Community Forums

bamaspiveys · 05-04-2017, 07:44 PM

When I level the coach, it rolls forward about 3 inches when the air dumps. Is this normal? It makes setting jack stand pads difficult. I am currently initiating the leveling process, while the DW watches the jacks from outside. Once the air dumps and the coach stops I retract the jacks enough to put the pads down and start the process over.

When I say roll that is the literal definition, but it is a creep and very slow roll almost like the brakes are not holding tight enough or that the front bags are dumping first and the momentum of the weight shift is more than the brakes can hold....which makes NO sense!

Butte64 · 05-04-2017, 07:54 PM

Agreed does not make sense and is not normal. Maybe you need to use wheel chocks until you can get parking brake checked.

Gary.Jones · 05-04-2017, 08:33 PM

Mike

My coach does not move at all as the coach sinks. Something clearly wrong with that. Makes me wonder if the coach chassis is rubbing against the/a tire somehow which forces the tires to move slightly forward.

Gary

swberry · 05-04-2017, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bamaspiveys

When I level the coach, it rolls forward about 3 inches when the air dumps. Is this normal? It makes setting jack stand pads difficult. I am currently initiating the leveling process, while the DW watches the jacks from outside. Once the air dumps and the coach stops I retract the jacks enough to put the pads down and start the process over.

When I say roll that is the literal definition, but it is a creep and very slow roll almost like the brakes are not holding tight enough or that the front bags are dumping first and the momentum of the weight shift is more than the brakes can hold....which makes NO sense!

Very good question and one I asked the other day while my coach was at NIRVC in Lewisville. I came from a non tag coach with an HWH jack system and there was no rolling at all when retracting the jacks. I have noticed on my 2017 Aspire that the thing skids on the jacks when retracting them and when the jacks are extended farther down that skidding during retraction can cause the whole coach to lurch forward as the jacks are retracted. It does not move a long way at all, but the skidding noise does not give me a warm fuzzy.

I brought it to the attention of the tech working my coach. He told me this is normal. I wasn't sure and wanted a second opinion so I brought it to the attention of my service advisor. He brought their chassis guy out to watch and listen while the jacks were being retracted. He insisted this is normal and explained that as the jacks are deployed the parking brake is on the drive axle and because of this the drive axle will not roll during extension, but the tag axle will roll a little bit. When the jacks are raised this is where the rolling and "skidding" comes from.

It certainly does not seem right, but I have no prior experience on tag coaches and their leveling systems. Sure would like to hear others opinions on this matter.

mbaril · 05-04-2017, 09:01 PM

Ditto with my 2017 Aspire

Matt D · 05-04-2017, 09:25 PM

I have the "jump" during retraction, and it does move a tad during leveling.

If I chock it prior to leveling it will crush the chock.

I spoke with Entegra and Equalizer systems.. evidently this is completely normal.

It has some relationship to the rear suspension geometry moving in its arc during dump and extend.

-Matt

royals1212 · 05-04-2017, 09:38 PM

I too have a small movement when deploying my jacks. Also , Sometimes when your parking area is not quite level I feel like the auto level tries to raise the coach to high. I was thinking about changing my leveling steps to stoping the process after the air bags start to deflate in order to chassis full settle then restart the auto level process. Has anyone tried this? Please chime in with comments

Thanks Herb

hogdriver · 05-04-2017, 10:55 PM

Alright, I cannot prove this so catalog this in the rumor category. I previously owned a 2013 Aspire. Now a 2014 Anthem. Assuming the weights are similar, that Aspire moved quite a bit when leveling. The Anthem groans, but does not move. I think on the Aspire I had one or two jacks not perfectly vertical. IMHO, I think it's the jack installation and how vertical they are.

Ann n Gene · 05-05-2017, 12:16 AM

I think you are on to something. I have owned 4 Entegras. The 2 Anthems moved some, the last two, Cornerstones did not move at all that I can tell.

Matt D · 05-05-2017, 04:09 AM

One interesting fact regarding the Equalizer system, is that is will only raise a jack or pair of jacks to achieve a level coach. Think Up-Up-Up.

Our last coach was a Phaeton with the HWH system, and it could actually raise or decrease the height to achieve level.

This is why sometimes the Equalizer achieves level at a higher elevation. In these cases, I cancel Auto and manually level.

-Matt

Dtwallace · 05-05-2017, 04:37 AM

Gents,
All air ride systems do this.
It's the suspension geometry built into the system having the axle mounted solidly on a beam thats pivotal action is two feet forward of the air springs.
It has to move this way on this type suspension system.
All of the alignment adjustment points are at the pivotal position where the system is mounting is also attached to the frame.
Yes it makes for an interesting leveling session but with practice you can learn to live with it.

brobox · 05-05-2017, 06:20 AM

My TS moved like the OP's totally missing the jack pads. Thankfully the Entegra does not move and hits the pads where placed. I never found the fix and know how frustrating it is. I remembered some old post discussing the problem, but I don't know if a solution was found. Might be worth checking the posts out. https://www.google.com/search?q=Ente...earch=irv2.com

EQSystems · 05-05-2017, 06:29 AM

I'm not sure if I'm here answering specific questions, or just giving a little general information, but here's my two cents:

When leveling the coach, be sure the air is fully dumped. IF that's not happening, there's an issue in the timing of the sequence.

When retracting the jacks, be sure the coach is fully aired back up before pressing the All Retract button. This generally limits the amount of roll you'll get as the jacks come up.

As far as the leveling process goes, the idea that our system only levels while lifting and can't lower the coach back down to achieve level is false. The goal is to level the RV as close the ground as possible.

Hopefully this info is at least somewhat helpful!

Busskipper · 05-05-2017, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bamaspiveys

When I level the coach, it rolls forward about 3 inches when the air dumps. Is this normal? It makes setting jack stand pads difficult. I am currently initiating the leveling process, while the DW watches the jacks from outside. Once the air dumps and the coach stops I retract the jacks enough to put the pads down and start the process over.

When I say roll that is the literal definition, but it is a creep and very slow roll almost like the brakes are not holding tight enough or that the front bags are dumping first and the momentum of the weight shift is more than the brakes can hold....which makes NO sense!

Short answer - yes it's normal.

Brakes are only on the drive axle - when you let the air off it just pivots (Fixed point to the front - air bag to the rear) causing the coach to move forward a few inches. As the spring brake is the only brake working the rear tires do not move.

Hope this helps,