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 > MH-General Discussions & Problems
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 11-05-2012, 08:14 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
wildbill001's Avatar
 
Fleetwood Owners Club
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Ft. Worth, TX
Posts: 151
Leveling with bottlejacks ?

Several weeks ago I finally got around to testing the levelers on my 94 Southwind. they are Milwaukee something or other brand, which I understand was bought up by Powergear. Anyway, I was able to get them down but when it came time to retract, no such luck. Pushed to "Jacks Up " button for all I was worth and nothing. Long story short my son and I were finally able to get the jacks up.

Because of the potential for spending a lot of money and time diagnosing this, I'm thinking of just using some hydraulic bottle-jacks to do the leveling. Can't really see a downside to this but thought I'd check with others that have more experience.

Thinking I should be able to put the jacks under the existing "mushroom pad" of the levelers and go from there.

Comments, ideas, suggestions welcome.

Bill W
__________________
Bill & Sharon along with Choo-Choo & Caboose (long-hair chihuahuas), new caretakers of a '94 Fleetwood Southwind
https://www.wildbillsramblings.com
wildbill001 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 11-05-2012, 08:20 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
BFlinn181's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 19,925
Sure you can crawl under and use bottle jacks, but why not contact Powergear and see what they say? If no remedy from them is available, you could also take the button panel apart and try using contact cleaner on the switches/buttons. Perhaps you could wire a momentary switch to replace the faulty retract button.
__________________

Bob & Donna
'98 Gulf Stream Sun Voyager DP being pushed by a '00 Beetle TDI
BFlinn181 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-06-2012, 01:55 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
wildbill001's Avatar
 
Fleetwood Owners Club
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Ft. Worth, TX
Posts: 151
I already know that the control board is no longer made and no replacement is available. At least none that I have been able to find.

I also know that if there is a bad solenoid, it could be around $200 IF a replacement could be found. More than likely would have to try the hydraulic supply companies in town to get a match. I just don't think it is worth it when I can buy 3 or 4 bottlejacks for about $150 or less.

BUT that is why I'm the "old hands" here to see if I am overlooking something.
__________________
Bill & Sharon along with Choo-Choo & Caboose (long-hair chihuahuas), new caretakers of a '94 Fleetwood Southwind
https://www.wildbillsramblings.com
wildbill001 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-06-2012, 02:08 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
BFlinn181's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 19,925
I had a flat along the highway during a windy Wyoming day. The tire service lifted my RV on a bottle jack, didn't want to use my leveling jacks which had already lifted the wheel off the ground. The wind blew it off the jack, it came crashing down and to the tire guy and I, who were trying to get the new tire on the rim, it looked like the whole RV was tipping over on us. That's why I'm a little hesitant to use bottle jacks, unless I've got suitable jack stands to make the lift safe.

My leveler panel was bad, I used a multitester and jumper wires to diagram the function of each wire. Then a call to the supplier and they rebuilt my switch panel for free. I know your panel is an orphan, but you might determine if it's a switch or a relay. Relays are cheaper than a bunch of jacks and much safer.
__________________

Bob & Donna
'98 Gulf Stream Sun Voyager DP being pushed by a '00 Beetle TDI
BFlinn181 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2012, 03:50 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 671
I agree with Flinn, Check out getting what you have fixed before trying the bottle jacks. Continued use solenoids/relays are cheap to replace and your jacks won't care if they are from an outside source.
__________________
92' Holiday Rambler 1000
The wife, me and two furry kids
If you have it, a truck brought it.
blackf3504dr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2012, 07:27 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Snowbird - Waterford Mi and Citrus Springs Fl.
Posts: 3,609
You're bottle jack solution is not going to be very appealing after a few times crawling around underneath the coach spotting them, especially in the rain?

I'm with the others. Often solutions to a malfunction like yours is as simple as a broken connection or a bad ground wire. At least get it diagnosed to the point you're pretty sure you know what it's going to take to fix it. Then decide how to proceed? -Al
__________________
1997 37' HR Endeavor, 275hp Cat, Freightliner
03 CR-V Blue Ox, Ready Brake
ahicks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2012, 07:45 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
bluepill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 2,457
+1 on post #4 - Bottle jacks are designed ONLY to lift high enough to allow you to put jackstands down. They are not designed to keep a vehicle up while working on or living in an RV.
__________________
2008 Itasca 37H
2011 & 2012 Len & Pat's "One lap of America"
27K miles & 41 states in 13 months
Yellowstone Lake 6-1-2012
bluepill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2012, 08:27 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
wildbill001's Avatar
 
Fleetwood Owners Club
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Ft. Worth, TX
Posts: 151
Well then, I guess it's time to crawl under the passenger side and see if there are bad connections, bad solenoid or ????

Thanks folks, I'll see what I can learn once we get back to home base.

Bill W
__________________
Bill & Sharon along with Choo-Choo & Caboose (long-hair chihuahuas), new caretakers of a '94 Fleetwood Southwind
https://www.wildbillsramblings.com
wildbill001 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2012, 07:51 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: somewhere in the west
Posts: 1,168
Quote:
Originally Posted by wildbill001 View Post
Several weeks ago I finally got around to testing the levelers on my 94 Southwind. they are Milwaukee something or other brand, which I understand was bought up by Powergear. Anyway, I was able to get them down but when it came time to retract, no such luck. Pushed to "Jacks Up " button for all I was worth and nothing. Long story short my son and I were finally able to get the jacks up.

Because of the potential for spending a lot of money and time diagnosing this, I'm thinking of just using some hydraulic bottle-jacks to do the leveling. Can't really see a downside to this but thought I'd check with others that have more experience.

Thinking I should be able to put the jacks under the existing "mushroom pad" of the levelers and go from there.

Comments, ideas, suggestions welcome.

Bill W
For a more direct answer to your question, bottle jacks tend to leak down since true high quality bottle jacks are no longer made, so are unsuited for leveling.

However, the newer type of screw jacks, like the kind that comes with the heaver SUV's, and come with a curved hook end, work fantastic, just stay away from the old type that has a flat end.

Just insert the hook into the ring on the jack, and you can just position the jack without crawling underneath, and just crank to desired height, simple and easy.

Note that I'm not advocating raising the RV off the ground here, but raising just enough to level the unit which means, of course, that the majority of the weight will still be on the suspension. If more drastic height is required, use run up pads first, then fine tune with screw jacks.

FWIW,


Ed
Ed-Sommers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2012, 08:37 AM   #10
RV Mutant #14
 
Wayne M's Avatar


 
Winnebago Owners Club
Texas Boomers Club
Freightliner Owners Club
iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 17,189
Also consider that control boards are programed to extend the jacks and raise the coach in small controlled increments, typically two at a time in today's world, don't know about 1994, and that is to keep the frame from twisting. One would have to be very careful employing and type of manual jack system.

One question, are the jacks on the '94 self returning, in that they have a spring, or hydraulic return?

My first trial would be to take the circuit board to a good electronic technician, find a HAM radio operator with an extra class license and they may be able to lead you to a good tech, and have them check the components and the board. If the board checks out okay, or after repair, and the jacks still do not function as they should, I'd then look at the solenoid(s).

Good luck.

Edited: p.s., thanks for putting this in the "General" section of the forum as many items such as this are common across brands as a general nature.
__________________
Wayne MSGT USMC (Ret) & Earlene (CinCHouse) RVM14 (ARS: KE5QG)
Lexi - Goldendoodle
2015 Winnebago Tour 42QD - 2020 Lincoln Nautilus Reserve
It is what it is, and then it is what you make of it.
Wayne M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2012, 08:54 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
BFlinn181's Avatar
 
Gulf Streamers Club
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 19,925
I can't imagine having to position and pump up 4 jacks every time I wanted to level or stabilize the RV. The fact that the jacks can slip off the supports and/or leak down, and I think it would be much cheaper to repair the built ins that you're hauling around anyway.
__________________

Bob & Donna
'98 Gulf Stream Sun Voyager DP being pushed by a '00 Beetle TDI
BFlinn181 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-08-2012, 09:07 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Graniteman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Everett,PA
Posts: 178
I have had to do alot of work on my Bigfoot system lately. I have replaced 6 of the solenoids. Not all were bad, but rather than have to deal with an issue on the road I replaced the mate to the bad solenoid while I was greasy and had it apart. I purchased 4 from Quadra at approximately $35 each plus shipping and handling. They no longer have the original design for my unit and the new one needs an additional hole drilled to mount it anyway, so for the last 2 I replaced I went to the local part store and purchased 2 Ford pickup starter solenoids that work great and were only $14 each. I'm not sure of the design on the Powergear but might be a cheaper way to go that $200 per solenoid.
__________________
The Collins Family
Travis, Kim, Richard, Rebecca
2 Yorkies(Sophie and Annie)
Graniteman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2012, 05:07 PM   #13
Junior Member
 
rvjr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Princeton WV
Posts: 26
Rv

Yes the screw jacks work good.
__________________
1998 Winnebago Brave 1971 Buick Skylark 2003 VTX 1800 Honda 1998 Chevrolet Daully
rvjr is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
leveling



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


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:48 AM.


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