ATF: Bighorn - Opening slides when coach is not level

[SeattleLion]

Last night we brought the coach home from the dealer. It was there due to the muddy condition of our side yard. It turns out we were premature. We managed to get the coach in the yard but not quite in the right spot. The truck bogged down. I managed to unhitch and AAA towed the truck out. The auto leveling would not work...we were out of range, it said. I got the coach pretty level front to back, but it is listing a bit to one side. It will be weeks before we can drag the coach to it's right spot.

Is it safe to open the slides while it is off level? I am asking the factory because I figure you have the most accurate data.

 

[cookie]

I am not from the factory, but I think you should be able to manually level the rig side to side.
If the levelers are going to sink in the mud, use some boards to make the footprint bigger.
And if my trailer is not level, I would not have a problem opening my slides.
JMOP

Peace
Dave

 

[SeattleLion]

The levelers will not operate at all when the coach is out of range. I tried. I can adjust the landing gear and I did to achieve front-to-back level. I was surprised that the jacks wouldn't work manually. I have the 6 point Lippert system.

 

[Pizzadigger]

If you are that far out I would jack up the low side and place some boards under the tires to bring it up closer to level. Read jacking instructions and follow them. then you will also need some blocking for the jacks on the low side (all three). Be careful, safety first. I just don't like to run the slides in and out when not level.


Andy

 

[SeattleLion]

I don't see any way to override the controller. I have no sink foot things under the jacks and the landing gear isn't sinking. The problem is that I can't make the lippert leveler let me lower the jacks that need to go down.

 

[azbigfoot]

Dead battery???

 

[SeattleLion]

Battery is fine and the lippert leveling system reports 13.5 volts. I am also connected to shore power. The system won't let me override the jacks and lower them manually.

 

[boatto5er]

You have some issue other than being out of level. I've used boards 6inches thick before on one side so the leveling jacks could work. Low battery could be an issue. Have you tried manually leveling the rig?

 

[SeattleLion]

You have some issue other than being out of level. I've used boards 6inches thick before on one side so the leveling jacks could work. Low battery could be an issue. Have you tried manually leveling the rig?

I must be unclear. The auto levelling system refuses to let me manually lower the side jacks. I have the necessary blocks, etc. I just can't get the leveling system to let me lower the jacks manually. I set the controller to let me lower the jacks manually, but when I try, it tells me that the coach is too far out of level and asks me to push "enter" to confirm. Am I missing something?

 

[boatto5er]

I must be unclear. The auto levelling system refuses to let me manually lower the side jacks. I have the necessary blocks, etc. I just can't get the leveling system to let me lower the jacks manually. I set the controller to let me lower the jacks manually, but when I try, it tells me that the coach is too far out of level and asks me to push "enter" to confirm. Am I missing something?

I've never seen that before when using the manual entry, only when trying to auto-level with too much side to side slope. Must be some new feature Lippert has put in. Try calling Lippert. They've been pretty helpful with several of us in the past.

 

[SeattleLion]

Great suggestion. I will do that and report what they say. What a royal pain.

 

[boatto5er]

There have been times I have cursed my auto-level system (under my breath of course), but I have praised it more often. Sometimes it just doesn't seem to want to cooperate.

 

[emm4273610re]

Last night we brought the coach home from the dealer. It was there due to the muddy condition of our side yard. It turns out we were premature. We managed to get the coach in the yard but not quite in the right spot. The truck bogged down. I managed to unhitch and AAA towed the truck out. The auto leveling would not work...we were out of range, it said. I got the coach pretty level front to back, but it is listing a bit to one side. It will be weeks before we can drag the coach to it's right spot.

Is it safe to open the slides while it is off level? I am asking the factory because I figure you have the most accurate data.

If nothing is happening it sounds as if something is wrong. The system doesn't know how out of level you are before it starts. It's purpose in life is to level the unit. Didn't you get a disc to watch inside your packet at delivery? Your selling dealer is no help? If all else fails read the directions.

 

[SeattleLion]

Just got off the phone with lippert. The Level Up system will not allow the side jacks to operate manually if the coach is more than 5 degrees out of level. So I can not level. That leaves my initial question: Can I extend the slides?

 

[boatto5er]

The 5 degree thing must be a "new" feature (of course since I have an early model, everything is a new feature). I'm not a hydraulics expert, but I have seen many rigs with slides extended even though they were no where near level. In the end, it's probably up to whether you want to (or need to) do it or not.

 

[SeattleLion]

It would be a big help to get them out. I just want to be sure I won't be damaging the coach and I can get them back in. I figure we are tilting about 10%.

 

[caissiel]

I firmly was told these were best for set in unlevel location. Now one more reason not to need any. Only adds to fustrations.

Sent from my LG-LS720 using Tapatalk

 

[danemayer]

I would only extend the slide on the high side. If you can extend it, retracting will be easier. And the outboard weight might help you by getting that side to sink a little.

The 5 degree limitation is to keep you from getting into a tip-over condition by accidentally pushing the wrong button(s). Extending the slide on the low side could shift your center of gravity enough to really give you a problem.

My 2010 build of the 4 point leveler also has a side-to-side limitation that I've run into a couple of times. But I was able to get past it with some sequence of key presses. Sorry, but I don't remember what I had to do. And yours might be programmed differently anyway as it's a 6 point system.

 

[SeattleLion]

I would only extend the slide on the high side. If you can extend it, retracting will be easier. And the outboard weight might help you by getting that side to sink a little.

The 5 degree limitation is to keep you from getting into a tip-over condition by accidentally pushing the wrong button(s). Extending the slide on the low side could shift your center of gravity enough to really give you a problem.
My 2010 build of the 4 point leveler also has a side-to-side limitation that I've run into a couple of times. But I was able to get past it with some sequence of key presses. Sorry, but I don't remember what I had to do. And yours might be programmed differently anyway as it's a 6 point system.

The Lippert customer service tech categorically stated that I couldn't move the jacks with more than 5 degrees of tilt. I would love to find a way to do it. I think I would figure out which jacks to control before they hit the ground so tipping isn't really a risk. I don't know how to open only one slide. I am brand new to this. I was thinking the same thing; that if I could extend the uphill slide I would improve balance and would also have gravity on my side to close it. One more thing I don't know how to do with my new coach.

 

[scottyb]

If it is indeed more than 5 degrees out of level, I would not want to put the slides out. That's almost 9" out of level in 102". Maybe you can raise it enough with a jack to trick it into leveling itself or allowing you to manually level it. If you are like me, it would bug the heck out of me to let it sit like that for long.