Community Forums

DNHOFFMAN · 06-09-2023, 08:06 PM

Getting our 01 monaco diplomat ready for its "maiden" camping trip in a few weeks. Sitting in our driveway during the first rain, we discovered that the windshield has some leaks. It's a 2 piece windshield, the glass is excellent with no chips or cracks. This past week we had "always done right glass co.", the premier, & the only one i could find, rv windshield guy in all of the southeast, come to our house to reseal the windshield. Keep in mind that the monaco has 3 leveling jacks, 2 in the rear & 1 in front. Donny, the glass co. Owner, theorized that the previous owner had twisted the frame from using the leveling jacks, to the point that the windshield had come loose from the seal/windshield frame. With the air bags inflated, he had me extend the driver side jack all the way, & was then able to get the windshield to "pop" back into place & reseal it. Donny's recommendation was to use blocks under the wheels to level the coach, then just use the jacks to stabilize it. "always done right" was recommended by 2 rv shops & several glass shops, & donny said that last year he did over 700 rv windshields & has done over 400 so far this year. So, i think he knows what he's talking about. Just wondering if anyone else, especially anyone with a 3-jack system, has had similar experience. I'm thinking that if the frame was twisted, there would be some handling issues &/or tire wear issues, but i drove it over 100 miles home on a variety of roadways with great handling. Tires are 5 years old or less & show no signs of unusual wear.

Rocketman3 · 06-09-2023, 10:30 PM

With a 2000 Dynasty, and one big windshield- I agree with your glass installer on how you should operate. That’s the way we do it.

Get to a site - turn on the “Level mate pro”, to see how far from level we are. It tells us how many inches up each tire needs.

Look at the contoured ground and then use blocks to hopefully get close.

Up on the blocks - then out goes the slide (with full air bags).
Drop the air (because it will go down unevenly on its own- create problems).
Then front leg first. Then the two back a little at a time until all leveled and stabilized.

Leaving is exactly reversed. Air up - as the pressure is almost full - raise the jacks. Shut down engine, slide comes in. Start it again, come off the blocks.

Good Luck with your procedures.

Rocketman3 · 06-09-2023, 10:32 PM

The old owner probably did not twist the frame really bad. Probably just bad enough to slightly pop the windshield seal.

UTTransplant · 06-10-2023, 12:48 PM

Newer leveling systems don’t allow twist when leveling automatically since the jacks always work in pairs. Older systems are not quite so protective.

Dutch Star Don · 06-10-2023, 03:35 PM

The leveling system you have, "tripod" configuration has/had a specific procedure from Monaco. My 2005 Diplomat had the same three jack system.

When leveling, you dump the air bags first, then ALWAYS lower the front jack until it touches the ground and starts to lift. Once it's on the ground, lower the rear two and level the coach side to side. You can then level the coach front to back. This will keep you from twisting the frame.

alank · 06-10-2023, 05:13 PM

I'll offer some opinions that will differ from those that have been given.

First, while driving my coach, I think the chassis experiences its most significant twist when I drive over street/driveway entrances where there is a rain gutter area between the two. Places like that are probably where the windshield damage was done. It's very unlikely a 3-point leveling system (3 jack or 4 jack) exerted any significant twist on the chassis.

The 4-jack systems that always extend jacks in pairs are some of the worst in inducing twist in the chassis. Lifting either the front or rear isn't a problem, but lifting either side, where there is a significant weight difference on the jacks will induce twist in the chassis.

For the DPs that have a 4 jack, 3-point leveling system, after dumping the air, which may twist the chassis, the front jack must be put down first and then raise the front end about 3 inches. This action is to get the chassis up off the front bump stops that it is setting on after the air is released. In that position, the front of the chassis is free to rotate to the right or left, as dictated by operation of the rear jacks to level side to side. then finish the front to rear level.

I've had three, 2 jacks at a time systems and two 3-point systems, and by far, the two jacks at a time systems were much more challenging to operate. I totally quit operating them on "automatic" and only manually leveled after I learned how to offset the twist.