Staying hooked up with auto leveling? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

oldyank · RV-Dreams Community Member

Staying hooked up with auto leveling?

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

it will depend on the angle and level height needed when doing it , but it will also put more stress on the front & rear levelers if they have to shift the weight of the truck with it or force weight down on the truck

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Does this mean when you're wally-docking you need to unhitch?

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

no .....in fact I would never unhitch in a store parking lot , you stand a very good chance of your landing pods going thru the asphalt and damaging the rig and an expensive bill for the holes you punched thru there asphalt and the tow truck to pull yours out..

parking lots unless concrete are made from several different types of asphalt, some are porous to allow water to pass thru also you dont know if that pretty plaza you are parked in was built on swamp land or sand.

walmart is for overnite stops......

I wont get into the walmart banter but .....IMHO putting your levelers down in a parking lot is a NO-no....for just the reasons above , they are good enough to let us overnite but sooner or later due to abuse and damages it will come to an end....(and slowly it is already occurring)

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

It depends. The thing to watch out for is putting down the front jacks too far and then raising the back jacks a (relatively) long way. The front jacks act as a fulcrum and then king pin hitch, when you raise the rear of the trailer, has a lot of leverage to drive the rear of the truck down. If you have to raise the front (just a little) that’s the best situation. If you have to raise the rear a lot, I wouldn’t and don’t.

It can be, on some frames, very stressful if you are not careful. Some systems won’t even permit manual operation (required if still hitched) due to the fact some frames just can’t take much stress.

“Leveling” while hitched up is a relative issue. A little – generally no big deal. A lot, probably best not to do it if you’re not real sure.

Naturally if you have manual control of your hydraulics and you pretty close to level, like Wallydocking, then putting them down just for stability is fine. I just really recommend you stay away from automatic and never raise just one corner of the trailer. Made sure you do everything in pairs front to back / left to right.

Mike’s comments I agree with as pertains to Wal-Mart or the like. But if you’re going to do it make very sure you have something under those pads that will keep you from putting any indentation in the asphalt, etc.

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lucky Mike wrote:
.....IMHO putting your levelers down in a parking lot is a NO-no....for just the reasons above , they are good enough to let us overnite but sooner or later due to abuse and damages it will come to an end....(and slowly it is already occurring)

101% on that..........................I've preached that for a long time. People would take it wrong and I'd get in trouble.

I had just seen some up here at WallyWorld. Huge motorhome, jacks down, antennae up, and not only one but all (4) four slides out. May as well bring out the chairs and BBQ.

Well a little off track..................Maybe that's why I get in trouble.

-- Edited by TRAILERKING on Thursday 26th of June 2014 12:09:52 PM

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

We love you as you are Bernie!!!!........

oldyank · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks for all the prompt feedback. We'll be staying in campgrounds where we are parked on concrete pads. I'm thinking the leveling would be mostly for stability. When I put the load of the trailer on the truck, when hitching, it seems to drop the bed about 8" or so. I need to check this actual distance some time. So my thinking is that if the leveling doesn't raise the front more than that then I shouldn't be putting any stress on the hitch. Since I can use the experience hitching and unhitching (as a newbie to fifth wheeling) I guess I should just unhitch and not have any issues. biggrin

The Junkman · RV-Dreams Family Member

TRAILERKING wrote:

Well a little off track..................Maybe that's why I get in trouble.

-- Edited by TRAILERKING on Thursday 26th of June 2014 12:09:52 PM

Me Too.. biggrin

dewwood · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't have the auto level feature but if I did I would not use it while hooked to the tow vehicle. Think of it like have an 8,000 lb weight hanging from the pin box of your fifth wheel. Also, any side force would really put the trailer frame in a bind.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Like some others have mentioned, I'd use the stabilizers only for that and to for leveling so much. While the coach would likely be alright, if I'm going to put any slides out, I'd prefer stabilizers to be down. However, I'd unhook if I wasn't level front to back anyway. As for staying in Walmart's parking lots, I hope to not have to do much of that.

Terry

R12 · RV-Dreams Family Member

oldyank wrote:
We are going to be making a trip where we will have a few one night stays. Our fifth wheel has six point auto-leveling. Should I have any concerns about applying the auto-leveling while still hitched to the truck? Will it put too much stress on the fifth wheel hitch?

If you are asking if it is alright to push the AUTOLEVEL button on the control panel then my answer is DO NOT use the auto levelers while attached to the truck! Autolevelers work by first dropping the front of the fiver below level and then raising it to the level position. If attached to the truck they will not be able to do this. Always unhitch and move the tow vehicle away from the trailer so the trailer does not lower itself onto the truck before pressing the AUTOLEVEL switch.

If you do not want to unhitch then use the manual feature of the leveling system. Lower the front jacks so that they touch the ground. If the front of the trailer is a little low it can be raised with the front jacks but do not lift it past the point where the truck starts to be pulled up by the trailer. If the front is too high then you will have to unhitch if you want it level.

Once the front is set then you can lower the rear jacks and when they touch the ground let them barely lift the camper so they are taking the weight and stabilizing the camper.

I have the Lippert levelers on my camper and have had the Bigfoot levelers on the previous one I owned. They both work the same way by dropping the front first before they are able to level.

-- Edited by R12 on Friday 27th of June 2014 05:41:20 AM

oldyank · RV-Dreams Community Member

Paul (R12),

Thanks for the additional detail. As I posted earlier I had decided to get the practice of unhitching and re-hitching but hadn't thought about pulling the truck away from the trailer. Your comment, about the auto-leveling first lowering the front, has changed that.

Again, thanks to all for your replies.

I've had a 35' motorhome in the past but this fifth wheel thing is all new. We're excited about getting out on the road.

R12 · RV-Dreams Family Member

You're welcome Gary. For more info check out YouTube videos from Lippert Level Up. This one should get you going...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJLFoZfY1Hs

oldyank · RV-Dreams Community Member

We did our first trip this past weekend. When I went to the storage facility where we have the trailer stored I couldn't get the jacks to work following the directions posted on the side of the unit. After a quick call to the dealer I found out those were wrong. It actually turned out to be simpler to operate them. Got hooked up, traveled to campground, got unhooked, enjoyed weekend, hooked up and got home without any jack issues. Thanks again to all who provided feedback.

Neil and Connie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill and the rest of the gang are right. Don't worry about being level for overnites if staying hitched. I put the front jacks down with pads just to take most of the weight off the truck, this makes the rig pretty stable. Also, don't forget to pull the 7 pin cable as I've seen more than one truck battery get drained if it was left connected. We don't generally wallydock but on the rare occasions when we do I generally don't do slides unless I can get over against the grass where it won't be in the way. If I can get either kitchen or living room out we are good and we can get by without the bedroom at all.

oldyank · RV-Dreams Community Member

I think I'll be unhitching each night/late afternoon, so I can go fill the truck with diesel. All the replies have been helpful and I thank all of you.

Now on to another section of the forum to check on RV sheets.....