Community Forums

Samsara58 · 06-25-2018, 08:12 AM

I have a Class C Jayco 29. When I put my levelers down my front tires come off ground is this ok for one night?

Mr_D · 06-25-2018, 08:23 AM

No, rear tires should never be off the ground as your parking brake is there. Some will say the fronts should also not be off the ground but I did it for 13vyears with our '02 Dutch Star on Spartan chassis for 6 months at a time. But I had contacted the various manufacturers before doing it.

Pepper2 · 06-25-2018, 08:32 AM

I've seen a lot of MH's, A & C with the front tires off the ground. Personally, I would opt for a more level site.

twinboat · 06-25-2018, 08:35 AM

Lifting you tires with the levelers isn't a problem, just don't go under it with them holding it..

As far as the parking brakes, you probably have a driveshaft brake so even if one tire is firmly planted on the ground, if the other is almost lifted, the brakes will have no effect.

Beside, the 4 levelers are bearing down on the ground with probably over 50% of the RV weight. They don't have wheels, so nothing is going to roll.

Do what makes you comfortable.

Samsara58 · 06-25-2018, 10:28 AM

Ok good input. I called the park maintenance guy and he’s going to bring some scrap wood!

CaptBill · 06-25-2018, 10:40 AM

With wheels off the ground, not only is there the vertical pressure on the extended jack rams, but there is also lateral (sideways) pressure on them. They can, and will, bend ever so slightly, but enough to cause jacks to not retract, and need a long 2x4 to get them back up.

When I bought my motorhome, it was a year old & previously owned. I had the dealer go through all the systems with me before we agreed to buy. When they went to retract the jacks, the left front would not retract. The dealer's mechanic needed a very long pair of 2x4's, and some serious weight on them to get that jack up. I was in Iowa at the time, so I made an offer on the RV minus some discount for the jack problem. I left the dealer on a Monday morning, and drove right to HWH, in Moscow, Iowa.

They brought the coach in their shop, and diagnosed a slightly bent LF jack, which they replpaced. They told me that this is exactly how a jack could have bent, bot not enough to see. The also suggested that even if I do not need to raise wheels off the ground, if I place some blocks on the ground under the jack pads, then level, the jacks don't have to come down so far, and that leaves more of the piston inside the cylinder, making any lateral pressure less on the pistons. I've been doing that ever since.

THenne1713 · 06-25-2018, 11:05 PM

You should own and use wheels chocks for the rear, but always easier/ better to jack the front vs rear

WaltW · 06-26-2018, 10:44 AM

I try to avoid raising any wheel off the ground. I have generally found that by manually leveling I can avoid this situation... site permitting.

Bigd9 · 06-26-2018, 11:04 AM

Since we like to camp at places that are less commercial, the sites can be "level challenged". We travel with a selection of lumber so we can level the coach by placing the wood under the wheels then fine tune the level with the stabilizer jacks.

The white powder is baby powder to keep the boards from sticking. THe ones with handles we use for the stabilizers. Easy to place them under the legs and retrieve them.

SarahW · 06-26-2018, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Since we like to camp at places that are less commercial, the sites can be "level challenged". We travel with a selection of lumber so we can level the coach by placing the wood under the wheels then fine tune the level with the stabilizer jacks.

The white powder is baby powder to keep the boards from sticking. THe ones with handles we use for the stabilizers. Easy to place them under the legs and retrieve them.

Nice, but not a very practical answer for a Class C.

Bigd9 · 06-26-2018, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

Nice, but not a very practical answer for a Class C.

Why is that? What am I missing?

I did a similar thing when we used to travel with our travel trailer many moons ago.

SarahW · 06-26-2018, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Why is that? What am I missing?

I did a similar thing when we used to travel with our travel trailer many moons ago.

Mainly storage limitations and OCCC.

JONWisconsin · 06-26-2018, 07:28 PM

Samsara, I have that experience once in a while. I carry with me plastic level blocks. When I have that experience, I tried to determine how many blocks are needed under the tires. I put the blocks together, retract the leveling jacks, and put the blocks just in front of the tires, and drive the unit over the blocks, and then hit the leveling button again. I get it level and the tires over the blocks. No problem. Good for the night. It works all the time on campgrounds that are not leveled.

NYBobbo · 06-26-2018, 08:53 PM

I haven't had a problem with my HWH and was told by them it's not a problem to lift the wheels off the ground... If you extend them all the way there may be some fluid seeping past the seals, if any is should be minor. If you lift the rear you really need to chuck the fronts very well since there is no parking brakes to the fronts.

As a rule I don't lift both of the rears off the ground and really avoid lifting either of them.

If that's the case you are better off finding a better place as previously stated.