Question Safe tire levels for 2020 London Aire

[MikeTip]

Try air leveling. You get a lot more variance with air leveling and wheels always on ground.

I usually use the air level unless the pad is a very sturdy pad.

Ok, the. That brings me to a second question... we were told by the dealer that we shouldn’t use air levelers for more than a couple of hours on a short stop. Are you saying we can use that feature for a night on the road when we can’t get the coach level? (I trust this forum more than the sales/ dealer we purchased from.)

The purchase experience has been unbelievably bad. We were PROMISED a day long training on the systems when we were thinking about purchasing the coach. Training was important because we have never owned an RV before and felt we may be in over our heads. The day we arrived for our training, the coach wasn’t ready and the tech who was to train us didn’t service Newmar. (He had to call one of the other techs to figure out how to start the engine!)

I am still glad we purchased a Newmar, as the company has been terrific to respond to us, as our own service dealer simply took their commission and is basically non- responsive. Only regret, we should have ordered from Newmar instead of purchasing new off the dealer’s lot. I have read how excited people are with the pick up processing week at Newmar and I think we would be better trained!

Thank you again for “training us”! Our dealer should be sendI got RV Forum some of the commission they earned - as they didn’t complete their promise!

 

[redbaron]

Air levelers are for full time use. Use what works best for your situation. Dealer is a fool.

 

[CTI2000]

MikeTip, Did you buy your LA from that dealer in Richmond? They are a little scary. You can use air leveling all you want. Just be aware the air pump it uses to maintain air pressure runs off of the chassis batteries and will drain them down. If you are plugged in or running genset and the charge bridge is working, no problem. On my chassis, the air pump is located behind a metal cover in the driver's side front wheel well (1st pic). Spartan covers the pump with a plastic bag for delivery to Newmar. Mine still had the bag on it and the air intake line/filter wasn't connected. I connected the line to the compressor and run it up front so the filter is under the front cap and out of wheel well spray (2nd pic).

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

That brings me to a second question... we were told by the dealer that we shouldn’t use air levelers for more than a couple of hours on a short stop. Are you saying we can use that feature for a night on the road when we can’t get the coach level?

Sorry you got such bad advice from your dealer. We use air leveling whenever we are on the road, whether for overnight stops or 2-3 nights as long as we are plugged into 120 VAC power as @redbaron suggested. It works just fine! You may notice just a slight bit more bounce as you walk around in the coach, but it is not unpleasant for us. And, using air leveling is so quick and easy.

When we are parked on a solid, hard surface (like when we are at our lot in Polson. MT), we do extend the jacks to firm things up. Of course, our parking pad is already level, so it is just a matter of putting out our jack pads (to protect the concrete) and hitting Autolevel.

You mentioned in an earlier post that your front wheels come up off the ground when leveling on some sites. Have you tried using the "Manual dump" feature before activating "Auto level?" Even though Auto level is supposed to dump the air before leveling, we've found that there are occasions where the air is not fully dumped before the jacks come down. Normally, I don't bother doing that but in situations where I think I can improve my leveling situation, I retract the jacks and do a manual dump before reactivating the auto level.

Finally, don't be afraid to use your manual leveling controls. Frequently, you can lower the rear of the coach rather than having Auto Level raise the front. We carry a 3" circular bubble level that I use to manually check my coach leveling. It works great when you need to use the manual leveling controls. There's also a cell phone level app (at least for the iPhone) that is a pretty good substitute for the bubble level.

TJ

 

[MikeTip]

MikeTip, Did you buy your LA from that dealer in Richmond? They are a little scary. You can use air leveling all you want. Just be aware the air pump it uses to maintain air pressure runs off of the chassis batteries and will drain them down. If you are plugged in or running genset and the charge bridge is working, no problem. On my chassis, the air pump is located behind a metal cover in the driver's side front wheel well (1st pic). Spartan covers the pump with a plastic bag for delivery to Newmar. Mine still had the bag on it and the air intake line/filter wasn't connected. I connected the line to the compressor and run it up front so the filter is under the front cap and out of wheel well spray (2nd pic).

Yes, it was one of the dealers in Ashland. The coach was brand new when we purchased from them. Glad to know we can use air leveling system. That would have helped our situation the evening we had the leveling issue! We will look into this- thank you for pics and the advice!

 

[MikeTip]

Sorry you got such bad advice from your dealer. We use air leveling whenever we are on the road, whether for overnight stops or 2-3 nights as long as we are plugged into 120 VAC power as @redbaron suggested. It works just fine! You may notice just a slight bit more bounce as you walk around in the coach, but it is not unpleasant for us. And, using air leveling is so quick and easy.

When we are parked on a solid, hard surface (like when we are at our lot in Polson. MT), we do extend the jacks to firm things up. Of course, our parking pad is already level, so it is just a matter of putting out our jack pads (to protect the concrete) and hitting Autolevel.

You mentioned in an earlier post that your front wheels come up off the ground when leveling on some sites. Have you tried using the "Manual dump" feature before activating "Auto level?" Even though Auto level is supposed to dump the air before leveling, we've found that there are occasions where the air is not fully dumped before the jacks come down. Normally, I don't bother doing that but in situations where I think I can improve my leveling situation, I retract the jacks and do a manual dump before reactivating the auto level.

Finally, don't be afraid to use your manual leveling controls. Frequently, you can lower the rear of the coach rather than having Auto Level raise the front. We carry a 3" circular bubble level that I use to manually check my coach leveling. It works great when you need to use the manual leveling controls. There's also a cell phone level app (at least for the iPhone) that is a pretty good substitute for the bubble level.

TJ

TJ, thanks again. We did just purchase a manual level like you had suggested. Yes, Newmar had walked us through the manual air dump process. It for some reason didn’t correct the problem that evening.

We did use the manual leveling system to obtain a better position keeping front wheels on the ground for that night. Being so new to this, we were not sure if we could safely open the slides when the coach was not fully (perfectly) level.

However, just 2 days after that “episode”, we woke up to find hydraulic fluid leaking out of the generator area of the coach. Thankfully we were in Bristol, VAheading home and Newmar found someone to take a look at it. They assured us we were ok to continue the drive home. Our “girl” (coach) is at the dealer for those repairs. We have asked them to look at the leveling system for adjustments if needed, as well as a list of the things they were to rig before our original pick-up!)

Praying they can meet the end of month deadline for this “pick-up” as we are heading to Texas for the birth of our first grandchild!!!!? Looking forward to an uneventful road trip to El Paso at the end of this month. (Son-in-law stationed at Ft Bliss.)

Thank you AGAIN for more great info and advice!!! Words don’t describe our application!

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Sounds like you are well on the way to getting your issues resolved. There is a bit of a "shake-down/learning curve" experience with these beasts, but it gets easier to deal with as you go because you become more experienced. We've all been there and, to some extent, still are. Learning is a lifetime experience!

Congratulations on the pending addition to the family. Grandkids are the best; you can spoil them rotten and then send them home to their parents. And, please thank your daughter and SIL for their service to our nation. Spouses are as much a part of the "service" as those on active duty. We appreciate their dedication.

Blessing to all.

TJ

 

[MikeTip]

Air levelers are for full time use. Use what works best for your situation. Dealer is a fool.

 

[CTI2000]

"Being so new to this, we were not sure if we could safely open the slides when the coach was not fully (perfectly) level."

For a HWH hydraulic FWS, look at page 171 of your owners manual. Check reveal, deploy slides and then level.

Ahhh, grand kids...your going to love it! We have two, spoil them and then send'em home.

 

[MikeTip]

Thanks we will!!! Again, we were flowing the dealer’s instructions. Clearly, based on what we are learning... I think we will need to look at the manual and follow those instructions versus the notes we took at the time of delivery! Thank you!!!