Use of Auto Leveler Jacks While in Storage

[MSK]

I am interested in hearing any pros and/or cons of putting a Class A up on its leveling jacks while in storage for months at a time. It is indoor storage and hooked up to shore power.

Thanks.

[HMCSW]

Why? I am not sure but think that would have a lot of pressure on the lines for months? I would think most storage is flat already.

[Chateau_Nomad]

We have a class C, but same principle. I thought this over. Why level when you're not in it? The only reason would be for the absorption fridge and personal comfort... neither apply in winter storage.

The only other consideration is to COMPLETELY lift all four tires off the ground. I'm NOT going there...

Ours is maybe 2 - 3° off level, but who cares? I just winterized it and put the cover on. I have one of the solar panels exposed on the roof to keep batteries charged. Once a month I zip the cover loose around the exhausts and exercise the genny and engine. A quick check of batteries water, then button it back up until next month.

That's my winter storage routine.

[macdaddy1111]

Originally Posted by MSK

I am interested in hearing any pros and/or cons of putting a Class A up on its leveling jacks while in storage for months at a time. It is indoor storage and hooked up to shore power.

Thanks.

If we are not running down the road, our jacks are always down. We have never had a problem in multiple rigs.

[lwmcguire]

I have never stored any of my rigs with Jacks down, simply no point at all and certainly no benefit

[MSK]

Originally Posted by MSK

I am interested in hearing any pros and/or cons of putting a Class A up on its leveling jacks while in storage for months at a time. It is indoor storage and hooked up to shore power.

Thanks.

OK, I didn't make my question quite clear enough. I am not worried about the level, I am interesting in taking the weight off of the tires and developing "flat spots". As far as hydraulics go it is better to keep pressure on the lines and valves then to leave them unpressurised.

[lwmcguire]

Originally Posted by MSK

OK, I didn't make my question quite clear enough. I am not worried about the level, I am interesting in taking the weight off of the tires and developing "flat spots". As far as hydraulics go it is better to keep pressure on the lines and valves then to leave them unpressurised.

Most rigs sit outside many months at some point in their useful life and are not on jacks

No, it probably don't hurt anything to leave them pressured and take a load off tires but modern tires don't react like Nylon of yesteryear

I never use mine for storage ever in many years with various rigs

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by MSK

OK, I didn't make my question quite clear enough. I am not worried about the level, I am interesting in taking the weight off of the tires and developing "flat spots". As far as hydraulics go it is better to keep pressure on the lines and valves then to leave them unpressurised.

Really? You got a reference for that?

[Chateau_Nomad]

I have aftermarket Big Foot levelers. I talked to a tech last week because of possible air in the hydraulic lines. He instructed me to extend all 4 jacks, let it sit for a couple hours, then fully retract. Fixed the air problem.

During our conversation I asked him about leaving the jacks fully extended for an extended period... like 5 months of winter storage. He said it would not affect the system at all. The problem is people forgetting to clean the cylinders before retracting them.

Concerning flat spots on tires... I'd like to see documentation from a name-brand tire manufacturer stating that modern tires will suffer damage if left for X amount of time. Then I will consider taking weight off the tires in storage.

[EA37TS]

If slides are extended the jacks should be down. If the slides are retracted it doesn’t matter. Regardless of up or down they, like the generator, need to be periodically exercised.

[Chateau_Nomad]

I have Hankook Dynapro tires, and I'm still researching information from Hankook Tire on mine. So far I'm reading that taking weight off prevents "temporary flat spots"... which disappear after driving/warming the tire.

But I haven't found anything specific about actual damage. Third party info varies, but most recommend taking the weight off. I'm still looking - I WILL extend my jacks to lift the weight off the tires if I can find supporting evidence of deterioration/damage.

[lwmcguire]

Almost all trucks and trailers usesd seasonally are parked without any thought as to anything except perhaps rodents

The only critical item is don’t park anything with an under inflated tire





Sent from my SM-G970U using Thor RV Forum mobile app

[GTM41261]

Personally I would store with the jacks down. It will help level the load and it takes some weight off the suspension. Now with that said I have had trailers and motorhomes with out levelers and they were just fine. But know the 5th wheel has them and I stored it with them down. Like I said can't hurt

[Pete'sMH]

I don’t level in storage for several reason. One of them is that my storage has just the right bit of slant to help water run off to the back - where I want it to go.

[Dirny]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

I have aftermarket Big Foot levelers. I talked to a tech last week because of possible air in the hydraulic lines. He instructed me to extend all 4 jacks, let it sit for a couple hours, then fully retract. Fixed the air problem.

During our conversation I asked him about leaving the jacks fully extended for an extended period... like 5 months of winter storage. He said it would not affect the system at all. The problem is people forgetting to clean the cylinders before retracting them.

Concerning flat spots on tires... I'd like to see documentation from a name-brand tire manufacturer stating that modern tires will suffer damage if left for X amount of time. Then I will consider taking weight off the tires in storage.

That’s interesting… I have new Bigfoot Levelers on my Axis 25.6 and called Bigfoot last week specifically to ask about leaving on jacks during winter. He told me it is NOT good to leave them extended for a long period of time, and told me not to do it during the winter. I was hesitant to do it anyways because when you are storing cars for long periods, they should be on the suspension. That’s why you don’t store cars on repair lifts… storage lifts are designed to support the car under all 4 wheels.

It really bothers me when we get different answers from the same source. Still, I’m comfortable leaving it on the suspension for the winter.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Dirny

That’s interesting… I have new Bigfoot Levelers on my Axis 25.6 and called Bigfoot last week specifically to ask about leaving on jacks during winter. He told me it is NOT good to leave them extended for a long period of time, and told me not to do it during the winter. I was hesitant to do it anyways because when you are storing cars for long periods, they should be on the suspension. That’s why you don’t store cars on repair lifts… storage lifts are designed to support the car under all 4 wheels.

It really bothers me when we get different answers from the same source. Still, I’m comfortable leaving it on the suspension for the winter.

I talked to Kyle. What he told me generally follows for hydraulic systems in general, and how they work. The biggest issue is keeping contaminants like water and dirt out of the system. Part of this involves being certain the rams are pristine - absolutely clean and dry BEFORE retracting. You can research for yourself, but the general consensus is that leaving a "healthy" hydraulic ram either extended or retracted for long periods will not affect the system itself.

The issues of "distended suspension" and tire flat spots are completely separate matters.

After reading MANY car enthusiast forums (same tire rules apply), I'm finding the "flat spot" issue is a myth... a carryover from circa 1950s tires. Leaving the tire in contact with a FLAT surface, properly inflated under proper load for a period of a few months (NOT years) will leave no permanent "flat spot". The tire will reform to it's normal shape after a short drive - especially in warmer weather.

The more immediate concern is weather/UV damage to the exposed tires. There are specific tire industry warnings about that.

So, at this point I'm just leaving my MH sit on it's tires and suspension - completely covered, including tires.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

I talked to Kyle. What he told me generally follows for hydraulic systems in general, and how they work. The biggest issue is keeping contaminants like water and dirt out of the system. Part of this involves being certain the rams are pristine - absolutely clean and dry BEFORE retracting. You can research for yourself, but the general consensus is that leaving a "healthy" hydraulic ram either extended or retracted for long periods will not affect the system itself.

The issues of "distended suspension" and tire flat spots are completely separate matters.

After reading MANY car enthusiast forums (same tire rules apply), I'm finding the "flat spot" issue is a myth... a carryover from circa 1950s tires. Leaving the tire in contact with a FLAT surface, properly inflated under proper load for a period of a few months (NOT years) will leave no permanent "flat spot". The tire will reform to it's normal shape after a short drive - especially in warmer weather.

The more immediate concern is weather/UV damage to the exposed tires. There are specific tire industry warnings about that.

So, at this point I'm just leaving my MH sit on it's tires and suspension - completely covered, including tires.

So following the clean and pristine logic you have to crawl under the coach and wipe down the shafts every time you level on a dirt or gravel site?

I worked on hydraulic systems in tanks and artillery guns for years and this philosophy doesn’t pass the logic test and miserably fails the smell test. Hydraulic cylinders generally have wipe seals to keep the shafts clean and prevent contamination from getting inside the cylinder.

[Porkchop]

Front loaders and mining equipment operate all day every day in dirty dusty conditions. I have never seen anyone wipe a cylinder down for any reason.

Bill

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

So following the clean and pristine logic you have to crawl under the coach and wipe down the shafts every time you level on a dirt or gravel site?

I worked on hydraulic systems in tanks and artillery guns for years and this philosophy doesn’t pass the logic test and miserably fails the smell test. Hydraulic cylinders generally have wipe seals to keep the shafts clean and prevent contamination from getting inside the cylinder.

I imagine military spec equipment is constructed to just a tad "slightly" higher standard than typical consumer goods... apples to oranges?

Secondly, a situation where muddy, sandy soil is allowed to accumulate on the ram and repeatedly pushed against the seals will eventually cause wear and cause leaks and contamination on commercial/consumer grade equipment.

There is readily available information from hydraulic systems manufacturers about how much hydraulic fluid is leaked into the environment every year - AND how to avoid it. Field operators regularly just top off reservoirs to compensate for leaking seals - ignoring the root problem - because it's cheaper, and less downtime than replacing leaking seals. A leaking seal is a FAILED seal... and topping off fluid is NOT a fix.

Personally, I prefer to take the extra two minutes to do a simple maintenance procedures which require little effort. Those easy things sometimes pay off down the road by avoiding surprises... like a hydraulic jack with a slow leak.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

I imagine military spec equipment is constructed to just a tad "slightly" higher standard than typical consumer goods... apples to oranges?

Secondly, a situation where muddy, sandy soil is allowed to accumulate on the ram and repeatedly pushed against the seals will eventually cause wear and cause leaks and contamination on commercial/consumer grade equipment.

There is readily available information from hydraulic systems manufacturers about how much hydraulic fluid is leaked into the environment every year - AND how to avoid it. Field operators regularly just top off reservoirs to compensate for leaking seals - ignoring the root problem - because it's cheaper, and less downtime than replacing leaking seals. A leaking seal is a FAILED seal... and topping off fluid is NOT a fix.

Personally, I prefer to take the extra two minutes to do a simple maintenance procedures which require little effort. Those easy things sometimes pay off down the road by avoiding surprises... like a hydraulic jack with a slow leak.

Been putting my jacks down and slides out while stored for years and never had a leaking seal or s slide malfunction. I do retract slides during snow storms and exercise the jacks while exercising the generator. I will continue doing what I know works and not what some self proclaimed experts think.

As another has stated construction equipment as well as military equipment work in dust and dirt daily and a dollar to a donut says the specs are similar for the applications.