Community Forums

monkey · 10-19-2017, 09:55 AM

"generally, it does not hurt the jacks or the coach to have the front wheels off the ground, but not the rear. gas coaches have a emergency brake that locks the rear wheels only. if you lift those, the coach can roll. air brakes lock all four wheels."

Been in trucking 38 yrs... Never seen "spring type" parking brakes (air brakes) on the front wheels... Really ???? Can you send a pic of the brake canister ? If you loose air pressure, that means your STEER axle locks up.... ummm... In that thought,,, I'd say keep your tires on the ground ... As much as possible. My opinion...
Monkey

Sweetbriar · 10-19-2017, 10:10 AM

I look at this two ways - neutral and bad.

Neutral - Front wheels off the ground. Varies with chassis and individual owners desires. For some doesn't matter, others fear causing damage to suspension components or alignment problems. The potential varies between chassis makes and models. Individual owners should research any restrictions or recommendations the chassis maker may have.

Bad - Lifting the rear axles must be avoided due to loss of parking braking effectiveness. At least one axle, either left or right, needs to be in firm solid contact with the ground for effective parking brake action. If the coach slips, even a little, you risk damaging a jack that may not longer retract which could result in extending your stay where ever you might be. Also avoid having to extend a jack to it's maximum limit. A jack has a lot of vertical strength not so much horizontally which will diminish with more extension as posted by ThePowells.

Another Bad- Having install jacks makes life a bit easier for a shade tree mechanic but never, ever, crawl or work under a coach supported only by a pressurized medium such as oil or air. Be it air bags, installed jacks or even a 50 ton air/hydraulic floor jack. Blow out a $1.00 O-ring while you're under it and your camping days are over.

My coach is built on a late model F53 with leaf springs, solid front/rear axle so hanging the fronts in the air isn't a problem but I do try and avoid. If the rear has to come up to level I'll try and reposition in the camp site and if that doesn't work ask for a different site.

David3811 · 10-19-2017, 10:16 AM

Camp Freightliner teaches to never, ever level the coach with any of the wheels off the ground. I figure since they built the chassis they should know. The instructor was pretty emphatic about it.

Bigd9 · 10-19-2017, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azpete

gas coaches have a emergency brake that locks the rear wheels only. if you lift those, the coach can roll. air brakes lock all four wheels.
(my dads favorite quote)

Since my airbrake coach has 6 wheels & tires, and when I set the "parking brake or emergency brake " it only locks the rear axle which has 4 of those wheels & tires. The front axle does not lock. If it is supposed to lock, then I have been cheated on my airbrake coaches I have owned.

GMA385 · 10-19-2017, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeO58

On my last coach if the front wheels came off the ground I would lower it and drive up on some blocks. Add same amount under jacks and start over. Never liked having front wheels hanging in the breeze. New one I have not encountered this.

I agree. If not level I also drive on blocks and use same amount under jack. My manual also states that wheels should not be off ground.

Terryshirley · 10-30-2017, 01:04 PM

I hear this word level a lot. I asked several ppl about that they said it's ok to have tires off the ground but I still don't do it. Instead I level manually and get it close. The fleetwod. Ppl said it doesn't have to be perfect.. get a refrigerator bullseye level. If the bubble touches the inside circle, shut it off and have fun camping