Community Forums

burton822 · 10-04-2018, 10:29 AM

Getting ready to pull out and leveling jacks will not go up. The back ones, the front was no problem. Have a 2003 windsport. Have called roadside services, but wondering if anyone has any ideal how to fix. Thanks.

Gary RVRoamer · 10-04-2018, 11:00 AM

Need to know the make & model of the jack system to be sure, but I'm guessing a Windsport has a hydraulic down, spring return system. If so, raising the jack means simply opening the hydraulic valve to each jack so that the spring at the jack can pull it up. It sounds as if the valves didn't open for your rear jacks. Could be the valves themselves, but unusual that two would fail simultaneously. More like the controller did not signal the rears, or a wire is broken. Usually the valves are mounted right where the hydraulic tubes enter the fluid reservoir.

Some systems have a way to manually open the valves, but in an emergency you can always disconnect a line and simply dump the fluid to let the spring go to work. You won't lose much fluid.

keger · 10-04-2018, 01:36 PM

I have a 2008 windsport and the hydraulic leveling jack manual describes how to operate the Jack's without power. There is a procedure for backing out a set screw on the hydraulic solenoid and one for using a electric drill to spin the pump. But you don't need that since your front Jack's operate. If you know the brand of Jack's look them up and follow what they recommend. As Gary RVRoamer stated you might have a bad spring but I'm not going there since you have two failures and that's quite unusual. It still could be the wiring either at the control panel or at the solenoid. If it just happens that those solenoids share a common ground then I could see both Jack's not operating. Let's us know what you find out. Good luck.

winniman · 10-04-2018, 01:42 PM

Did you try putting them down again, then hit the retract. Might jog something. My old rv had hwh jacks that only one would go up by themselves. All I ever did was hit the all store button [retract], and go out and pry them up with a long 2x4 board. If they wont go up that way, as Gary says, there is usually T valves on the end of the jack solenoids. They are usually located near the pump, which you can hear if you operate the jacks or the slides. Open them all up, and if they dont go up on their own, get out the 2x4. I used to put 6x6s under each jack so I didnt have to pry them up so far, and prevent them from sinking in the dirt which made it harder to get under them. If you dont have hwh, Im not sure if this will help. List the type of jacks you have. It helps people to help you. Cheers.

burton822 · 10-04-2018, 03:47 PM

It was the springs. We are staying one more night since missed check out time. Repair guy says okay to open slides. And had us put the front jacks down. Hope we don’t flip over lol. Thanks everyone. Will be taking to shop as soon as back home.

keger · 10-04-2018, 04:13 PM

Glad to hear you found your problem and it's a fairly easy fix. But why did two Jack's fail, I would have thought only one at a time would fail. That's got to be a first. Two springs failing at the same time, uh.

winniman · 10-04-2018, 06:54 PM

Im assuming the repair guy got the jacks up. How did he do it. The whole point of the forum is to post the fix, not just ask for help. It helps others in the future. As stated, the odds of two springs going at once is odd. I had to pry mine up for the five years I owned the old rv. It was not that big of a deal. Also, no you wont flip over without the jacks. You will feel a bit more movement of the rv without them down.

ThePowells · 10-04-2018, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winniman

Im assuming the repair guy got the jacks up. How did he do it. The whole point of the forum is to post the fix, not just ask for help. It helps others in the future. As stated, the odds of two springs going at once is odd. I had to pry mine up for the five years I owned the old rv. It was not that big of a deal. Also, no you wont flip over without the jacks. You will feel a bit more movement of the rv without them down.

(self edit)

Domo · 10-04-2018, 10:10 PM

Get a long 2X4 and get it under the bad jacks (use a flatbar to start if they're on pavement) and give the springs an extra hand retracting by levering the jack back up.

Sounds like the cylinders could be dirty (clean with soap and water or WD-40 - remember, WD is NOT a lubricant and you MUST wipe it back off if you used it to clean the cylinders) - OR, the springs could be weak - or BOTH.

Cylinders should be cleaned regularly - NO LUBRICATION as that will attract dust.