Hydraulic leveling, will it work on shore power?

[FixerCQI]

I have a 2011 Monaco Cayman with auto/man hydraulic leveling/stabilizing jacks. The manual says you must have the battery voltage topped up and then have the engine running to keep the voltage up. Does anyone know if the jacks work with just shore power. The inverter /converter charges the battery too, but I don't know if there is something in the control circuitry of the jacks that won't let them work unless the engine is running.

[jgsomerville]

I have a different coach (Alpine Coach), so I don't know if the same rules apply.

I always level my coach (HWH 625 system) with the engine off and the key on. I don't have the engine running because I have air bags, and in the leveling process, it lets the air out. If the engine were running, it would be trying to fill them again.

At least that's how I understand it.

[Skip426]

I doubt there is anything in the circuitry, to tell the leveler controller the engine is running. Key on yes, but not engine running.
I always have shore power attached when operating my levelers, and my coach is set up so they only operate in the accessory position.

HOWEVER. If the batteries are down and you are operating the levelers on shore power, the leveling system power draw may exceed the inverter/charger capacity, tripping circuit breakers or blowing fuses.
Most chargers have a max output of 50>75amps , where depending on the alternator that your coach is equipped with, it could have double or triple that.

Note: I always hook to shore power first in any site , before leveling, to allow the surge guard to run its tests of the shore power, to make sure I don't have to move to get good power.
If you are sure your batteries are fully charged , there should be no problems using the levelers without the engine running and on shore power; but if leveling requires more than one attempt, you could start having low power problems.

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by jgsomerville

I have a different coach (Alpine Coach), so I don't know if the same rules apply.

I always level my coach (HWH 625 system) with the engine off and the key on. I don't have the engine running because I have air bags, and in the leveling process, it lets the air out. If the engine were running, it would be trying to fill them again.

At least that's how I understand it.

Welcome to iRV2; and thanks for reminding me of the reason my levelers only operate on accessory. Yes my air bags will try to inflate any time the engine is running. Time, for me, to have a second cup of coffee and wake up.

[FixerCQI]

Originally Posted by jgsomerville

I have a different coach (Alpine Coach), so I don't know if the same rules apply.

I always level my coach (HWH 625 system) with the engine off and the key on. I don't have the engine running because I have air bags, and in the leveling process, it lets the air out. If the engine were running, it would be trying to fill them again.

At least that's how I understand it.

Yes, that is the reason (I should have mentioned it) that I am trying to do the deed on shore power. My air bags inflate so fast, I can't get ahead of them with the levelers, which are hydraulic on mine.
So what was happening is, I would lower the system air pressure by pumping the air brakes to about 60psi, where the air dump switch can then take over and blow the rest off. I would (as the manual requests) start the engine and set about trying to level. So I'd maybe get it nearly level and the air suspension would lift it off the jacks. I wanted it as close to the ground as possible at the start of the leveling to give the jacks better working range. I will try it for sure next time on shore power alone. I may need the ignition key in acc. or start too I guess.

[FixerCQI]

Originally Posted by Skip426

I doubt there is anything in the circuitry, to tell the leveler controller the engine is running. Key on yes, but not engine running.
I always have shore power attached when operating my levelers, and my coach is set up so they only operate in the accessory position.

HOWEVER. If the batteries are down and you are operating the levelers on shore power, the leveling system power draw may exceed the inverter/charger capacity, tripping circuit breakers or blowing fuses.
Most chargers have a max output of 50>75amps , where depending on the alternator that your coach is equipped with, it could have double or triple that.

Note: I always hook to shore power first in any site , before leveling, to allow the surge guard to run its tests of the shore power, to make sure I don't have to move to get good power.
If you are sure your batteries are fully charged , there should be no problems using the levelers without the engine running and on shore power; but if leveling requires more than one attempt, you could start having low power problems.

With my setup I have to extend the 4 slides before the jacks go down, relying on the air bags to have leveled the coach. This uses battery power too. So I, like you, try to connect to shore power. The on board surge guard and power system monitors have a look at all things electrical and then usually decide to charge the house/chassis battery. I have seen 135a on the remote monitor, so that is up over the 50-75 you were going by. If I don't use the inverter/converter for anything else I think it should handle it. I could extend the slides and then wait for the converter to fully charge the batts before leveling too. If this works, then I suppose I could use the Generator when no shore power is available too, using the same procedure.