Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > MOTORHOME FORUMS > Class A Motorhome Discussions
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-11-2014, 10:00 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
beepaj's Avatar
 
National RV Owners Club
Nor'easters Club
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Western Massachusetts
Posts: 220
Question Jacks down?

Well unfortunately it's getting time once again to close up the RV. Question: Can the hydraulic jacks remain down for stability or should they remain raised?
Living in New England, ya never know what winter will bring
__________________
Happy Daze! Andy, Carol & our adopted Maltese "son", Eli
'99 Tropi-Cal on a '98 Ford F3 chassis

I know the voices in my head aren't real but sometimes their ideas are awesome!
beepaj is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 10-11-2014, 10:08 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Skip426's Avatar


 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Powell River, B.C.
Posts: 31,311
I have mine down for all but travel days, but I always clean the shafts , before re-traction, any time they are down for more that a week.
Some owners don't like leaving them down, because the hoses are under constant pressure.
I like having the coach stable when in storage ( in my yard) so I can tune in the sat/TV system , while working on maintenance.
__________________
99DSDP 3884, Freightliner, XC, CAT 3126B, 300 HP /ALLISON 3060
2000 Caravan toad, Remco & Blue Ox.
Skip426 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2014, 10:18 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Stevegd007's Avatar
 
Forest River Owners Club
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: San Diego County, California
Posts: 875
Well you are going to get several opinions. I do not store my RV with the jacks down. No reason to. Slides are stored and no one is using the RV. No need to stabilize the RV.
Then think of this most all RV dealers have lots of RV on display for customers, some RV are there a long time...now how many times have you seen the RV lots with every RV with the jacks down?
__________________
Steve & Leslie
Forest River 2018 Forester 3011DS
Honda 2010 CR-V AWD "Toad"
Stevegd007 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2014, 01:18 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
myshaggydog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: At various Florida State Parks.
Posts: 967
Being fulltimers, we use our jacks all the time and periodically clean them. However, if I was going to store the MH with no one living in it, I would leave the jacks in the store position. Best of luck.
__________________
George and Brenda
2005 Newmar Dutch Star 3810, Spartan with CAT7
2013 Honda Fit
myshaggydog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2014, 02:41 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,965
It depends on the brand of jacks. HWH says you can leave theirs down indefinitely. The shafts are made of stainless and won't rust or corrode.

Lippert on the other hand says theirs need to be cleaned and lubricated to prevent rust and corrosion every 7 days they are extended. In coastal areas or areas of high salt content in the air they need to be cleaned and lubricated every 3 they are extended.

I don't have any information on Big Foot or other brands.
__________________
Hikerdogs
2013 Adventurer 32H
Hikerdogs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-11-2014, 04:23 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Cat320's Avatar
 
Fleetwood Owners Club
American Coach Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,760
Down, that's what my manual says...plus, that's what they are for.
__________________
2014 American Eagle 45T
DD 13, 500 HP
Pulling a Honda CRV
Cat320 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2014, 09:48 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
bobkathy95's Avatar
 
Alpine Owners Club
Foretravel Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Lake Wales, FL
Posts: 325
Along the same lines in regards to storage - what about the Air bags? Our coach may sit for several months in storage. The air bags start deflating after only a few days. Is this normal? Should I just deflate them when I park it? Our home base is Florida so freezing is not an issue. It stays parked with the jacks retracted because the coach is not in use.
bobkathy95 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2014, 09:04 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
chboone's Avatar


 
National RV Owners Club
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Horse Town USA, CA.
Posts: 3,781
Quote:
Originally Posted by beepaj View Post
Well unfortunately it's getting time once again to close up the RV. Question: Can the hydraulic jacks remain down for stability or should they remain raised?
Living in New England, ya never know what winter will bring
I have the jacks down when parked to keep the weight off the tires and suspension. However, I don't have to worry about cold wet weather. If you do keep the jacks down over winter I would coat them with grease and wipe it off in the spring before retracting them.

Chuck
__________________
1999 35 ft. Dolphin 5350, F53, Banks System, 5 Stars Tune, Air Lift Air Bags, Koni Shocks, Blue OX TruCenter, TigerTrak track bars F&R, Roadmaster 1-3/4" rear auxiliary sway bar, 2004 F450 Lariat Pickup 6.0 Diesel Crew Cab DRW, 4X4, GVWR 15,000, Front GAWR 6,000, Rear GAWR 11,000, GCWR 26,000,1994 36ft Avion 5er, GVWR 13,700, 2,740 Pin Weight.
chboone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-14-2014, 07:47 PM   #9
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 11
With the Lippert system, it makes no difference whether the jacks are extended or retracted; they are always under pressure. I had jack problems with two jacks slowly extending over several days while the rig was stored and the jacks retracted. I rebuilt the jacks and that solved the problem. During the troubleshooting (I learned a lot about hydraulics, more than I wanted to know)http://www.irv2.com/forums/images/smilies/confused.gifI

I bought a pressure gauge and placed in the retract line. When retracted, the pressure runs an average of 2500 lbs, depending on the outside temperature. IIRC, if the pressure drops to 1500 lbs then the alarm goes off when you start the engine (or release the parking brake, I forget which). The manual or Lippert literature has that info about the low pressure alarm, and the indicator light will light "Jacks Down". The only way the monitor knows that the jacks may be down is because the pressure has dropped below an acceptable amount to ensure the jacks are held up in the retracted position.

I don't know what the max pressure is for extending the jacks, because I didn't put the gauge in the extend line. I would expect no more than 2500 lbs because the pump runs either forward or backward depending on whether it's extending or retracting the jacks. (The hoses are rated for 3,000 lbs working pressure).

When extending the jacks, the retract pressure falls to zero, and when retracting, the extend pressure should fall to zero (again, I did not place the gauge in the extend line.

The bottom line is that there is lots of pressure in the system either in the extend or retract mode, so leaving them up or down just means the pressure is always in the cylinders, and either in the extend or retract hoses depending on whether the jacks are extended or retracted.

There are a bunch more things I learned, none of them fun!
Frunky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-14-2014, 07:50 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Bumps's Avatar
 
Winnebago Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: FTer Class of 2015 Origin: Evergreen, Colorado
Posts: 1,565
We keep ours down. \ken
__________________
Ken, Deb, & Gadget (WIT Club, FMCA, SKP, and grateful volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and SOWERs), traveling in a well-behaved 2005 Winnebago Vectra 40FD w/1100w solar, some gee-golly-whizbang, and a TRAILERED 2015 Cherokee TrailHawk toad.
Bumps is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-14-2014, 07:57 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Mr_D's Avatar
 
Country Coach Owners Club
Solo Rvers Club
iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 37,725
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hikerdogs View Post
It depends on the brand of jacks. HWH says you can leave theirs down indefinitely. The shafts are made of stainless and won't rust or corrode.
That's what HWH told me too and I've done it for 12 years now and have NEVER needed to lube the rams. In fact I've still got the old, original straight springs, not the newer, stronger tapered ones.
__________________
2009 45' Magna 630 w/Cummins ISX 650 HP/1950 Lbs Ft, HWH Active Air
Charter Good Sam Lifetime Member, FMCA,
RV'ing since 1957, NRA Benefactor Life, towing '21 Jeep JLU Rubicon Ecodiesel
Mr_D is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-14-2014, 09:28 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
chboone's Avatar


 
National RV Owners Club
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Horse Town USA, CA.
Posts: 3,781
Just to clarify, the OP has Power Gear jacks.

Chuck
__________________
1999 35 ft. Dolphin 5350, F53, Banks System, 5 Stars Tune, Air Lift Air Bags, Koni Shocks, Blue OX TruCenter, TigerTrak track bars F&R, Roadmaster 1-3/4" rear auxiliary sway bar, 2004 F450 Lariat Pickup 6.0 Diesel Crew Cab DRW, 4X4, GVWR 15,000, Front GAWR 6,000, Rear GAWR 11,000, GCWR 26,000,1994 36ft Avion 5er, GVWR 13,700, 2,740 Pin Weight.
chboone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2014, 06:52 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,965
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frunky View Post
With the Lippert system, it makes no difference whether the jacks are extended or retracted; they are always under pressure. I had jack problems with two jacks slowly extending over several days while the rig was stored and the jacks retracted. I rebuilt the jacks and that solved the problem. During the troubleshooting (I learned a lot about hydraulics, more than I wanted to know)http://www.irv2.com/forums/images/smilies/confused.gifI

I bought a pressure gauge and placed in the retract line. When retracted, the pressure runs an average of 2500 lbs, depending on the outside temperature. IIRC, if the pressure drops to 1500 lbs then the alarm goes off when you start the engine (or release the parking brake, I forget which). The manual or Lippert literature has that info about the low pressure alarm, and the indicator light will light "Jacks Down". The only way the monitor knows that the jacks may be down is because the pressure has dropped below an acceptable amount to ensure the jacks are held up in the retracted position.

I don't know what the max pressure is for extending the jacks, because I didn't put the gauge in the extend line. I would expect no more than 2500 lbs because the pump runs either forward or backward depending on whether it's extending or retracting the jacks. (The hoses are rated for 3,000 lbs working pressure).

When extending the jacks, the retract pressure falls to zero, and when retracting, the extend pressure should fall to zero (again, I did not place the gauge in the extend line.

The bottom line is that there is lots of pressure in the system either in the extend or retract mode, so leaving them up or down just means the pressure is always in the cylinders, and either in the extend or retract hoses depending on whether the jacks are extended or retracted.

There are a bunch more things I learned, none of them fun!
The issue with Lippert jacks isn't whether or not the cylinders are under pressure. The issue is the pistons can rust or corrode if left in the down position without regularly cleaning and lubricating them.

As I mentioned in a previous post the manufacturer recommends cleaning and lubrication every 7 days of extended time under "normal" conditions. In a salt air environment they recommend cleaning and lubrication every 3 days.

Unless you're willing to go through the maintenance and cleaning procedure every 3 to 7 days I wouldn't leave them extended for long periods of storage. The last thing you want is rust or corrosion to form on the piston and have it take out a seal when you retract the jacks.
__________________
Hikerdogs
2013 Adventurer 32H
Hikerdogs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2014, 06:58 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
bamaboy473's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Gulf Coast, Alabama
Posts: 2,450
If I knew that the coach would be parked for six months, I think I'd raise the coach until wheels were off the ground, crib the frame, then retract the jacks.

Jacks would be caged and tires wouldn't develop any flat spots.
__________________
Rick and Sandy
2003 American Eagle, 59K miles
bamaboy473 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
jacks



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Motorhome lurches forward when raising jacks kjackson Class A Motorhome Discussions 2 07-22-2014 06:36 PM
High-Pitched Sound and Intermittent Problem with PowerGear Jacks SarahW RV Systems & Appliances 10 06-25-2014 11:39 AM
LCI slides and jacks malfunctioning ravenper 5th Wheel Discussion 5 05-27-2014 08:56 PM
Phantom Leveling Jacks JFNM Fleetwood Owner's Forum 17 03-08-2014 02:27 PM
Kwikee Jacks Will Not Power Up Yellowboat Winnebago Industries Owner's Forum 8 02-15-2014 09:09 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:41 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.