Community Forums

TinyLivinKim · 09-11-2016, 10:40 AM

Hi All! I am a newbie. Bought are Montana 2 months ago and we are living in it full-time to save $$$. We are in the process of buying a truck to pull this mother-load.

The problem: Re-Level (Start over) w/o a truck???

The Story:

Last week I had to re-level, as we could tell there was a slope front-2-back. So after I hit "Auto-Level" I manually raised the front, just an inch or so and verified all was level by going inside and placing the level on the stove. However, a couple days later we noticed the rear right tire was off the ground a little over an inch.

I researched online a bit and read that if wheels are off the ground, it isn't a big deal for a few days. It will just be annoying b/c of swaying. BUT if over a week, then you should re-level.

Yesterday, we decided to try and re-level. I hit "Auto-Level" and now both rear tires are 3-4 inches off the ground! I made it worse! lol

From my understanding after reading the manual, the Lippert System allows you to manual retract the front but doesn't allow you to retract the rear...and i don't want to retract all of them...

How can i fix this? Can i retract all of them w/o being hooked to a truck?? Is this a stupid question? lol My hunny said that we can't...but we are newbies so i have no idea...

mtwi · 09-11-2016, 11:02 AM

I don't know the exact system you have but with the ground control 3.0 on my Montana I can retract just the rear jacks or I can go in and retract either the front or rear manually.
How level is the site you are on? Could be as simple as starting with rear jacks retracted fully and close to level front to back then start the auto level process again.

I am new to this auto level thing, so learning as I go.

TinyLivinKim · 09-11-2016, 12:03 PM

I think I also have the 3.0 system. we have a 2014 montana - 6pt leveling system. How do you retrack just the rear?

missourijan · 09-11-2016, 02:37 PM

Uh no, you can't retract all at the same time WITHOUT being hooked up. It's not a stupid question, just a common sense one. Do you not have a manual?? Call Lippert directly and tell them what system you have and have them help you re set it

918jeeper · 09-11-2016, 04:38 PM

Not sure what system mine is but all I do is press the retract button then hit the rear button and up they go.

Randalf · 09-11-2016, 07:18 PM

I'm waiting to call Lippert tomorrow re: our 3.0 six-point system. On Friday, we got home from a 2500 mile, six state, 23 day trip with our Chapparal 336. For the last four days of our trip the auto-level refused to work. It gives an error message of "LF jack error" and requires me to do things manually while it constantly, maddeningly beeps. It still functions like normal to raise the front to disconnect from the truck, and to retract the front jacks until the trailer is reasonably level-ish. Then I push and hold "rear" to extend the rear jacks until they seem firmly in contact with the ground and start to lift the rear of the trailer slightly. To retract the rears, I push the "retract" button and watch for the little red light to come on, then the hold the "rear" button until they fully retract. To reattach to the truck, I push the "retract" button again so the little red light goes out, and then push "front" to raise it up. I guess there is no way to use the middle support jacks at all in manual mode. Our Chapparal is only 10 months old, and we've only used the 3.0 system 40 times, so I've got lots of questions for the Lippert techs!!

paz · 09-12-2016, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TinyLivinKim

...How do you retrack just the rear?

You have to put the system into manual mode.
1. Arrow down through the menu options until you come to "Manual Mode." On our system, it is right after "Auto Retract."
2. Hit "Enter."
3. Press "Retract."
4. Press "Rear."

Our Lippert 6-pt LevelUp system automatically dips the front of the 5th wheel at the start of Auto-level. This is to prevent starting at a point that is too high and ending up with wheels off the ground. If your system doesn't do that, you can do it manually before you hit "Auto Level." Do it while you're still in manual mode after raising the rear jacks as described above.

WagonMaster · 09-12-2016, 10:50 AM

If it's a new 6 point level system it's OK for the wheels to be off of the ground. The rear two on the right side are hooked together and work in tandem, the same for the two on the left side. The front operate independent of the ones on the left and right. Go to the menu and go to the manual setting then select "retract." Do not select the auto retract mode! Retract the right and then the left side. You can then use the manual mode to re-level. It would be helpful to read the manual and if you don't have it, it is on-line. Good luck.

harryc · 10-06-2016, 07:32 AM

If you level and then hit Auto Level again you are going to be higher. If I need to relevel I lower everything and do it. There were times when my wheels were floating and I wanted to put blocks under them. I raised up the high side, put in the blocks and lowered the rig. Then lowered everything before auto leveling.

CC38EL · 10-06-2016, 08:00 AM

Another method is to level manually, then reset the system to recognize that as the level point.

That info is in the manual for the leveling system.

By doing it that way, you can lower your rig to where the wheels are on the ground, level it with a level on the floor on in the frig, and then reset the leveling system to recognize your new level position.

It's worked for us that way.

Look for steps that say to 1) turn the system off 2) hit up arrow 10 times 3) hit down arrow 10 times.

I'm not sure of the specifics, so don't use my steps exactly......but those key phrases are what reset the system to recognize 'new level'.

A users manual would provide that info.

Randalf · 10-07-2016, 04:42 PM

I had a pleasant and informative phone conversation with a technician at LCI about the leveling woes that I posted about on Nov 11. I was getting an LF jack error message, and the center legs wouldn't descend all the way. He was able to talk me through resetting the system, and all is well again. He made me aware of a very important point that I have not seen in the owner's manual, or in any of the youTube videos about the LCI system. He asked how many holes were showing on the front support legs. I told him that I wasn't using blocks, and since my Dodge 2500 sits very high, I had the legs extended all the way down (14 holes showing). He then asked how far the front cylinders were extended. I told him about five inches. He advised that the front cylinders have to be extended AT LEAST six inches for the system to accurately analyze what it needs to do to level up. He said Lippert recommends that you only expose seven holes on the support legs when you are setting up, so that the hydraulic cylinders have plenty of room to move up and down. I sure can't find that advice anywhere in the owners manual!

cashmore · 10-07-2016, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randalf

I had a pleasant and informative phone conversation with a technician at LCI about the leveling woes that I posted about on Nov 11. I was getting an LF jack error message, and the center legs wouldn't descend all the way. He was able to talk me through resetting the system, and all is well again. He made me aware of a very important point that I have not seen in the owner's manual, or in any of the youTube videos about the LCI system. He asked how many holes were showing on the front support legs. I told him that I wasn't using blocks, and since my Dodge 2500 sits very high, I had the legs extended all the way down (14 holes showing). He then asked how far the front cylinders were extended. I told him about five inches. He advised that the front cylinders have to be extended AT LEAST six inches for the system to accurately analyze what it needs to do to level up. He said Lippert recommends that you only expose seven holes on the support legs when you are setting up, so that the hydraulic cylinders have plenty of room to move up and down. I sure can't find that advice anywhere in the owners manual!

Nice to hear that you received good help from a vendor! Glad you got it worked out.