Community Forums

jimbo2013 · 12-16-2013, 04:17 AM

If adjusting ride height and it accidentally dropped how far does it drop down?

That is what I assume one might need in ramp height.

Also if you add a front bumper stop on those ramps they would be perfect.

Lued · 12-16-2013, 06:28 AM

I adjusted ride height on mine, what I did was set the MH jacks down within a inch of the ground, make sure your MH is level, and know your ride height required, loosen your adjuster and twist it up or down, you will hear air coming out or air coming into the tank, it doesn't move that fast. Good luck

grandpatime · 12-16-2013, 07:11 AM

If you need to adjust the ride height there is a good chance that your wheel alignment will change . The first check a good alignment shop does is set the ride height which affects caster .If you haven't had alignment done just take the coach to a good alignment shop and let them do the job ...starting with the ride height !

ScottRussell · 12-16-2013, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandpatime

If you need to adjust the ride height there is a good chance that your wheel alignment will change . The first check a good alignment shop does is set the ride height which affects caster .If you haven't had alignment done just take the coach to a good alignment shop and let them do the job ...starting with the ride height !

That's probably the best and simplest answer yet

The rear is the area where ride height is suspect, rather than the front. However, with the coach being new (to us) and the mileage on the coach being unknown, an alignment is probably a good idea anyway. It has a very nice set of Michelin tires on it, and preserving them would be worth the investment in an alignment. The ride height thing would simply kill 2 birds with one stone. Good call!

ScottRussell · 12-16-2013, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnRR

Is there a secret to viewing the pictures? The index page comes up for a second or two showing the albums then the page goes blank.

John, I'm sorry for the confusion. I know that site makes it a little strange to figure out. If you click on the album you want to see, it will change screens with the cover photo enlarged. If you look to the right of it, there will be an advertisement at the upper right, and just below the ad, there will be a row of page numbers. If you click any one of those numbers, the corresponding 12 thumbnails for each page will display under the row of page numbers. From there, simply click the thumbnail of the picture you would like to view and it will take the place of the larger image at the left.

I have no idea why it works that way. When I first began using that site to host my pictures many years ago, I never understood why, when you first open an album, it only shows page numbers to the right, but does NOT show the thumbnails. Very annoying, but it's free and keeps the garbage you have to deal with on photo bucket to minimum.

If it still gives you trouble, I can take a few screen shots with Snag-it and post them for easier instruction. Just let me know and I'm happy to help.

ScottRussell · 12-16-2013, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walter5555

I don't think we could give you any information that you and your frinds don't already know about.

Just my thought.

I know next to nothing about RV's, which is why I'm here .. trying to learn. I do have some mechanical experience and knowledge, but obviously RV's are not cars or race cars. I'm just a humble guy wanting to learn from others who have the benefit of experience. If I came across as a "know it all", that wasn't my intent. I thought it might be helpful to share a bit about myself so those interested in helping me learn, know a little more about the knowledge I already have, rather than leaving them to assume my knowledge of mechanical things is limited. My apologies if you were offended.

KJINTF · 12-16-2013, 09:02 AM

My solution gives me an additional 8" of space / height
Clean heated shop makes the work comfortable
Too bad it does not fit on the hoist

Muncie_6spd · 12-16-2013, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottRussell

If I do go this route, I'll have 6 of them. I want to be sure to have all six tires equally supported. The weight of the coach is really frightening to me, so I want to be sure that I'm not trying to support the weight of it with only 4 of the 6 tires. I will also have at least 4 sets of chocks in place once I drive it up onto them, as well as putting the leveling jacks down as a precaution (though I don't think they will reach the ground if the ramps are 8" tall, but I honestly don't know that yet).

Thanks for chiming in. It's comforting to know others have done the same thing and it served the purpose safely.

Scott, since I don't have air ride I don't need it level when working on it and I only raise one end at a time; I use all four of the ramps when working on the rear of the coach and I always chock the wheels both directions that are still on the ground.

Mike

ScottRussell · 12-16-2013, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJINTF

My solution gives me an additional 8" of space / height
Clean heated shop makes the work comfortable
Too bad it does not fit on the hoist

I have no idea the weight of your RV, but as much as love the idea of being able to roll the unit around, I just don't have enough faith in caster assemblies to feel safe getting under it. I bet it makes life really easy moving it around though. Nice looking shop BTW.

ScottRussell · 12-16-2013, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muncie_6spd

Scott, since I don't have air ride I don't need it level when working on it and I only raise one end at a time; I use all four of the ramps when working on the rear of the coach and I always chock the wheels both directions that are still on the ground.

Mike

Thanks for the clarification Mike.

KJINTF · 12-16-2013, 09:41 AM

Scott

It's a small one at 15,275lbs - the stakes aka casters are rated at 2,000lb each with four of them used on each of the four custom made 5/16" steel cradles. The system is designed to handle 4x greater weight than they will ever see. The tires fit snug in the cradles wide cradles for the duals and narrow for the singles.

Smooth concrete makes moving it very easy - a single person job.

ScottRussell · 12-16-2013, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJINTF

Scott

It's a small one at 15,275lbs - the stakes aka casters are rated at 2,000lb each with four of them used on each of the four custom made 5/16" steel cradles. The system is designed to handle 4x greater weight than they will ever see. The tires fit snug in the cradles wide cradles for the duals and narrow for the singles.

Smooth concrete makes moving it very easy - a single person job.

NICE! Caster cradles were a great invention

Mr.Geritol · 12-16-2013, 10:13 AM

This depends on what surface you are working on. Jour levelers should not be used for working under the vehicle. They can lift them in many cases but are not sfae to work under. I use jack stands with boards underneith them for support on the ground. If you are on concrete you do not need the boards. I do not find the ten ton stands to be that heavy but others might. Hydraulic jacks are also not recomended with out jack stands.

Borderbuster · 12-16-2013, 11:22 AM

browsing the other day and saw this.
Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys: Service Bay 45: Wet Bay Floor Replacement
check out the third pic for the ramp. Looks like if you had 4 of these you could lift the whole coach about 10 inches.

This will be the route I am going to take if I have to crawl under our motorhome for any reason. Although I may drive up the rear ramps and then use the front jacks to lift the front and place blocks under front wheels.

That being said:

Several years ago a professional mechanic in our town was crushed and killed by a motorhome that he was working on. This was while doing routine maintenance that he had done many times before. Although the details weren't made public, rumor was the motorhome rolled or fell off the jack stands.