Leveling question

[mom2mastiffs]

Our rig was delivered last night--very late but delivered so now I can start packing it

However, the previous owner told us to put the slides out BEFORE leveling. We couldn't find that piece of info in the manual. I noticed in an archive that a HR owner said he leveled and then put slides out. We have never really noticed at dog shows people putting slides out before leveling and just wanted some advice on this.

Also that beeping on leveling (indicating air bags are empty) will drive me nuts while hubby is leveling

We are also having a very hard time getting the green light to show that it's level-our own level says it's close. Could the indicator be broken? The rig is parked on our street which is pretty level.

Help! Thank you SO much in advance.

Karen
Monaco diplomat 38 PST

[mom2mastiffs]

Our rig was delivered last night--very late but delivered so now I can start packing it

However, the previous owner told us to put the slides out BEFORE leveling. We couldn't find that piece of info in the manual. I noticed in an archive that a HR owner said he leveled and then put slides out. We have never really noticed at dog shows people putting slides out before leveling and just wanted some advice on this.

Also that beeping on leveling (indicating air bags are empty) will drive me nuts while hubby is leveling

We are also having a very hard time getting the green light to show that it's level-our own level says it's close. Could the indicator be broken? The rig is parked on our street which is pretty level.

Help! Thank you SO much in advance.

Karen
Monaco diplomat 38 PST

[MonacoMama]

YIPPEEEEEE... It's Home!!

They also state on our DVD to put the slides out first. They give a reason for it... but I didn't care to know why just that we were supposed to.
SacsTC said that it also states to put slides out first in the manual somewhere...
(I remember thinking that we saw no one else doing it first either...but I will do as told until I ever prove it wrong!)
One thing I would do first (depending on where your slide & utility bay is) ... at least pull the electric & water hoses so you don't have to crawl underneath the slide...
Have fun this weekend!

[MtRoamer]

Hi Karen and congrats on the new coach. You chose the right brand. Now you can put the towd behind the RV instead of in front of it.
To answer your question, Monaco recommends putting the slides out before leveling the coach. The caveat is that the coach is on a fairly level spot already. Their theory is that the body and chassis are in alignment with eachother at that point and there is no stress on the chassis from the jacks being down unequally. With the Roadmaster chassis (which we all have) the air bag suspension is always trying to keep the coach level anyway. The next step after putting out the slides is to deflate the suspension prior to putting down the jacks. I may get some disagreement on this step since some folks believe the jacks should be down before letting the air out. What I have seen on the sites of the manufacturers of the jacks is that if you let the air out first then the jacks don't have to be extended as far in order to level the coach. It makes sense to me and I have actually seen folks with their front tires off the ground because they didn't let the air out at all. That's a big no no and then you need a step ladder to get into the coach. As an added note, Monaco seems to be the only manufacturer that recommends this proceedure so be careful with information from any other brand. My previous coach, a Discovery, instructed the owner to always level the coach before putting out the slides. Incidentally, the Discovery had 4 jacks instead of the 3 that most of us have. Once again, Monaco decided to go with only one jack up front to prevent un-neccesary stresses on the frame. The front jack becomes a pivot point for the rear jacks and can't twist the chassis. I hope I haven't gotten too technical on you, but it's always a good thing to know "why" you are doing something.

[AreWeThere]

Hi Karen,
Our DVD said to put slides out, dump air and then level, so while I was at the Monaco Service Center in Florida I asked and they said that is the correct order and when getting ready to leave to inflate air bags to ride height, retract jacks and then put slides in.
Hope this helps and I wish you many happy travels.

[MtRoamer]

OOPS........forgot to address the beeping noise. On our coach, the jacks will work with the ignition key turned off, which in turn silences the beeping noise from the air system. On our previous coach I always thought that the slides and jacks were such a drain on the batteries that you should always operate both with the engine running. Then I bought a Monaco and found out that the slides wouldn't even go out with the ignition switch turned on. Big light bulb went off changing my mind on the battery drain issue. So then I figured that if the slides weren't killing the batteries then the jacks shouldn't either. So I started using the jacks with the key off also. No more beeping noise during setup.
Now when it's time to leave, that's a different story. I now use the beeping noise to let the wife know that it's time for my last cup of coffee before hitting the road, and it's also time for the cat to take her last walk-about. (She REALLY hates that noise) The noise is much more tolerable from about 100' away from the coach. As an added bonus, this is a good time to go out and check that the jacks are up, the antenna's down, and all the bays and awnings are ready for travel. After a few minutes we slowly approach the vehicle, and if there are no annoying sounds emitting, we know it's safe to re-enter, pull in the slides, and hit the road.
I have also found that when letting the air out of the suspension, the coach is down about as far as it will go with 50 or 60 lbs of air still showing on the gauge. I figure that if the idea is to get the coach down lower for the jacks to work, then that's a good stopping point. It makes re-filling the air a lot quicker when it's time to leave. I certainly welcome comments from other members on this theory since I have never seen any comments about this anywhere. I also like the fact that a certain amount of air is still keeping the air bags in shape and not all creased down on themselves.
Hope this helps and works better than those silly earmuffs.

[SacsTC]

When you go through the factory tour, if you are thinking about the slides out first thing, it becomes obvious why they say to do it this way.
The coach chassis are made in one building, tested and driven to another building, and then each wheel is put on a separate dolly like device that they sit on for the rest of their trip through the plant. The bags are full of air for the entire process as they move down the line. The walls, slides, tile, etc are all installed with the chassis just as you see it when its sitting at the dealer.
The slides are installed through the metal framing while sitting on full air bags and are adjusted this way at the same time. This is why they tell us to put slides out first and in last while on full bags. Less chance of the slides jamming or going out of alignment when used the same way they are installed.

[ronboc]

Congrats on the new 'baby'. I'm sure you're going to love it.


Yes, there is a defined way to extend/retract the slides. I thought it was also listed in the manual, but maybe not. These folks speak the factory-truth... slides then jacks.

Ron

[Robin_M]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AreWeThere:
Our DVD said to put slides out, dump air and then level, ...and when getting ready to leave to inflate air bags to ride height, retract jacks and then put slides in.
<span class="ev_code_BROWN">Me, DW, Daughter 6yr., Son 3 yr.</span> </div></BLOCKQUOTE>AreWeThere,

That is exactly right. It's not just "slides and then jacks". The slides should always be moved in and out with the air bags at full ride hight. So, it's "Slides, dump air, jacks", and then "Fill air bags, jacks, then slides" when you're ready to break camp.

That's especially important with are full wall slide.

<span class="ev_code_RED">Hey, Monaco Mama, lookie here... another SFT</span>

[MonacoMama]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">That's especially important with are full wall slide.

Hey, Monaco Mama, lookie here... another SFT </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
LOL...Robin!...I thought the same thing when I read the post! I'm about ready to take 'roll call'!!

[bsavage]

I have to pipe in here, because when we went from the 2001 Beaver Marquis to the 2006 Marquis, I was surprised to read in the manual that our process in the new coach was reversed, level first, then slides. However, we have two options for leveling, one with the automatic jacks, and one that is computerized auto air leveling. So far, we have only used the air leveling, and that one says level, then slides.

So, my response to your question is: re-check the manual, and if it is not clear, then call Monaco and write down their directions. I don't think every leveling system on all Monaco coaches are the same, so I think it is important to check, IMHO.

Anywhoooooo, congratualtions on the new Coach!!! How exciting!

Brenda

[BIGRED1]

I follow the same procedure MtRoamer described(slides out/in at ride height) and have never had any problems with my slides not moving out and back in smoothly. No binding or strange noises what so ever. I have the manual 3-point hydraulic jacks on my coach, not the automatic air leveling version.

[mountainkowboy]

Our DVD states slide out then level also, We have auto-levelers and they cant always level the coach in all situations, so I will do a test level to see if it will first. Then I drop the coach and extend the slides and level again.