Community Forums

photopilot · 10-04-2016, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hbatwell

I have a question, since I am a little dense sometimes. If the jacks have raised the drive wheels off of the ground, isn't the weight on the jacks going to keep you from rolling?

The jacks are designed to lift in the vertical direction, and once the coach is level, all is good. However, during raising or lowering, if the weight is off the drive wheels, but the coach isn't level yet, there will be a torque on the jack that it's not designed for and it is possible to bend the jack as the rig tries to 'roll' backwards since the jack is the only thing preventing it from rolling.

That's why they say never raise the drive wheels with the jacks. If you want to do it anyway, chock the front wheels!

Walt

Saltydog44 · 10-04-2016, 11:49 AM

Maybe I am a bit paranoid - OK I am

But we never lift the wheels off the ground. I would be concerned about the stability of all that weight on the jacks. Even a slight shift could torque the jacks and that would be a big problem. Once or twice we weren't quite level unless the wheels were off the ground so we just adjusted until they were and then lived with it for the one night. Obviously not a good solution for long-term stays

hogdriver · 10-06-2016, 07:01 AM

Spartan said lifting either/both back side wheels off the ground is a definite no-no. They said the only thing keeping that 40,000 lb RV from rolling is those puny jacks. I did raise the back end up once on a terrible campsite, before I knew better, the RV skidded on those jacks and scared the hell out of me. Never again.

Grower15 · 10-06-2016, 07:13 AM

Here's a simple technique (learned at Spartan Academy) that will work in some instances if you end up with the dreaded "excessive slope" warning or wheels off the ground after auto leveling. Manually retract your jacks (not auto retract), then hit "auto level" again. Since the airbags are deflated, your jacks are ~6" closer to the ground and may be enough to keep your wheels on the ground. Another option is to place jack pads under the tires.

DeeGee · 10-07-2016, 08:43 PM

I always dump twice when leveling. I hit auto-level, and let the air bleed out until the jacks start to try to work. Then I retract all, then do it again. It takes two cycles for the suspension to bleed flat. If I just do one the leveling system sometimes wants to lift the wheels.