HWH Levelers

[rogo88]

Re: My new-to-me 2004 Journey.

I did a search and found many threads re: levelers, but perhaps my questions are too simple...

1. The manual calls the controller red lights "Warning Lights" but doesn't say what they are warning of. Do they come on simply to indicate that a particular jack is deployed [un-stored]? Conversely, by going out, are they indicating that they are fully retracted [stored]?

2. When retracting the levelers, does the "Store" light ever go out? Does it stay on until you turn the controller off?

3. What means are available to dump the suspension air? I can find no "lanyards" in the right front wheel well. Is the "dump" feature on the leveling console the sole means?

Thanks,
Ron

[Dharr10]

If the red lights are on the jacks are not full retracted"You dump the air on the level control panel.Just make sure to hit store ,before pulling off,make sure coach is coming up.

[DaleM]

Hi

I'm my manual it says to not shut off the jack controller after hitting the store button, the light does go out but it does take a few minutes.

Dale M

[Ramzfan]

Those lanyards should be in the right front wheelwell. I've never pulled mine, but I found them there this winter while changing the bushings on my sway bar.

[FIRE UP]

rogo88,
You are correct that, there are four RED lights on that panel, one for each jack. If any of them light up, it means a corresponding jack is not completely stored. There are also four YELLOW lights. They indicate which section/side/end is LOW and needs to be raised to acquire level.

When, all the YELLOW lights are out, basically your rig is level. Now, just how level, well, that's up to the individual. Most of those systems are fairly accurate so, you should be pretty darn close to dead level.

Now, it depends on just what model system you have. If, you've got what I think is the, 625 system, it may, or may not be a fully automatic leveling system. Or, it's manual too. If your panel has on it, what I think it does, you'll see a "Dump" button right along the "STORE" button. If you don't see a dump button, your system is not the same as I have.

The "Lanyards" are not there for dumping the air out of the system. They are there primarily for a moisture check in the tanks. There should be three of them, just inside the right front fender well. You just give them a yank once in a while and while doing so, observe under the coach to see if any water/moisture is exiting from any of the tanks.

Hope this helps some.
Scott

[NC Rob]

HWH Pressure......they recommend that you not manually shut the unit off when the jacks are up. The system is designed to equalize line pressure and then shut off on its own. A manual shut off does not allow the system to balance pressures.

[Sam Green]

I am so glad that this thread was posted, maybe I have finally learned how to operate my levelers. While on the subject of levelers, I found that having the level control rods on the floor by the drivers seat can be a little dangerous. My great grandson was playing around with his toys and no one noticed that he had crawled behind the drivers seat when suddenly the MH bounced and jumped. He had pulled the front levele rod back to store and the front end of the MH dropped. Lucky enough, it was only about 3 or 4 inches. the first thing I did upon arriving home was to build a wooden box with a lid around the level rods.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by NC Rob

HWH Pressure......they recommend that you not manually shut the unit off when the jacks are up. The system is designed to equalize line pressure and then shut off on its own. A manual shut off does not allow the system to balance pressures.

NC Rob,
You could be right, I just don't remember reading it in my HWH manual(s). I do know that when the "Store" button is pushed, and, the coach is running, the HWH system opens all the solenoids and let's all the fluid return to the reservoir and, begins to fill the bags with air. Now, depending on how cold it is outside, and, how strong the springs are on the jacks, it will take a bit for all the jacks to retract to the point that the sensors are satisfied and tell the ECM board that all the jacks, are ALL THE WAY UP and, therefore, all the fluid is back in the reservoir.

Now, there is a timer on that system too. Based on the last up jack and, all the RED lights are out, the timer goes into effect and, it will be around 6 minutes and all the lights on the panel will go out with the exception of the travel mode light.

Now, I've done it both ways, multiple times. I've waited 'till the last Red light goes out, step outside and down on one knee to make SURE that all the jacks are up and, back into the coach and turn the system off manually. Or, I simply back off and let the system work its "automatic" magic. I figure the more I let it do it that way, the more I know that the timers/system/mechanism are all working as designed.
Scott

[OldChief7155]

The colder the outside temp the longer it takes them to retract too. Level side to side first, then front to back.

[slick60]

Great Answers. I agree with all. I must say however that my jacks are inconsistent in time required to retract. It seems the more I use them the more consistent they are but sometimes REAL slow.

[NC Rob]

We purchased a 2011 TOUR and while the coach was new, we found the jacks retracted too slow. The factory said they should be fully retracted in not more than 5 minutes. After a treatment of non-petroleum silicone spray, they "zip up" and away we go.....again the company said that new seals are so tight that sometimes it restricts the retraction back into the sleeve.

[Richdash]

Originally Posted by Sam Green

I am so glad that this thread was posted, maybe I have finally learned how to operate my levelers. While on the subject of levelers, I found that having the level control rods on the floor by the drivers seat can be a little dangerous. My great grandson was playing around with his toys and no one noticed that he had crawled behind the drivers seat when suddenly the MH bounced and jumped. He had pulled the front levele rod back to store and the front end of the MH dropped. Lucky enough, it was only about 3 or 4 inches. the first thing I did upon arriving home was to build a wooden box with a lid around the level rods.Attachment 34762

Attachment 34763

Awesome idea.... I will have to come up with something for security as well since i travel with small children at times!

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by rogo88

Re: My new-to-me 2004 Journey.

I did a search and found many threads re: levelers, but perhaps my questions are too simple...

1. The manual calls the controller red lights "Warning Lights" but doesn't say what they are warning of. Do they come on simply to indicate that a particular jack is deployed [un-stored]? Conversely, by going out, are they indicating that they are fully retracted [stored]?

2. When retracting the levelers, does the "Store" light ever go out? Does it stay on until you turn the controller off?

3. What means are available to dump the suspension air? I can find no "lanyards" in the right front wheel well. Is the "dump" feature on the leveling console the sole means?

Thanks,
Ron

As mentioned many times earlier the red light at each jack position remains on anytime the jack is not fully retracted. On our system the lights will come on when the jack(s) are extended 1/8" or more. It can take a fair amount of time to get them retracted that last 1/8" in cold weather.

If you read the details of the system I think you'll find the solenoid for the jack that doesn't fully store is activated until the red light is out. It also mentions that leaving the solenoid on for extended periods can causethe solenoid to burn out. So if you have a sticky jack it might not be a bad idea to give it some assist with some sort of lever before you do burn out the solenoid.

As for the "Store" light, it won't go off until up to 2 minutes AFTER all the jacks are retracted (all red lights out). Since you seem to have 1 or more jacks that don't retract properly the store light will remain on.

When the store light goes off the system goes into the sleep mode. This mode keeps the jacks up and allows oil to to continue to return to the reservoir. This is important in that in many applictations the hydraulic lines run close to heat sources (engine, radiator, exhaust pipes, muffler, etc.) As the lines warm up the fluid in the lines expands. The system in sleep mode allows the warm expanded oil to return to the reservoir.

If the system is shut off (by starting the engine before the store light goes out) the solenoids will close and any oil that expands in the lines will have to go to the jacks. Depending on the amount of oil and the size of the jacks it might be enough to slightly lower a jack and set off the "Jacks Down" alarm.

You might be able to make the jacks respond more quickly by cleaning them. Whenever ours get sticky I spray them down with WD40 to dissolve the road grime them wipe them thoroughly with a rag or paper towel. I make sure to spray up under the lip of the housing to loosen any crud that has accumulated on the scraper an seals. After it sets a few minutes I clean everything out from under the lip with some Q tips. It's imperative you get all the WD40 off the jack rods. It's a petroleum based product that will attract more dust and dirt if it isn't thoroughly cleaned off.

HWH used to recommend spraying the rods with silicone spray to lubricate them. It seems every few years they recommend a different method or none at all. I don't know if the components keep changing or someone keeps finding different ways to clean them

We had to replace 2 jacks at about 20,000 miles because they wouldn't retract. Since then I clean them with WD40 at least once or twice a year. We now have over 100,000 miles on the coach and have never had another problem with the jacks.

[nbounder]

While we're on the jack topic - I read once (where? short term memory failure prevents more detail) that one should spray the jack rods with silicon spray just before retracting them every time you break camp. I have done so for the past 6 years, and the jacks seem to retract nicely, and a slight seepage of fluid on one of the jacks has actually 'healed' itself. How do ya like that?!

[NC Rob]

My 2011 TOUR HWH Jacks were retractng sluggish. I found some non-petroleum silicon spray (use each time) and they retract in 5 minutes....Amazing....