Hydraulic Leveler Question

[rubydo]

Hi. Absolutely new to the whole RV scene, but long story short my elderly dad bought an 85 Georgie Boy 33' MH, that needed some things worked on before it became road worthy. He has a hydraulic leveling system that I have no idea how to work. It looks like the previous owner had bungy the jacks up, but I found new 6" heavy springs in one of the compartments. Are the springs meant to raise the leveling jacks back to their original, non-extended position? If so, are the jacks supposed to flip sideways when not in use and retracted, but flip down and straigten when operated? The control panel does turn on, but I did not want to operate unless I knew what to do. Appreciate any help.

[Kjlunda]

Welcome to the forum! Your assumptions are correct with that age system. I can't remember exactly how it works, however, there are levers to run the jacks up or down. They do "fold up" when retracted.

[EngineerMike]

Ruby- mys suspicion is they are swing-up jacks, as you probably had some clue about the design in order to suggest that. There are straight acting, and swing up types.
PowerGear and HWH are two brands that are common for jacks on motorhomes. Check the actuator panel to see if you can find the mfgr name and post that. HWH has files on their website for support of older systems, don't know about PowerGear. There may also be another brand possible. Once you know the brand, someone here can fill you in on the operation and where to get more info.

Also- most hydraulic leveling jacks are pressure-down, spring-return. They require a hydraulic valve to open up w/pump operating for power-down, and pump off for spring-return.

[Tha_Rooster]

You are correct I called them kick down jacks most came with joy stick controls. You would work front, back or either side. To activate it must be in park and emergency brake set. The old systems will pick up the back tires if you are not careful which could let it roll.

[rubydo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster You are correct I called them kick down jacks most came with joy stick controls. You would work front, back or either side. To activate it must be in park and emergency brake set. The old systems will pick up the back tires if you are not careful which could let it roll.

Thanks for the info. I have a dumb question though. Why do the old style allow the ability to lift the wheels off the ground? It may seem obvious, to change a tire but I also don't want to presume it would be safe to do this. If you have any guidance, please let me know. I appreciate your help.

[AFChap]

Quote:

The old systems will pick up the back tires if you are not careful

Some systems will, some won't ...nothing to do with being "old" or "new" in my experience' but with system strength, and with terrain and vehicle position. There are some types of heavy equipment that lift the vehicle tires off the ground with hydraulic jacks to stabilize the equipment before it is used. If the system is solid, the vehicle should not move. But such equipment does sometimes turn over! ...and if the ground is noticeably sloped the RV could move downhill if unbalanced. I have sometimes leveled my motor home with one or both front wheels off the ground, but I never allow the rear wheels to lift off ...not even one side.

And of course it is NEVER a good idea to use any hydraulic jack/leveler/etc to hold a vehicle up while someone is under it without also using a jack stand of some sort.

[Tha_Rooster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubydo Thanks for the info. I have a dumb question though. Why do the old style allow the ability to lift the wheels off the ground? It may seem obvious, to change a tire but I also don't want to presume it would be safe to do this. If you have any guidance, please let me know. I appreciate your help.

I have personal experience with this. I brought home my new to me 1995 suncruiser back it down the drive way with out hitting anything. I used my joy stick and got her all level then I got out to look at my baby and there she went. Scared the sh!! Out of me, no harm to the jacks they just kicked over. So the moral to the story no matter what jacks you have don't raise the rear off the ground.