Another hydralics question

[CherriandBob]

Ok, I am the forums (computer) person in the family and Bob is the technical/mr.fixit so please hang with us here. I know this has been discussed, but with my limited knowledge of hydraulics and Bob being somewhat computer challenged I thought it would be easier to ask the question directly and hope to get answers then me look for topics, print them off for Bob then have him read them and so no, that isn't the same.
We are now having problems with our jacks. The front jacks seem to wonder down on their own. Usually it is the door side jack. They don't drop when they are under pressure, only when on the truck. The bedroom slide seems to creep out a little too. Bob was wondering if anyone had the schematics for the hydraulics system. The info that came with the unit is limited as usual. He talked to someone at Lippert but so far their suggestions haven't worked. So, I am asking for any suggestions. Thanks for the help.

Cherri

[Mikey]

Contact Kara (Trailair) (Level Ups) 1-800-998-4238
She can pass your question to Dale Fenton. He seems to have a good knowledge of the system

[David Schwertner]

I had the same problem in the past on my 08 MS. In fact it has happened more than once.
At the DRV rally in Colorado in June, I mentioned this to Lippert Rep and he said to run the bedroom slide in and out three consecutive times and it will fix the problem. Also, the toggle switch sometimes get dirt in it, so they said to work the switch back and forth some might help also.

Hope this helps, it is worth a try.
David

[keithandpenne]

Sounds like you may have air in the system and need to cycle all cylinders full stroke several times to purge. once done, if that does not resolve the problem, you may have a leaking seal in the cylinder that will need to be replaced as the cylinders are not repairable per Lippert.

First, check fluid level with all slides in and legs up. Fill to approx 1 inch from the filler neck.

Then extend the cylinders full length in the order of front legs, rear legs, curb slide, road slide and last bed slide unless you have a vanity slide and it would be last. Then retract the slides in the reverse order and legs last. This should be done at least 3 or 4 times.

Once done, retract legs and watch for any creeping. There is a five year warranty on the hydraulic system.

Good luck and post your findings when you complete the repair.

[Motor31]

The jack legs creeping down are a symptom of the failure of the internal seal on the jack. That seal prevents the fluid from moving from the extend side of the ram to the retract side.

In short you need to get it checked asap. The later stages of this symptom will be the dropping of the nose when parked. The jack will extend and lift the trailer to level but later on will start to bleed down internally. There is no leakage outside the ram to see. The solution is to replace the ram as Lippert does not rebuild them. The one that drops first is usually the bad one. This can take some time to really develop so start to watch for small increment drops in the rams. I used a magic marker to make a line on the exposed part of the ram where it came out of the exterior housing to see when it started to drop.

It's also very bad to have the jacks extend during travel. If it hits the road you will grind off some of the ram and if you hit a speed bump with the extended jack you can do some major damage to the rig.

I made a post about 2 years ago with the fix to the situation (ram removal and replacement) and a link to the pix that were taken by my buddy and posted in their blog.

[CherriandBob]

Thanks for the help! Bob has talked to Lippert and they are sending new cylinders today. I'll post later the process he did.
We actually had a leg wonder down a little when we were on our way home from Colorado. Had a truck driver all excited, but caught it before it got too low. Just something else to watch for.

Cherri