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12-22-2012, 04:18 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 18
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Hydraulic jack suddenly fully extends!
4:00 a.m. Asleep. Loud noise under the bed. Rush outside. Rear left hydraulic jack has fully extended into soft dirt by itself! The only other jack down is front left. No systems are on, it just let go, looks like with some force...It's now 4:15 a.m. I'm not going back to sleep. Any ideas, or is it the beginning of the Mayan end of the world for my 1997 Rexhall Aerbus??
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12-22-2012, 05:18 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bradenton, Fl.
Posts: 725
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Was the noise a brief burst such as the jack hitting the ground or a longer sound like an electrical fault engaging the pump? Also, whe was the LF down?
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Ray G.
ASE Master Med-Heavy Trucks
RVIA Certified
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12-22-2012, 06:48 AM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 18
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It was a quick sound - thump! LF was the only one extended to keep the rig level. Other three were up.
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12-22-2012, 07:15 AM
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#4
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 18
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Daylight - apparently one of the springs suddenly broke. I assume that with only one spring to hold the jack up instead of two, it would come crashing down?
__________________
1997 Rexhall 36 Aerbus. Cummins 8.3L w/Banks
2000 Miata dinghy.
Retired professional sailing captain (and author) & first mate (and artist).
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12-22-2012, 09:12 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 268
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Wow, glad it happened while you were sleeping and not while driving down the road, may have lost more than a little sleep. That would be too scary. Hope you are able to get it back up and fixed soon.
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Dan and Kathryn DeBruin plus dogs
2005 Newmar Dutchstar 4009
Victor NY
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12-22-2012, 09:24 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Phx, Arid~zona
Posts: 11,106
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If you can't find the right one. Take another one off, go to Ace or HD and get 1-2-3 that match the strength of the good one and daisy chain them together. Use a long screwdriver to put them on.
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12-22-2012, 10:02 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Vintage RV Owners Club Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 605
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Might think about replacing ALL of the springs. When one of mine broke due to fatigue, I just replaced the ones on that jack. The others springs soon began failing.
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Steve, Mary & Buddy our 2-year-old Chihuahua mix
1995 36' HR Endeavor, 460 w/Banks, 2005 PT Cruiser
Fulltimers originally from Michigan, hanging out in Oregon for a spell.
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12-22-2012, 04:28 PM
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#8
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 18
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Thanks...
Thanks for all your suggestions...The jack raised up under hydraulic power. Right now it's retracted with some 4 X 4's under it in case it decides to wake us up again tonight! I'll order new springs from HWH on Monday. Hopefully it will be a relatively easy installation. If not, I'll be back on the forum! It's good to know there are such helpful folks out there. Happy Holidays to all of you...
Cap'n Jon
__________________
1997 Rexhall 36 Aerbus. Cummins 8.3L w/Banks
2000 Miata dinghy.
Retired professional sailing captain (and author) & first mate (and artist).
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12-22-2012, 06:30 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,460
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Why would a retracted jack be pressurized? They pressurize to extend and de-pressurize to retract. Anything else would no be very safe - not to mention pretty hard to maintain pressure. Next question - even if it was, the return springs just don't exert a lot of force - so as soon as the leg extended to a few inches, there'd be no pressure to move it further.
Something else must be afoot - shorted switch, cat walking on switch panel, rodent chewed wires........
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12-22-2012, 06:40 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Vintage RV Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner Heartland RV Club
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Fairhope, AL / Reedley, CA
Posts: 483
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just my personal opintion but you should use all the jacks on the ground
I let all mine touch the ground then go about leveling, the system will depressure jacks as needed to help lessen frame twist
If its a kick down jack they will fall if a spring breaks, I do not think the stright down ones will fall if the a spring breaks
__________________
Good Sam Charter Lifetime Member 269454, FMCA 239141
2019 Heartland Mallard IDM33 Bumper Pull
1988 Mallard 27SB Motorhome P30 454/TH475/Banks Power
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12-22-2012, 06:57 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Auburn, CA, Havasu, AZ & Mulege, BCS
Posts: 5,385
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__________________
Baja-tested '08 2-slide 36'
Alpine: The Ultimate DIY'er Project
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12-22-2012, 07:50 PM
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#12
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 18
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Thanks some more...
I appreciate the continuing suggestions. At this point, I think there may be another reason it came down. As soon as I get the new springs on and can secure the jack up, I will head to my local, friendly, capable RV dealer to see if it is more than just the spring. I also appreciate the suggestion to deploy all four levelers, even if they are not all needed for leveling...After many years as a professional sailing captain and Vessel Assist captain, if you have any boaty questions, I'll be glad to share my knowledge! This is my first "land yacht" and I've only had it four weeks...
__________________
1997 Rexhall 36 Aerbus. Cummins 8.3L w/Banks
2000 Miata dinghy.
Retired professional sailing captain (and author) & first mate (and artist).
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12-23-2012, 12:42 PM
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#13
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 18
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The Saga Continues...
If anyone is still following this...This morning re-positioned the rig slightly.
The LF jack retracted fine, the LR (the one with the broken spring) needed some help with a lever to get it the last few inches. Moved the rig, hit the down pad on the HWH panel and nothing happened except an audible click. None of the jacks go down now! The slide works. Any suggestions...
__________________
1997 Rexhall 36 Aerbus. Cummins 8.3L w/Banks
2000 Miata dinghy.
Retired professional sailing captain (and author) & first mate (and artist).
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12-23-2012, 04:15 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Damon Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,024
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You have bigger issues, Since hydralic fluid is a "non compressable" if the jacks were down and the spring broke, the jack might go down perhaps a quarter inch, if that, likely less.
UNLESS YOU HAVE A SERIOUS AIR IN THE LINE PROBLEM
Even then I'd not expect it to go down far. Less something seriously softened the dirt below it.
__________________
Home is where I park it!
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