Jacks won't lower in 2000 National Tradewinds 7370

[dspinella]

Hello, my first post on here. We have a 2000 National Tradewinds 7370 diesel that we just got and we cannot figure out how to get our jacks down or if there is an issue with them. its parked on a slant in driveway so we need to level it asap. When we try to lower the jacks the light comes on then goes off. We dont have a manual to look it up and we were told by the rv sales person it had a 3.000.00 maintenance checkup before we bought it, but I doubt that...as we were driving it home it said "low water" which is another thing we are not sure how to fix or look up...is it engine water or low tank water??? Any help appreciated.

[Skip426]

Welcome to iRV2.

Sorry your first post is about problems .

I have to ask if you have a manufacturer's name for your coach's leveling system . HWH ? Power Gear ? Any name on the control pad?

The " Low Water " could that have been a " Low Coolant " warning on the dash ?
Fresh water tank in the coach wouldn't have a warning... or I should say I've never heard of one.

[dspinella]

I will have to have my husband check on the name of the leveling system this weekend. We are pretty new to rv ownership, we wanted to try to figure it all out ourselves and save some money by not paying an rv repair shop...once I have the info. you requested I will post it on here, thanks for the help.

[Richard S.]

Make sure you have the HOUSE battery switch on. The POWERGEAR levelers require power from the house and chassis batterys to opperate. Transmission in park, parking brake on then try to lower jacks. Front jacks first, about 6 inches then the rear unless you have the automatic system.

[dspinella]

Does the rig have to be running or off?

[dspinella]

Originally Posted by Skip426

Welcome to iRV2.

Sorry your first post is about problems .

I have to ask if you have a manufacturer's name for your coach's leveling system . HWH ? Power Gear ? Any name on the control pad?

The " Low Water " could that have been a " Low Coolant " warning on the dash ?
Fresh water tank in the coach wouldn't have a warning... or I should say I've never heard of one.

Hi Skip, so by low coolant, do you mean antifreeze? Husband is gone til this weekend so, I am trouble shooting, and as you can tell I am not well versed on things of this sort...Also, where does the coolant go in a diesel rig?

[Richard S.]

When lowering jack it is best to have engine running.

Link to POWERGEAR manual download https://www.irv2.com/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=37

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by dspinella

Hi Skip, so by low coolant, do you mean antifreeze? Husband is gone till this weekend so, I am trouble shooting, and as you can tell I am not well versed on things of this sort...Also, where does the coolant go in a diesel rig?

Yes ; engine anti-freeze , and when your husband gets home please determine, if the coach has a rear radiator ( which is what I suspect ) as opposed to a side rad , and confirm the chassis manufacturer . ( I'm thinking Freightliner ) there should be a logo on the horn button ; center of the steering wheel .
There'll be a radiator cap , similar to a car , and perhaps a surge tank or overflow bottle . I'll see if I can dig up pictures.

Leveler operation will depend on the system manufacturer ; my HWH system the ignition key must be in the accessory position in order to use the levelers.

Does the dash board gauge lay out look like the picture below?

[BOOZE TRAVEL]

On our '02 you need key on and the salesman switch by the door on for jacks to work. The engine can be running or not but the parking brake must be on.
We have a Spartan chassis under our Tradewinds 7370.

[Thewellz]

Dont worry too much about the the low water alarm it most likely just needs a top up of coolant to cover the sensor, provided no there's no obvious leaks in the system. On my 2001 Tradewinds the power gear Jack's work when the parking brake is applied and the engine is running. I believe there is a safety switch connected to the parking brake that can disable the system, could be something to check out. National made a good quality coach overall, congrats on your purchase!

[Orazio]

Don't know if you ever fixed the leveler issue yet. If not, the problem is probably a ground wire. Lite comes on, then you push any button, lite goes off, jacks do nothing. On the driver side wall under the dash there is a white 3x5 control box. when looking straight at it there are 3 multi wire connectors plugged into it. the connector on the left side has multi-colored wires. the closest wire to the floor is black with a white stripe. Ground that wire.

[10EC]

my 2000 freightliner , ign switch in on postion, switch at the door has to be on. press the power button on the controll panel, should give a green light. always get the front jacks down first and the front tires up a little.
on the drivers side, first bay behind tire is where the pump is, there is a hidden fuse in a rubber cover on near top of the pump. the round tank is the jack fluid resorive. it has a fill plug about 1" or so. with jacks up the fluid should be at overflow level. there is 4 small screws that hold the tank to the control valve, hard to get to and seem to stay loose. i took one out and went to lowes and matched with a allen head bolt that is a lot stronger and will keep the tank held tight. there is a grease fitting on the bottom of the jack cyls that probally need a shot of grease.

if you raise the back up first with the front on the ground on a slope, very bad things will start to happen.
hope this helps

[dspinella]

So the on switch lights up, however when we touch the lower jacks it all goes off? We have the engine running, the power on at the door, any ideas what can be the issue? Thanks.

[BOOZE TRAVEL]

If the parking break is also on then I would check the ground as mentioned previously.
Make sure the front Jack's have lifted the front of the coach at least couple of inches before lowering the rear jacks.
When they are fully up the tank should be filled to the top with ATF behind the pipe plug on the tank.