2005 Winnebago Voyage - Need to Replace KwiKee (Lippert) Leveling Jacks

Mattturley · 10-29-2023, 03:16 AM

Hello All,

TL/DR; I am hoping to hear from others who have replaced their KwiKee Level Best leveling system with an entirely different system, like Bigfoot. Would love to hear what you used and how it went!

I am going full time in a 2005 Winnebago Voyage 33v, 2004 Workhorse W22 Chassis.

I know I am rehashing an issue that has been discussed a lot based on the search, but it is something that changes a lot over time, and I haven’t quite found what I am looking for.

Like many, I am having problems with the Level Up jacks that are part of the KwiKee Level Best system leaking major amounts of hydraulic fluid, creeping up over days, and also drifting down during travel setting off the Jack’s Down alarm. After several weeks of research (and purchasing 4, 14K capacity Jacks for a steal that I will now need to sell), I finally found the current part number which allowed me to locate the correct 10K capacity jacks. https://store.lci1.com/kwikee-level-...k-atlas-359278

The key was locating the part number (359278) and name of the jacks (Kwikee® Level Best 15" Straight Jack Assembly - 10K Atlas). The part numbers in the Winnebago parts diagram were not current, nor were the ones on the parts themselves. Anyway, the options are either to purchase new jacks ($1,588 on Lippert’s site, cheapest I have found is ~$1,250 at Walmart), to rebuild the jacks (either by myself with the help of a friend or by sending off to the company in Kentucky, or buying an entirely new system such as Bigfoot.

With the cost of new jacks being more than, or very close to an entirely new system, with features like auto level, and the potential instability of a rebuilt hydraulic cylinder, I am leaning very heavily toward buying a brand new system.

I am reaching out, hoping that someone has replaced their KwiKee Level Best system with an entirely different system. If so, can you tell me your experience, which system you went with, cost, and pros and cons you have discovered.

Thanks,
Matt

Morich · 10-29-2023, 08:04 AM

Not dealt with most of that , so little ideas to recommend. But I might throw in a small point on the jacks down alarm as it is not what we might expect. It is often really not a "jacks down" but a "low fluid" alarm!
A float switch in the reservoir lets it know when we push fluid out and to the jacks, so it says jacks down.
But that float switch also thinks the same thing when the fluid has leaked out and the level is low! It can't tell if the fluid went to the jacks or just out on the ground!

Good luck with the search as jacks can be great or a great pain in the neck!

Mattturley · 10-29-2023, 11:30 AM

Thanks so much for this information. I will say when I drove over the mountains in western Maryland, it was going off every 20 miles or so. I would pull over, put the ignition in AC, and hit the All Up button. This would silence the alarm, and I could here the pump lifting the jacks up.

Morich · 10-29-2023, 11:53 AM

Yes, it can be either of several things. The low level can just be low level faking the alarm. Or it can be the jacks are actually going down to something else like a solenoid not holding the fluid from going places it shouldn't and the jacks creep down.

So if trying to lift the jacks also clears the alarm, there is more chance of it being one or more of the solenoids in the main unit not closing like they should.
One of the things easy to spot after working around hydraulic stuff outside is that they often have leaks!
The pressures are so high and then throw in a bunch of grit and grime on all those big shiny cylinders and it's easy to see why seals are hard to keep holding the pressure.
Maybe why the fluid is red? they know it going to leak so they make it easy to spot where!

You've got a difficult decision on what might be best. Looking at $2000 + to go new? Ouch?
But looking at near the same to repair or replace parts of a twenty year old system? That's a big questions on the parts that are still left being twenty years old!

Kind of like my old body? Maybe we should just jack up the hood and replace everything else?

Mattturley · 10-29-2023, 12:54 PM

Ha - I have had to replace a lot of body parts in the past 2 years - had my right hip replaced twice in a month time frame due to two falls - destroyed my femur on the second fall so also had to have an 18” titanium rod, 7 cables, and 5 screws in to secure that. Brian surgery in 17 had to separate blood vessels from a nerve they had damaged, then place teflon to pad the nerve. Kind of like an exhaust system being too close to an electrical wire and needing a heat shield so the insulation doesn’t get damaged.

I think I have decided that a new system makes the most sense. Will wait until tomorrow, so I can contact the manufacture and possible Winnebago technical support to confirm a system will fit before purchasing.

Ray,IN · 10-29-2023, 02:19 PM

If all jacks are doing the same thing, it is not a problem with the jacks, it's in the valve body. What is the HWH model number of your leveling system? without that we are simply guessing.

If all jacks are leaking it is likely someone put hydraulic jack or brake fluid in the reservoir and ruined the seals, which HWH says not to do or damage will result. Only HWH fluid or Dextron III should be added to the reservoir.

For free expert advice for your HWH problems, call Paul Maddox, he works for HWH and knows every system quite well.He said; my cell is 602 549 3638. i will answer all calls as soon as possible.
Be sure to leave a message with complete details.

Mattturley · 10-29-2023, 10:27 PM

System isn’t HWH - is Lippert KwiKee Level Best 3000, the jacks are Level Up jacks from Lippert - part number 359278. I put a link in the post to those jacks.

I can physically see the hydraulic fluid leaking out of all of the jacks when system is in use.

As I said above, I am looking for a full system replacement. Likely Bigfoot, but if others have had success with something else, would like to hear.

wahoonc · 10-30-2023, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattturley

System isn’t HWH - is Lippert KwiKee Level Best 3000, the jacks are Level Up jacks from Lippert - part number 359278. I put a link in the post to those jacks.

I can physically see the hydraulic fluid leaking out of all of the jacks when system is in use.

As I said above, I am looking for a full system replacement. Likely Bigfoot, but if others have had success with something else, would like to hear.

I have the Bigfoot System on my 2016 Concord. It has been trouble-free. My only gripe is the Auto Level can be a bit aggressive.

Aaron

Mattturley · 10-30-2023, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wahoonc

I have the Bigfoot System on my 2016 Concord. It has been trouble-free. My only gripe is the Auto Level can be a bit aggressive.

Aaron

Aggressive is a broad word, so I will use my grad school professor question… how so?

Morich · 10-31-2023, 07:20 AM

Aggressive? Yes! But I might call it too quick to try to get it done!
Bad habit of jacks and controls is that they sometimes don't stop after making and adjustment and they decide to move it a little more before they let things settle!
They jack the front a bit too high, then jack the back too far and go to the front and lift it again.
Finally it can get all four tires off the ground and tell you it can't level as the ground is too steep!
Slow down and think it over is not built in sometimes!