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Old 07-31-2022, 08:15 PM   #1
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Good, Bad, or Dunno

New at this .....and wondering if this is right. Only happens when the site is undeveloped, sloping forward.....Click image for larger version

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Old 07-31-2022, 09:01 PM   #2
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Manual level will help going as high
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Old 07-31-2022, 11:26 PM   #3
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I never auto level...that carnival rides just keeps pumping the coach up and up. Jacks are not designed to support the total weight of the coach.
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Old 07-31-2022, 11:41 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by ontherun View Post
New at this .....and wondering if this is right. Only happens when the site is undeveloped, sloping forward.....Attachment 38956
Carry wood to put under the tires. This happened to us last week we pulled in a concrete handicap spot and it was way out of level and we lifted the front wheels off the ground. Put wood under the front tires and then leveled it. You don't want any tires off the ground
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Old 08-01-2022, 12:08 AM   #5
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Doesn't hurt to have front tires off the ground IF the site requires it for level. As others said, manual leveling will help minimize this situation.
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Old 08-01-2022, 12:25 AM   #6
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This is from Lippert and all others I researched. Never lift the unit completely off the ground. Lifting the unit so the wheels are not touching the ground will create an unstable and unsafe condition.
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Old 08-01-2022, 12:31 AM   #7
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This is from Lippert and all others I researched. Never lift the unit completely off the ground. Lifting the unit so the wheels are not touching the ground will create an unstable and unsafe condition.
So Lippert claims their jacks are inherently unstable? The instability comes from lifting the rear wheels off the ground on a slope. No emergency brakes on the front wheels.

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Old 08-01-2022, 01:31 AM   #8
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If ALL FOUR JACKS are in solid contact with the ground, AND you're not sitting on a steep hillside, the coach isn't going anywhere. The jacks should be rated to lift the weight of the coach.

With the coach lifted and the jacks fully extended, if wind or a person using reasonable lateral force could push the coach over (breaking the jack welds), the jacks are either severely underrated for the application, or the welding during jack installation was inferior.

That said, use COMMON SENSE! The e-brake should be set securing the rear wheels BEFORE any lifting. The front jacks should come down to SOLID ground contact first WITHOUT lifting the fronts off the ground. Then the rear jacks can be lowered. Once the rear jacks are in solid ground contact... the coach SHOULD be stable... and the jacks SHOULD be capable of lifting the coach as much as necessary.

I've seen beachfront homes on stilts that even a hurricane couldn't blow over. Properly rated hydraulic jacks, PROPERLY installed on an RV should be no different.
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Old 08-01-2022, 01:34 AM   #9
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This comes right from their PDF
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Old 08-01-2022, 01:35 AM   #10
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Etrailer says the same thing
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Old 08-01-2022, 01:44 AM   #11
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Manufacturers nearly always have a CYA clause because they have no control over lack of common sense. That said, no one is holding a gun to anyone's head forcing them to lift ANY wheel off the ground. It's an individual choice... if it doesn't feel right for you, don't do it!!
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Old 08-01-2022, 02:07 AM   #12
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Never ever, ever hang a front or rear end off the ground. Use blocks to drive up onto. The front is bad for the suspension. I used plastic stacking blocks for my fifth wheel, but for my diesel pusher, I have wood blocks 18x18 I made myself. Do not ever lift a rear end off the ground, the rear tires are locked by the parking break. On a slope you could fall forward or backwards without warring. On a diesel pusher they are locked by the lack of air pressure. I have also seen a new diesel rig lift off the ground on a slope and go sideways and bend the rear jacks.
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Old 08-01-2022, 02:08 AM   #13
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So Lippert claims their jacks are inherently unstable? The instability comes from lifting the rear wheels off the ground on a slope. No emergency brakes on the front wheels.

the rams are designed to lift not lateral load. The airbrake in on the rear wheels.
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Old 08-01-2022, 02:59 AM   #14
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I never auto level...that carnival rides just keeps pumping the coach up and up. Jacks are not designed to support the total weight of the coach.
This type of statement I have seen repeated well before I purchased and now almost 4 years after purchase. I am just gonna assume that Lippert has faulty leveling system? I NEVER manually labor and it it dead level every time. Ironically when coach was new I use to try to manual level because I assumed that was only way to go. It worked but it was just a hassle to do.

When mine does start the pump, it is kind of cool because you know it is about to finish.

I will have to add this to my list of; if it does not work; do not buy. i.e.
- Auto Level does not work or not reliable
- ACs not cooling
- Fridge not cold
- Generator will not start without being primed every time
- No AGS
- etc.
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Old 08-01-2022, 03:31 AM   #15
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Lifting a suspension is "bad for it"? How so? Exactly what components are damaged? Auto manufacturers have sold scissor jacks for years with specific instructions in the manual about safe use for lifting wheels entirely off the ground. Vehicles are left sitting on jack stands for years without fear of suspension damage. This is essentially an old wives tale with no basis.
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Old 08-01-2022, 11:01 AM   #16
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Auto level sends all 4 jacks down to ground contact (Levelup system on mine). It then tries to raise the front to level. With the rear jacks down, the rear end can’t squat. So it raises the front off the ground. Here’s how I do manual.

Run the front down till level. L or R if needed. Then run rear down just until they make contact. Bingo. All that wobbling and jumping up and down puts stress on the frame, walls, and roof. It can’t be good for the coach.
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Old 08-01-2022, 12:15 PM   #17
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Auto level sends all 4 jacks down to ground contact (Levelup system on mine). It then tries to raise the front to level. With the rear jacks down, the rear end can’t squat. So it raises the front off the ground. Here’s how I do manual.

Run the front down till level. L or R if needed. Then run rear down just until they make contact. Bingo. All that wobbling and jumping up and down puts stress on the frame, walls, and roof. It can’t be good for the coach.
I guess this is what I am trying to understand. It it fundamentally hard for me grasp why Auto level does not work. Just like I grasp doing it manually and both should work if done correctly, unless something is wrong?

Maybe someone should define "does not work" From reading my manual, I grasp I am at greater risk of doing damage to my coach but doing so manually ( twisting etc. from inexperience).

Anyhow, it is not clear if some are saying they Auto Level does NOT auto Level (complete to be level?), or when it auto level they don't like the way the Mfg design the way it levels.

I know manual is there for a reason, and I have used it, use to use quite frequently because I thought it was the thing to do from posts from past years. But I just verify the surface, and press auto button and wait for the wait light to flash green (takes a minute) always level per my Digital Camco green / red level indicators. I have seen a wheel slightly off ground on rare occasion. I have many 2" x12" wooden blocks I made. I will put a block on the side of the tire in question; raise the jacks, back coach up, slide block(s) in, drive up on it and re-level. Other than the manual, I am not structural engineer to tell anyone it is needed, but it is very rare and what I do. If for no other reason, I get to use the wooden blocks I made.
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Old 08-01-2022, 12:25 PM   #18
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Auto level will certainly level and the stopping point will be higher

Some us prefer being closer to the surface so we use manual, which is also faster
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Old 08-01-2022, 12:55 PM   #19
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Auto level will certainly level and the stopping point will be higher

Some us prefer being closer to the surface so we use manual, which is also faster

Thank you, this is clearer to me now This is were the Duck would chime in saying that we sometimes confuse people because I was thinking as if the Auto Level was doing some damage or not working properly?

I have used manual for special situations like playing around to get more waste from holding tanks, a very obvious unlevel surface terrain that auto level will not like or try. Never felt coach was too high, but will keep that in mind if I see.
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Old 08-01-2022, 02:04 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by dkoldman View Post
Thank you, this is clearer to me now This is were the Duck would chime in saying that we sometimes confuse people because I was thinking as if the Auto Level was doing some damage or not working properly?

I have used manual for special situations like playing around to get more waste from holding tanks, a very obvious unlevel surface terrain that auto level will not like or try. Never felt coach was too high, but will keep that in mind if I see.
My Coach will level out manually with the bottom step just a few inches above the surface on a reasonably level site. The advantage is having to use a step stool, or not between the first coach step.

Using auto, which is calibrated, it will add a couple inches of height before it completes the algorithm.

Our preference is to have the head of the bead about 1.5 inches higher which is easily accomplished by watching the 1/2 bath door swing, having already leveled front to back

The preference could be added to auto level as the calibration set point but I prefer to have the auto level calibration being set at level, front and side

Hey, speaking of Duck, where is he?
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