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Old 10-24-2018, 01:14 PM   #1
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Coach movement

We have a Thor Challenger. When parked and leveled we still have a lot of movement of coach when walking in it.does any one have the same issue or am I not setting up coach correctly. Thanks for your suggestions.

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Old 10-24-2018, 02:17 PM   #2
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"When parked and leveled... "
How are you leveling it?
If you're just using blocks under the tires: the coach is moving around on it's suspension.
Do you have stabilizers?
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Old 10-24-2018, 02:44 PM   #3
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Are you lifting your tires of the ground when leveling? I find lifting more than one tire makes the coach unstable. By using ramps in our driveway, I can level our coach and have very little moving even in strong cross winds. Away from home, I use blocking under the tires to stabilize the coach if needed.

Tom
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Old 10-24-2018, 04:36 PM   #4
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The Challenger has an electronic leveling system. Are you using it and does it auto level successfully? If so, are any of the wheels off the ground? Wheels off the ground will cause all the weight to be shifted to the levelers and you will get some play causing movement. Use blocks or Lynx Levelers under the wheels for added stability if you must have wheels off the ground. FYI, NEVER lift the REAR wheels off the ground or the coach could roll, as the parking brake works the rear only.
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Old 10-24-2018, 07:43 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomAndLindaRogers View Post
Are you lifting your tires of the ground when leveling? I find lifting more than one tire makes the coach unstable. By using ramps in our driveway, I can level our coach and have very little moving even in strong cross winds. Away from home, I use blocking under the tires to stabilize the coach if needed.

Tom
Thats a nice setup you have with the blocks. My driveway is the same way. I need about 6 inches of lift under my back tires to get level. I just purchased Big Foot Levelers but I have not tired to level it yet (Kinda scared to). I think I will try and back in and raise the front only with about 5 lego blocks under it.

Any other tips to level on our crazy driveways.

I might use some legos under the front tires to help support as well when I back in my drive. I dont want the RV to shift and ruin my levelers or damage the RV.
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Old 10-24-2018, 07:51 PM   #6
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'some' movement in any coach, especially the longer units, is to be expected, and common...but some seem to 'feel' it even more than most, especially when you are laying in bed, and someone is moving around the kitchen.

With your coach, the LCI automatic hydraulic leveling system should provide a fine four point 'foundation' for your coach, and make it level as well. If you don't feel as if it's as 'still' as you would like it, you may can add leveling blocks under each hydraulic LEG, so that each does not have to 'reach' as far. Generally, the less they have to extend,the lower the center of gravity of the coach, and less 'sway' or movement.
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Old 10-24-2018, 08:44 PM   #7
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I would watch the levelers as they come down and see if they raises the body of the coach (not the tires) up a couple of inches (front and back). That way you get an idea if they are working properly and supporting most of the weight to settle the body movement. Just an idea.

Perhaps one or more are barely doing anything allowing some moment?
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Old 10-25-2018, 03:03 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Long & Winding road View Post
Thats a nice setup you have with the blocks. My driveway is the same way. I need about 6 inches of lift under my back tires to get level. I just purchased Big Foot Levelers but I have not tired to level it yet (Kinda scared to). I think I will try and back in and raise the front only with about 5 lego blocks under it.

Any other tips to level on our crazy driveways.

I might use some legos under the front tires to help support as well when I back in my drive. I dont want the RV to shift and ruin my levelers or damage the RV.

You asked for leveling tips. I have only one year’s experience leveling our Hurricane so others may want to add their tips.

In good weather conditions you can have both back wheels off the ground and not roll down the driveway. This is true as long as you don’t have ice, snow, or wheels under your jack pads. With that said, if I think I will have a rear wheel off the ground, I chock the front tires. Also, we have installed Snap-Pads on our jack pads for stability on any surface. Because of the weight distribution of a coach, having the rear wheels (and parking brakes) off the ground is less stable than having the front wheels off the ground.

With the jacks extended and two or more wheels in the air, the coach is more stable front to back than side to side. This may be true because of the way the jacks are bolted onto the frame and/or because of the effect that the wind has on the coach. Side winds are the worst, but you can tell the difference by walking in the coach even on a still day.

The most stable coach balances its weight among all jacks and tires. As the jack stand cylinders extend they lose stability. Combine that with a higher center of gravity, and you can see that we want to raise the coach as little as possible. I have found, with practice, that I can do that manually better than auto-leveling can. However, I started with auto-leveling and I recommend you do, too. Even though I often have a wheel off the ground, I try to fill the space with blocks. Hydraulic jacks can fail and when it happens it can be catastrophic. Never allow anything or anyone under your tire or coach without blocking it first.

As you noted, it would be easier to level the coach if I back into the driveway. The reason I don’t is the location of the coach door. For ease of access it is best for us to have the coach door close to our house’s front door. I use the ramps and the extension box under the jack pads to overcome the stability issues of raising the rear end to level the coach. And yes, it is a cumbersome process but it works for us.

Finally, I level the coach in our driveway to be able to run the refrigerator and use our full wall slide. Neither require a perfectly leveled coach so I try to balance stability and leveling.

Tom
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Old 10-25-2018, 03:38 PM   #9
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Old 10-25-2018, 04:03 PM   #10
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Thanks TomAndLinda.

I just installed my levelers a few weeks ago so im still getting use to them in my driveway and my storage unit.

It might be next year before I do any camping to really try them out.

I think I will try and back in my driveway and raise the front only this weekend to see how it goes. I had the front off the gound some already but it was not high enough to level coach. Looks like I will need 5 lego blocks under the front jacks to give me more height. But I dont want to go to high and have it unstable. I have some of the double wide lego blocks for the dual wheels. I can use those to offer more stabilty.

Thanks for the info. I might make some wooden ramps for the tires to use at home only for the added security.
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Old 11-11-2018, 12:19 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomAndLindaRogers View Post
You asked for leveling tips. I have only one year’s experience leveling our Hurricane so others may want to add their tips.

In good weather conditions you can have both back wheels off the ground and not roll down the driveway. This is true as long as you don’t have ice, snow, or wheels under your jack pads. With that said, if I think I will have a rear wheel off the ground, I chock the front tires. Also, we have installed Snap-Pads on our jack pads for stability on any surface. Because of the weight distribution of a coach, having the rear wheels (and parking brakes) off the ground is less stable than having the front wheels off the ground.

With the jacks extended and two or more wheels in the air, the coach is more stable front to back than side to side. This may be true because of the way the jacks are bolted onto the frame and/or because of the effect that the wind has on the coach. Side winds are the worst, but you can tell the difference by walking in the coach even on a still day.

The most stable coach balances its weight among all jacks and tires. As the jack stand cylinders extend they lose stability. Combine that with a higher center of gravity, and you can see that we want to raise the coach as little as possible. I have found, with practice, that I can do that manually better than auto-leveling can. However, I started with auto-leveling and I recommend you do, too. Even though I often have a wheel off the ground, I try to fill the space with blocks. Hydraulic jacks can fail and when it happens it can be catastrophic. Never allow anything or anyone under your tire or coach without blocking it first.

As you noted, it would be easier to level the coach if I back into the driveway. The reason I don’t is the location of the coach door. For ease of access it is best for us to have the coach door close to our house’s front door. I use the ramps and the extension box under the jack pads to overcome the stability issues of raising the rear end to level the coach. And yes, it is a cumbersome process but it works for us.

Finally, I level the coach in our driveway to be able to run the refrigerator and use our full wall slide. Neither require a perfectly leveled coach so I try to balance stability and leveling.

Tom
As said earlier the shorter distance you extend you Jack's the more it will stabilize things. When all weight is on a near fully extended jack it is going to be shaky
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Old 01-28-2019, 08:48 AM   #12
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Coach movement

Hello folks. I am new to leveling jacks and have some questions. I figured this was good thread to add to.

I have a 2019 ACE 30.2 and a fairly level driveway.

1. When not in use for weeks at a time (fridge off & slide in), what’s the consensus on keeping the jacks down, yay or nay?

2. When my jacks are down, both front tires are in the air. This seems unnecessarily high. Am I right?

3. Do I need those LEGO blocks under the jacks’ feet? Or wood, or anything? Why?

4. The coach is randomly, but forever, re-leveling itself with little clicks (see 10 second video). No wind, no movement inside. Is this normal? Is it because the jacks are extended so far?

https://youtu.be/iLn1JkfkT-g
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Old 01-28-2019, 11:44 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by motofabio View Post
Hello folks. I am new to leveling jacks and have some questions. I figured this was good thread to add to.

I have a 2019 ACE 30.2 and a fairly level driveway.

1. When not in use for weeks at a time (fridge off & slide in), what’s the consensus on keeping the jacks down, yay or nay?

2. When my jacks are down, both front tires are in the air. This seems unnecessarily high. Am I right?

3. Do I need those LEGO blocks under the jacks’ feet? Or wood, or anything? Why?

4. The coach is randomly, but forever, re-leveling itself with little clicks (see 10 second video). No wind, no movement inside. Is this normal? Is it because the jacks are extended so far?

https://youtu.be/iLn1JkfkT-g
#1; My understanding from these forum posts, it is perfectly fine leaving the jacks extended. The concern is the shafts corroding, that could cut seals and cause more problems (leaks). So spray them (the cylinder rod of the jack) once in a while with WD40 or similar.
#2; Tire's off ground okay for short while, I would get some blocks or 2 x 12's and build ramp blocks. I would be concerned if It was more than a half inch, and would not stow it like that. I would not recommend ever lifting the rear tires off the ground (parking brake only works the rear tires).
#3; You create a larger footprint and spread the weight on the ground with them a little better. As far as needing them? I would, sometimes the ground is a little soft where they get deployed. Physics: pressure = specific gravity / area. i.e. SG would be the RV's weight displacement on that jack, and area is the jack pad area in square inches, resulting in pounds per square inch, or psi on the ground. Essentially it is how much weight you are putting onto the ground at that jack, if it was just the rod and no pad, it would punch a hole in the ground (less sq.in. area & more weight per sq.in.).
#4; I never experienced that, and never noticed ours doing that. Do you turn the system off once level? Maybe someone else can shed more light on this, as I can only surmise what it could be and not sure, internal leaking/readjusting?
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Old 01-28-2019, 02:15 PM   #14
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I don’t use my jacks when in storage. No need to subject them to the possibility of rusting and no particular benefit to doing so either. I prefer my coach to be unlevel when I’m not using it so that it sheds water more readily. Also, I try to drive it (and run the generator) about once a month an it’s easier if I don’t have to mess with the jacks. I prefer not to let the wheels off the ground mostly because they help keep the coach stable by virtually eliminating any lateral motion - which the jacks are not designed to handle anyway.
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Old 01-28-2019, 05:42 PM   #15
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On #2, putting blocks under the wheels, since the RV doesn’t know about blocks, that would make the jacks extend even farther. Unless people are wedging them in after the RV is leveled, then that seems useless.

There is certainly enough suspension travel that the jacks wouldn’t need to lift the wheels off the ground to level the coach.

What am I missing here?
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Old 01-28-2019, 06:38 PM   #16
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For me, the only reason to use the jacks is to level the coach for the RV frig or if I am going to put out the slides. I have a bubble lever by the driver's left hand that was calibrated to the frig using a carpenters level. If the parking spot is level within 1/2 of a bubble, I don't extend the jacks. My coach has two small slides. If the spot is more than one and a half bubbles off level in either direction, I move the coach around on the spot to find a better position or go back to the office and ask for a more level spot. I store my coach with the jacks up, but I live in an area where I can drive my coach at least 50 miles every month.
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Old 01-28-2019, 07:33 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motofabio View Post
On #2, putting blocks under the wheels, since the RV doesn’t know about blocks, that would make the jacks extend even farther. Unless people are wedging them in after the RV is leveled, then that seems useless.

There is certainly enough suspension travel that the jacks wouldn’t need to lift the wheels off the ground to level the coach.

What am I missing here?
I dont have your level system some folks here will do a system reset to take care of small problems. You could seach on that subject to see if that helps you.

You can always use your jacks manually so your not raising off the tires. Or I guess you can auto level then lower some on each side.
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Old 01-28-2019, 07:58 PM   #18
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If your driveway is fairly level then no tires should be off the ground when leveling. Maybe do a "reset" of your zero level calibration.

No need to level when parked for extended periods if the fridge is off.

I don't see any need for blocks under the front wheels when leveling causes the tires to be lifted off the ground. Rear tires are a different story.

When I turn off the ignition the leveling system turns off as well. Hard to tell from your video but it sounds like a little "leak back" from the cylinders to the tank. Look at your manual (as in not using the leveling pump motor) procedure for retracting the jacks. There are 4 solenoid operated valves that can also be operated manually with an allen wrench. Make sure they are in the fully closed position. After burning up a hydraulic pump motor on my MH I found one of those valves to be in an intermediate position.
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