Leveling with front tires off the ground

[J&JD]

Is it actually a necessity to store a motor home level if all the systems are turned off anyway?

Certainly not but if you simply shut down & walk away some of the air bags will slowly leak until the coach settles on the frame. If you’re lucky and have a leak free air system then it will stay at ride height. It doesn’t really matter for storage purposes unless you want to operate the slides. In my case, with the coach parked in the backyard, my right front airs down in about 3 days. Sometimes I leave it that way for weeks with no problems and everything in the coach works just fine except the slides. If I want to operate the slides I start up the coach and let it return to ride height which is where Newmar recommends the coach to be for slide operation. Bottom line, IMHO, store it any way you want, just be careful with slide operation. And, I have a residential refer which doesn’t seem to matter being a bit out of level.

 

[Jim]

In my case, with the coach parked in the backyard, my right front airs down in about 3 days. Sometimes I leave it that way for weeks with no problems and everything in the coach works just fine except the slides.

Didn't your coach come with the Valid leveling system?

 

[J&JD]

Didn't your coach come with the Valid leveling system?

No, but I had Active Air installed by HWH several years ago. Sometimes I air level while in storage but since we go in and out of the coach a bit since it’s right at the house and there is some air bag leakage the small auxiliary compressor operates more than I like to keep the coach level. If the coach is going to sit for just 2 weeks or so I will air level. Otherwise I just let the coach do its thing.

 

[Jim]

No, but I had Active Air installed by HWH several years ago.

Made a whole different coach, didn't it?

 

[Andre]

Hello, any advice on having the front tires off the ground after leveling? Is this ok?

I am new to this RVing, my third trip out, I was on ground that was not level. I put wooden blocks under my back tires and Jack's. The back was much lower ground than the front. When retracting the jacks they all come up at the same time, I think. When I was retracting the jackets the rig moved forward about an inch, I bent one and broke one off completely. Keep in mind this was all my fault. I had taken the wooden blocks out from under the tires. By doing that the back tires are off the ground and now no emergency break!! I will never have my tires off the ground again. I have Lago blocks and will drive my rig on them along with Lago blocks up the Jack's.

 

[RKins]

I remember seeing some Baystars with their front tires off the ground, while at the Newmar rally at RV Supershow, Tampa. The last step off the steps was a doozy.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I am new to this RVing, my third trip out, I was on ground that was not level. I put wooden blocks under my back tires and Jack's. The back was much lower ground than the front. When retracting the jacks they all come up at the same time, I think. When I was retracting the jackets the rig moved forward about an inch, I bent one and broke one off completely. Keep in mind this was all my fault. I had taken the wooden blocks out from under the tires. By doing that the back tires are off the ground and now no emergency break!! I will never have my tires off the ground again. I have Lago blocks and will drive my rig on them along with Lago blocks up the Jack's.

Oh I feel that pain - When we were new to the RV a couple years ago, I did something similar, slightly bending one jack which rendered it unusable. Took a year to get the replacement part, then find someone qualified to do the work, get on the schedule and finally get it fixed. That was an expensive lesson.

Having been through that, we will always keep back tires on ground since they are the brake.

 

[Andre]

Oh I feel that pain - When we were new to the RV a couple years ago, I did something similar, slightly bending one jack which rendered it unusable. Took a year to get the replacement part, then find someone qualified to do the work, get on the schedule and finally get it fixed. That was an expensive lesson.

Having been through that, we will always keep back tires on ground since they are the brake.

I was able to order the Jack's, I removed the back Jack's reinstall them myself within about two weeks. We always keep a large selection of tools, we removed them at the campground. It was just one more lesson I have learned.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

This past May, I saw a Class C in Indian Point Campground jacked up so high and oddly that only one back tire was touching the ground. The front wheels were probably a foot up in the air.

 

[Gizmo]

When I was at Newmar I ask the repair tech about wheels off the ground and he smiled and said company policy says I have to tell you not to do it because it could cause bodily harm to you. Then I ask want has he had seen coaches coming in with damaged jacks. He said what he sees most often is people stacking 2X6 under the jacks and boards shifting and you should always use blocks that lock together. Also, he said the best policy is if you can level it without blocks under the jacks and move to a different site. I ask about the parking brakes on the rear axle and he said if you have air ride you have very little weight on the rear tires when level so the brakes are not very effective.

 

[J&JD]

I ask about the parking brakes on the rear axle and he said if you have air ride you have very little weight on the rear tires when level so the brakes are not very effective.

???

 

[Gizmo]

???

If you have airbags and let the air out before leveling the coach sits down on the stops and then when the jacks to level it lifts the coach off the stops even if only a 1 inch or so the only weight on the rear wheels is the weight of the tires and axles. The entire coach is being supported by the jacks.

 

[J&JD]

I might be mistaken, but if you leave the airbags at ride height and raise the coach with the jacks you still get about the same scenario. Virtually all the weight is transferred to the jacks regardless.

 

[Gizmo]

I might be mistaken, but if you leave the airbags at ride height and raise the coach with the jacks you still get about the same scenario. Virtually all the weight is transferred to the jacks regardless.

True, but you should let the air out of your airbags before leveling. My Discovery had a switch where I could dump the airbags but on the Newmar, the bags are dumped while the jacks are deploying.

 

[RKins]

I guess it depends on the brand of leveling system you have? I have HWH and when I auto level the first thing it does is dump the airbags.