HWH Hydraulic Jacks

[Luv2journey]

Hello Fellow Travelers

Just got the word back from my dealer on my two rear jacks.... Looks like they are both bent and need to be replaced. The jacks are HWH product code AP19670. They are charging me close to $550 each plus labor to install. Anyone know of a place we can install these cheaper? I am in Ontario with a 13% tax and do not mind doing the work in the US where things are much cheaper. We are planning to travel to the Grand Canyon and Florida in the next few months.

[jfran304]

Check with any hydraulic shop in your area. Anytime the sign says RV Dealer the price goes up.

Jon

[Gary D]

Dennis

I would call HWH and check on pricing. I would also shop around for installation costs from other dealers if you don't want to do it yourself.

If you call HWH I would ask them what they would charge to do the complete job.

I woul also question whether the jacks are both bent or just need overhauling.

Good luck.

Gary

[Luv2journey]

Thanks Gary I will do just that. Do you have the HWH phone number?

[Gary D]

1-800-321-3494 or 563-724-3396.

[SeattlePirat]

Originally Posted by Luv2journey

Hello Fellow Travelers

Just got the word back from my dealer on my two rear jacks.... Looks like they are both bent and need to be replaced. The jacks are HWH product code AP19670. They are charging me close to $550 each plus labor to install. Anyone know of a place we can install these cheaper? I am in Ontario with a 13% tax and do not mind doing the work in the US where things are much cheaper. We are planning to travel to the Grand Canyon and Florida in the next few months.

Call the factory seems to me the best idea, get a feel for their charge excluding labor of course.

[Ticat900]

Originally Posted by jfran304

Check with any hydraulic shop in your area. Anytime the sign says RV Dealer the price goes up.

Jon

HWH wont sell to anyone not in their dealer network

[Manuel B]

What part is bent ?, that part number is for an entire unit, http://www.hwh-europe.com/download/mr265171.pdf
I can't see why they woud need to replace everythingwhy can't only the parts needed be replaced ?, I would try another repair shop, HWH was very helpful and sent me internal diagrams for my very old 4 handle control unit on a PDF that is not even listed on their site anymore, got a photo ?,

[jauguston]

I just looked up your jack number and it is the same jack as my rears. It is hard to believe they could be bent. I would suggest you locate a hydraulic repair shop in your area and have them look at them. Ask them if they have experience working on HWH jacks as some shops don't know how to get them apart. Personal experience here. Mine would not retract properly when we bought the coach. I removed them myself it is not hard if you are mechanically inclined. The shop charged me $200.00 each to fix them. There are two phenolic bushings inside the jack and the hydraulic fluid makes them swell up. The shop took a slight cut with their lathe on the bushings to loosen them up and they work fine now after 3 years of use.

Jim

[EngineerMike]

I've bought parts (solenoid valves & o-ring kits) direct from HWH. Can't see why jacks would be different.

+1 on hydraulics shops. Find one that does their own on-site work or has a truck to come to you. Small local shops will be more flexible than franchises, although I've heard a number of great things about www.pirtekusa.com/service. Replacing a jack is simple work, need h.d. jack stands for safety, and a h.d. jack if you can't use the rear jacks to raise the coach anymore.

+1 on HWH's shop in Moscow, Iowa (google for directions). They can do the whole thing turn key and their shop rate is good and they know their own parts & processes better than anybody. If you're headed to the lower part of the States or this is anywhere near reasonable for travel, I'd make it the primary objective.

Somebody said couldn't imagine one of these jacks bent. It happens- try to take off w/jacks down & give engine a good rev in gear; there's no dummy override for that tho you may have an alarm buzzing in some rigs. Mighta been a prior owner.

[jauguston]

When I removed my jacks I just drove the tires up on 6" blocking. That gave me enough room to work on them. There is one hose fitting and a two wire plug on top. There are plates near the bottom with two 3/8" bolts in each. The bolts need to be loosened but don't have to be removed. Separate the bolted plates and the jack will drop down between them. Getting the springs off is a PITA but there are several ways to do it.

Jim

[EngineerMike]

For dealing w/springs, extend jack to create space in spring windings. Insert shims of whatever you've got. Aluminum squares, smashed flat beer cans, 1/8" hobby plywood, etc. If you slide 1.5" of shimstock into the spaces, you've got a spring that is 1.5" longer. Maybe you need 2", but so what, let the jack do the work. Now retract the jack & the spring stays elongated because of the shims. Unclip from the base plate, should be easy. Perform whatever other maintenance, change jack, whatever. Reassemble, extend jack, pull shims, retract, you're back in business. And you didn't need to use any four letter words.

Check out this thread w/the spring process, and this one for DIY jack replacement

[jauguston]

Mikes plan will work well IF your jacks will go up and down. One addition to his good explanation. After you get the shims in the springs you will need to push the jack up as the spring will no longer pull it all the way up. That will give you the slack you need to disconnect the spring. A 2X4 lever will do it.

Jim

[Manuel B]

HWH has a list of Master Service Centers around the country, HWH Master Service Centers
I'm still puzzled on how a 12,000 lbs capacity jack could be bent, if someone drove with them down I could maybe see the mounting plates getting tweaked, but not the whole thing, can you tell us what your jacks do, or don't do ?,