jacks V.S. Slides

[hackman]

OK, my education must continue. We have a new to us 2004 38' Diplomat. I read in the manual that to operate the slides I have my air bags full and put out the slides BEFORE I level the unit.

Retracting slides, it's the same in reverse, i.e. retract the jacks before I retract the slides.

I know I'm a bit of a neophyte around RVs, but I've worked around heavy equipment my whole life. If the rig is not level it would be logically more difficult for the slides to operate. Of course before I raise the jacks I should dump the air. Perhaps that plays into the equation.

Can someone explain the logic here?

[RickO]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I'm with you on the reasoning to level then extend slides. In fact, that's how Winnie spells it out. I've read here before that some mfgs suggest otherwise and have never understood the reasoning. We're on the road now and the past two spots we've had have been really a challenge to get level. I can't imagine trying to extend my 16' slide "uphill" on such an extreme slope.

I'll be interested in the replies you get here.

Rick

[deSanford]

There is lots of treads on leveling a Monaco aka Navistar RV. deSanford

[azpete]

if you are using jacks, its always best to level first. most manufacturers fowwow that reasoning. if you have air bags, and are going to level using he air bags, then most manufacturers will tell you to extend the rooms first.
the reason for this difference is that most coaches with air bags dont have jacks, some do, including bluebird, but most dont. they are steel spring coaches. the frame can be wracked, and the hole the room comes out of is not square.this causes the seals to drag. a jack leveled coach will square up the room opening before extending the room.
a coach with airbags, normally will not have a room opening that far out of square, because the ride height control valves keep the coach reasonably level.
if the room is extended before air leveling, it will not have to be releveled. the weight of the room will throw the coach out of level if extended last.
if in doubt, read the operators manual. different manufacturers have thier own way of leveling.
what am telling you is how i as a hwh technical sales/service rep do it.

[Twomed]

Monaco says slides in/out with full air because when they build the coach and insert the slide boxes for install and adjustment they air up the chassis. SOOO...that is where the slides work best in/out, the same way they were installed at the factory.

That's the only constant measurement that they can predict/control. Everything else, jacks up/down, unlevel sites, etc. could be different every single time you operate the slides.

Welcome to the Family.

[Russ T Nut]

Ok, by the posts here I think I've figured out why my owners manual (2011 Monoco Monarch) and the jack supplier (Lipert) have different instruction as which does what first. The Monoco manual says to deploy the slide first and then jacks. The Lipert instructions are opposite. So my best guess is that there are different operating instructions for coachs with air bags and without.
My coach is without air bags, so the Lipert instructions apply to me as it always made sense that the frame needed to be level so the opening for the slide was not tweaked. The air bag system must be a whole different ball game. Monoco's owners manual must have listed the instructions for the air bag coachs and the proof reader didn't catch the mistake.
Until someone tells me different, I'll use the level first slide second.
Just my thoughts.
Russ

[deSanford]

Russ you have leaf springs? deSanford

[Russ T Nut]

Originally Posted by deSanford

Russ you have leaf springs? deSanford

deSanford
Yes my rig is equipped with leaf springs. Being new to RV'ing but having some mechanical knowledge I always thought it was strange that the owners manual said to put the slide out first (full wall slide).
About 6 months into ownership I lost all hydraulic function and had to retract the jacks and slide manually. Being under warranty I had a service center do the repair work. 6 months later (out of warranty) it happened again, so I went online and printed out all the information on the Lipert system used on my rig, this is where I found that their recommendation was to lower the jacks first.
Side note : I had received a recall notice on the Lipert system after the first repair, so my thinking was that the recall work had already been done prior to the 2nd failure. I contacted both Monoco and Lipert and they determined that the recall work had not been done and repaired my rig at no cost to me.
Thanks Monoco and Lipert.
Sorry,long answer to a short question.
Russ

[deSanford]

You should have NO more problems with your slides or leveling with jacks down first. deSanford

[hackman]

Campground Setup

Rob seems to have thought this through, at least for the dip.

[zmotorsports]

Originally Posted by Twomed

Monaco says slides in/out with full air because when they build the coach and insert the slide boxes for install and adjustment they air up the chassis. SOOO...that is where the slides work best in/out, the same way they were installed at the factory.

That's the only constant measurement that they can predict/control. Everything else, jacks up/down, unlevel sites, etc. could be different every single time you operate the slides.

Welcome to the Family.

^^^This is correct.

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, mostly by those who are unfamiliar with Monacos. Although most manufacturers suggest leveling first before deploying slides, Monaco IS the opposite. This is due to the manufacturing process. Most manufacturers have their chassis on a dolly as they move down the assembly line which holds the chassis level in relation to inserting the slide. Monaco runs their chassis down the assembly line with the air suspension at ride height. This is why they recommend in their owners manuals that the slides should be deployed and retracted while the coach is at ride height.

Procedure should be to pull into campsite with coach at full ride height, extend slides then level. When departing the campground, start coach to fill air system and restore the coach to ride height. Shut off engine, retract the slides then start engine and depart.

Mike.