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Old 08-25-2018, 04:54 AM   #41
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THOR #12326
The rear I welded the brackets on like the instructions read and bolted jacks to brackets but Sip bolted on the rear brackets and I don't see anything wrong his way. they do sell a bolt on kit for I think $150 or so for the rears but I didn't even look at them for that price. I did front mounts after work on weds, pump and ran electrical to locations on thurs after work. tied in electrical and ran hydro lines on Friday after work. Saturday I welded on the brackets and mounted the rears, tied in all hydro lines and bleed. by noon sat I was testing. sunday left all jacks fully down to get any air out and good to go. I would say a full weekend working comfortably or a solid day pushing it. the angle drill and stubby bit is to be able to drill the frame between the storage compartments for the fronts. Either order the bit or try and find before hand. home depot and lows don't have them

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Old 08-25-2018, 12:06 PM   #42
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Ok, thanks for the info. Do you remember what size bit you had to order? I dont weld so I will have to get the extra kit. Thanks again - you have been most helpful.
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Old 08-25-2018, 11:37 PM   #43
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http://nebula.wsimg.com/697dc9b1ce62...&alloworigin=1
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Old 08-25-2018, 11:43 PM   #44
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http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1535240543

BOOM!!!!! LOL
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Old 08-26-2018, 12:41 PM   #45
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Thanks, I downloaded the instuctions yesterday. So was that the 7/16 drill bit that you ordered a stubby size of? I might just order a few diff sizes to have on hand anyway.

So when you get ready to leave - if you put your keys in and start the engine does the control board light up red and give you a buzzer? Or Will it retract automaticaly if you get this far?

Thanks for the photos.
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Old 08-26-2018, 05:43 PM   #46
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the buzzer will go off. you can still try and drive away if you ignore the buzzer. Also if key is on the jacks will not go down or up. yes 7/16" bit.
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Old 08-26-2018, 08:34 PM   #47
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Ok thanks.
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Old 08-27-2018, 10:09 AM   #48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Long & Winding road View Post
Sip and Vegas Baby.... looks like you both have the same ride (24.1) are your units based on the E350 or E450 chase (I know some of the older 24.1 were E350 but not all?)

...

Do you know how long your jacks are in the front (overall length) and how much room do you have around them (was it a tight fit)??
Mine's the e450 as well. There was plenty of room but see the pics with comments in my google album (the comments are hard to see now with how google shows them).

I can take some more exact measurements if you need something in specific ... I tried to mount the jacks high up so they wouldn't hang down lower than anything else under the frame ... I figured I could use plastic steps if I ever needed more height.
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Old 08-27-2018, 12:52 PM   #49
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Ok thanks. I looked under the front and rear ends of my Axis. Looks like plenty of room to install on both ends (Esp. the rear).

Were did you put you pump? Under the drivers side on the frame behind the forward most storage compartment? It looks like thats where BF suggest the placement.
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Old 08-27-2018, 06:08 PM   #50
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Thanks Sip.

I just looked at your pictures on Google. Awesome. Very helpful.

I have few more questios for you.....(will they ever stop - LOL).

Looks like the brackets are NOT painted from BF? Thats crazy.

Did you have to drill all the holes in the brackets as well as the frame? Or are the brakets predrilled and you just drill the frame?

Did the Ford frame have "some" of the holes in the right locaton from factory already? Or did you have to drill 100% of them.

Is your central pump located under the drivers seat rigth next to the tranny output? Was that the best location.

Was all of the hydraulic hoses and wiring long enough from the kit?

What else did you have to purchase to complete the job? Looks like some plastic conduit in the frig compartment?

Black paint,

And then some Assortment of wire connectors and zip ties? Anything else needed?

Would you change anything now that you used it some? Perhaps locations of inside controller or central pump?

Does this kit come with the "wireless remote" that they show on line?

Thanks again for your help.
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Old 08-28-2018, 12:40 AM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Long & Winding road View Post
I just looked at your pictures on Google. Awesome. Very helpful.
I have few more questios for you.....(will they ever stop - LOL).
Glad to hear it. I really wish I had someone to ask when I started mine. I had a lot of looking to do at different videos and pictures to get an idea

Quote:
Looks like the brackets are NOT painted from BF? Thats crazy.
Mine were not painted. They were meant to be welded on which makes sense. Painting wasn't a big deal ... I also keep several cans around because the bottom of the rv is scary even on new ones in how quickly things start to rust. I'm glad I'm in CA which helps a lot.


Quote:
Did you have to drill all the holes in the brackets as well as the frame? Or are the brakets predrilled and you just drill the frame?
The brackets are predrilled for the jacks. Everything else I had to drill both on the frame and on the sides of the brackets. As I went through the process, I realized a "step bit" is definitely worth it for this kind of job. I broke a couple but man do they make drilling big holes in tight spots easier

Quote:
Did the Ford frame have "some" of the holes in the right locaton from factory already?
Not really. I preferred to drill my own anyway to have them be where I thought they should be.

Quote:
Is your central pump located under the drivers seat rigth next to the tranny output?
Mine is near the center of the rv on the driver side of the drive shaft. There is a frame crossmember there that I was able to mount to. I tried to stay central and away from everything else.

Quote:
Was all of the hydraulic hoses and wiring long enough from the kit?
The hoses and cables were long enough ... I ran some of my own wiring so I re-did a lot of the electricals. But the hoses, which at first I was thinking of having custom-length ones made I decided not to mess with. I managed to use the ones that the kit came with after some careful planning and measuring.

Honestly, I almost went nuts trying to keep the kit wiring in-tact. It was a LOT easier to just cut and splice ... I ran wires out from panel to the under-fridge fuse panel area ... and from the pump up into the rv .. and spliced. Trying to figure out how to manage all that just so you keep the kit wiring and connectors adds a lot of complexity and confusion.

For electricals, I like to run 7-conductor (18/7) sprinkler wire everywhere ... maybe several of them. This not only gives me a nice shielded wire that can withstand the elements, it is also a lot easier to run ... and with extra conductors, I have future expandability for anything else I might want to add. But this is just for the low-current signal wires between the pump and the panel.

For the jack-up sensor wire (goes to each jack to make a single ground circuit for all jacks being in the up position) I used their wire.


Quote:
What else did you have to purchase to complete the job? Looks like some plastic conduit in the frig compartment?
Lots of grade 8 bolts, washers, lock washers, and nuts. I basically got my own bolts for everything. I used 1/2" steel all-thread for the rear brackets to help me stiffen the frame. It's not as strong as grade 8 but since the brackets sort of hug the frame, I think they'll do fine. I still used grade-8 for the actual jack bolts.

Electrical stuff I always have plenty at home just from various projects. So yah random connectors, electrical tape, lots and lots of zip ties, looms.

Paint spray .. I get the self priming stuff at the local hardware store. I also tend to do touch-up sprays with rustoleum hammered since it can go straight on top of rust too.

Quote:
Would you change anything now that you used it some?
I like Vegas baby's idea of cutting the side of a storage compartment for the pump location... I definitely didn't want to put it in a storage compartment since they are such valuable space But I have not had to touch that box since I closed it up so it's been fine where it is. It's just that in case of problems, I might have to crawl under the rv .. and it will probably happen when I am stuck in mud or snow or some horrible situation


Quote:
Does this kit come with the "wireless remote" that they show on line?
Not mine. I didn't want any automation and no wireless. I wanted the simplest thing because the more doo-dads it has, the more things there are that may not work well or have problems.
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Old 08-28-2018, 01:17 AM   #52
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Thanks for the quick reply ..... your just a weath of information.

So you DIDNT get the optional "bolt on" kit? You said your brackets were the WELD on.

So if one purchase the "bolt on kit" Im assuming it come with all of the grade 8 bolts, nuts, washers etc?

So when your done installing you have to bleed the system. How long did that take. Was it a one person job? Do you use brake fluid or hydraoulic fluid?

Thanks again.
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Old 08-28-2018, 01:41 AM   #53
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Smile Bigfoot on Vegas 25.5

I opted to have them installed they did a great job and very quick. I live about an hour away so drove there the night before and used electric and WiFi.

Meet the shop manager at 7:30 then walked to breakfast and when returned they were just finishing the install. Good walk through, paid and on my way by 10:30.
Used a few times and leveled quick give such a solid feel when off the suspension.
Wish Thor offered as factory installed option so could include in loan.
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Old 08-28-2018, 03:57 AM   #54
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WOW 3 hours to install! I bet it was 3 guys working on it at the same time. But still that is quick. How much did they charge to install? I dont trust anyone around here except for myself. But still I figuring 3 days at 6 to 8 hours per a day to be safe (thats including 3 trips to Home Depot like every other big job I start). I wish I lived closer to them.
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Old 08-28-2018, 04:17 AM   #55
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When I bought (2 years ago), weld-on was the only option.

Fluid: Transmission fluid (dexron III)

Bleeding: Pretty easy with the single pump at least (the system I got) but better done with 2 people. If I remember right, once everything is ready, one person extends the jacks one at a time while the other person catches the fluid coming out of the extend-side hose. Once you get a steady stream, stop extending at the panel and reattach the hose. The manual says which order to go. So this way basically you have fluid coming to all the jacks and not much air left.

Then you extend all the jacks all the way and let it sit for a while ... then retract. I forget exactly what they say to do but I think that was about it ... extend and retract a few times just to make sure everything is working as expected and check the fluid level at the reservoir.
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Old 08-28-2018, 04:27 AM   #56
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Ok, good to know. Sound easy.

So you had your for TWO years now? So how to you like them so far? How many times a year do you use them? Like once a month or more? How often should we bleed them?

Do you have some rubber feet attached to the bottom of them like some of the larger A class have?
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Old 08-29-2018, 12:01 AM   #57
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Lol yah "nearly 2 years" ... looking back at my pictures, I started early sept 2016 and finished the last parts of the install sometime in November working on things during whatever free time I could find on weekends. I went at a pretty slow pace as I was in no rush.

This was my last update post on overall happiness .. definitely glad I did this:
Thor Forums - View Single Post - Installed BigFoot rv jacks on 2016 24.1 Vegas

Regarding how often:

The RV is always resting on the jacks these days even when parked in the yard. So in that sense, they are in constant "use". No leaks or problems of any kind that I have noticed so far. I haven't checked the fluid level but since there have been no leaks, I suspect it's fine. It does remind me to go under there and check though

As far as how many times I've cycled them ... I'd estimate about once a month at least. Sometimes the RV sits for a couple of months but then we do a week-long trip with 3 or 4 stops along the way where I extend and retract the jacks. I'd say in the last 2 years we've had probably 5 or 6 such extended trips and a bunch of short weekend trips.

The other day for example I extended the front ones with plastic steps to get more space to get under it to do an oil change too.

Standard disclaimer: Use jack stands, be safe, etc.
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Old 08-29-2018, 01:23 AM   #58
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I had an HWH auto leveling system installed on my Gemini. Since its on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis & Mercedes says under no circumstances can the frame be drilled or welded, HWH makes a kit that is totally bolt on. Its been on almost a year now, works great, I had an HWH system on my former DP, same control panel, works pretty much the same, except this one does not have to deal with air suspension and air dump valves, so its faster to deploy and retract.
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Old 09-09-2018, 02:03 AM   #59
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Do we know how far down these jacks will extend? Looking at the Big Foot videos the shafts look like they might be telescopic? The cyinders look like they are about a foot long but when fully down it looks like they extend 18 inches or so?

Do we know how long they are overall at max extention?
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Old 09-10-2018, 12:47 AM   #60
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So I just measured the front and rear frames on my 17 Axis (E450) and I have TWO more inches of clearance on level ground than you show in your pictures (Vegasbaby) to the bottom of the frame.

Vegas shows 14 inches - 14.5 vs 16.5 on mine. Was your RV level on the ground? I wonder how much the suspension settles over time. I only have 4100 miles on my 2017 so far.

The backs look the same as yours (18.5 inches to the bottom of the frame).

So that should allow me to mount my brackets about two inches lower than yours in the front (so about even with the Big Foot bracket holes on cylinders).

Im going to call Big Foot MON to ask them a few question and see what all is included in the "bolt on" kit (maybe the can send me some pictures - if they do I will post them on line).

Looks like plenty of room under the RV on the Passenger side chassy frame - Its behind and about two foot rearward batteries (Under the steps). That way I can keep the power cables nice and short like the suggest on line.
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