlet and set the autostart to come on for 2-3 hours nightly. I'm guessing here, but the inverter would power the trickle charger, which would power the chassis batteries, and the coach batteries would be re-charged by the AGS. This all sounds too simple. And the fuel would be $200-300/month sitting still!

Do you think I may have a parasitic loss that could be draining the chassis battery? Where could it be?? Here's what I do - I turn off the battery cut-out switch at the coach entry steps, then disconnect both the Chassis and Coach batteries (turning the red switch at the batteries).

I'll find someone close who can check the chassis batteries. As new as it is, they should be covered under warranty either by Monaco or Interstate - I'm not worried about that. For me, the cost of time and fuel might make it easier to just buy new batteries if that is what is needed.

[Robin_M]

Bud,

With respect to the trickle charger, I don't think that running the genset a couple of hours a day would be enough to keep the batteries charged with a trickle charger. Even if it were, I wouldn't advise it. It would scare me to have the AGS starting the genset while the coach is in storage unattended. If you could find some source of 20a or even 15a 120v power, you could plug a trickle charger into that with an extension cord. You'd need two - one for each battery bank.

If the coach is not plugged in, you should definitely keep both battery cut-off switches off when the coach is being stored. Even so, there will be a small amount of parasitic drain on both systems. (Not nearly enough to cause what you are seeing now, however.)

Once you identify and resolve your battery problem, if you have no source of power at all to trickle charge the batteries, you should be able to store the coach with the battery cut-off's off, and then take it for a drive about once every 4-6 weeks to charge them up. You can help that process by running the genset while you do that (which is also good for the genset).

[GoneFishin]

Our 2008 Cayman has the label on the jack control panel "ENGINE RUNNING required for leveling". Our last MH did not have air bags so this is a little new to me. When leveling the 2008 Cayman, I was shown how to empty the air, but leaving the engine running just inflated the air again. The person who showed me said we could dump the air and just have the ignition on in order to level, to avoid the air refilling. (In other words, ignore the "ENGINE RUNNING required" label if on really uneven ground, I wanted to.)

My question is -- when the MH is level, should the green light in the center of the jack panel be a constant green or flashing? I want to try the manual level process, but I'm not sure how to proceed. (I know - read the manual. ) But as proven, there are conflicting instructions sometimes. Thanks!