Leveling Jacks & Aluminum Wheels

Never felt the need for jacks on a coach less then 25'-26'.  Used a 33' Newmar Baystar A for a month a few years back and the dealer told us to make sure to use the jacks to level the coach before you put the slide out.  Newmar has several models with half and full body slides.  One day I forgot to use in a state park that was a little off level.  Heard this groaning noise when putting out the slide.  Realized then the twisting and wracking a slide goes through in an unlevel coach.  Makes sense.  Fell in love with the auto jacks.  Push one button and 15 seconds later your level.  Not sure I would get in a 24' RV....at our age probably.

Volkemon, here's that pic of my rear levelers.  I know its a lousy pic, but I was too lazy to pull it out of the barn to get a good one.  I drew a red arrow.   As you can see, they hang down almost as low as the mud flaps, maybe about 2" less.

And I know someone is going to ask... that white thing hanging down is my sewer hose carrier, which I made from a large (5", I think) plastic gutter downspout.

  And the picture is FINE, leave her in the barn. Looks like it has more clearance than the trailer ball does, and further forward.  I suppose if one does NOT have a trailer, that would be the 'scrape point'.  Thanks again!

I do watch under the rig when backing into a site with rear parking bumpers or big rocks. We don't want to hit the bumpers with our jacks and we make sure to stop with enough space for the jacks to swing clear. Other than that, We don't worry about them.

  And the picture is FINE, leave her in the barn. Looks like it has more clearance than the trailer ball does, and further forward.  I suppose if one does NOT have a trailer, that would be the 'scrape point'.  Thanks again!

Sorry, not even close.  Leveler clearance: 6".  Tow hitch: 14"

I do watch under the rig when backing into a site with rear parking bumpers or big rocks. We don't want to hit the bumpers with our jacks and we make sure to stop with enough space for the jacks to swing clear. Other than that, We don't worry about them.

"Jacks swing clear"?  See, that's what makes me think my rig is different.  My jacks don't swing at all, like those manual jacks I see on a lot of trailers.  Do later versions of the automatic levelers solve the clearance problem by making them swing down into position?

BlueBlaze,

I'm not knowledgeable about what model leveling jacks that Phoenix used in the past and when they transitioned to newer models.
However, the system installed on my 2019 2552 is the HWH Model 725 Automatic Leveling System.  That system is available with two different jacks, 6000 and 9000 pound units. 
Both jacks store horizontally; they swing down to vertical position before they extend, and then rotate back up to horizontal when they are retracted.

Mike

Quote from: Volkemon on July 26, 2019, 05:47:01 am

  And the picture is FINE, leave her in the barn. Looks like it has more clearance than the trailer ball does, and further forward.  I suppose if one does NOT have a trailer, that would be the 'scrape point'.  Thanks again!

Sorry, not even close.  Leveler clearance: 6".  Tow hitch: 14"

Oh. Well... guess the picture didnt have a good angle. They looked to be 1-2" below the hitch crossbar when I squinted... 

At lunch now, and 'embiggened' the picture... I guess I dont have a good perspective on it. Looks like 2-3 inches above the flaps, maybe 1-2" below the hitch crossbar. Thats why I thought they were about where the nut on the trailer ball was when it is installed. NOT 8" below!!!!

Thank you much for the effort, however. Give me something to look out for when shopping for levelers. 

What's the popular opinion on leveling jacks, specifically for a 2351D? We're thinking of upgrading to a 2351D and trying to figure out if jacks are worth the price in dollars and/or in weight.
Rarely, knock wood, have we had leveling issues, but once we do this we aren't going to do it again. At least so I said before.
And possible other than cosmetic, is there any real advantage/disadvantage to the optional aluminum wheels?
Thanks

We have a 2019 2350 and very pleased with the leveling jacks.. (a must in my opinion).  Our previous was a 2100 and realized it was an inconvenience camping unlevel all the time.  Worth the money in my opinion.
Happy camping!

We have HWH touch panel controlled 325 series. They fold up like little bird legs. You deploy them and they swing down, then you use the buttons to extend or retract the rod once they are in the vertical position. It's interesting in that they seem to all fold up to different levels depending on what is behind them (above them). We broke the cable on one of the jacks (John drove backwards while they were deployed-bad plan) and it folds snug up against the bottom of the rig. The other front jack has big cabling between it and the rig so it hits that and stops. NONE of them are the lowest point on the rig.

I crawled under the rig with my handy dandy tape measure.
- Front Driver's side is about 8.5" from the ground in the stored position
- Front Passenger side is broken and totally tucks up into the rig. There is nothing blocking it. I don't know where it will sit once they fix the cable.
- Rear Driver's side - is right next to our sewer drain - not crawling around over there. Looks similar to other rear jack.
- Rear Passenger side is about 7" from the ground

The brackets on what I think is our gas tank are about 8" from the ground
The big round thingy on the drive shaft is several inches lower than that but too far under the rig to wriggle on muddy gravel. I think that is the low point on the rig.

The jacks are attached near the tires so it would be hard for them to hit the ground unless you are on seriously uneven surfaces like big rocks you are straddling as you drive and then you'd be nailing other parts under there. We've never hit them on driveways or parking bumpers but, as I said before, I'm careful to make sure we are clear of obstructions when directing John in backing the rig.

We use our jacks all the time. The fridge likes reasonably level. The cabinet doors and drawers like reasonably level. The shower drain likes reasonably level. The liquid in the pots on the stove like reasonably level. The coffee pot likes reasonably level. If our site is level, we usually don't deploy the jacks but we like more primitive campgrounds without paved sites so we often need to seek level. Hope this helps,   H

That's awesome!  Folding jacks -- I had no idea.  No wonder people were concerned about using them to change a tire.  Mine even have a big crossbar between the rear jacks.  There's no way the rig could fall off of them, but it's certainly not worth the clearance problem.  I wonder what it would cost to retrofit mine and get that 4" back?

You could use the jacks to change a tire. You can lift the tires off the ground and yes we've done that when the site is seriously off level. What you don't want to do is lift all REAR tires off the ground since those are your brakes and you're likely to roll forward off the jacks. Yes we've done that too. The truck stops once the locked rear tires hit the ground so it's more of a giant hop and the jacks are designed to handle driving forward off of them. It's scary but you learn quickly not to do that again (though it took us twice, we're a mite slow at times).

That's awesome!  Folding jacks -- I had no idea.  No wonder people were concerned about using them to change a tire.  Mine even have a big crossbar between the rear jacks.  There's no way the rig could fall off of them, but it's certainly not worth the clearance problem.  I wonder what it would cost to retrofit mine and get that 4" back?

BlueBlaze,

Just in general, installations of new HWH systems on "Class C's" seem to run close to $5K.  I know that Phoenix has the option priced at about $5500.  I see an internet ad offering to "coordinate" installation of a "Class C system" at the HWH factory in Iowa at a discount to the "Regular Retail Price of $4900", by special arrangement with the factory.

It is possible to buy installation kits to do your own installation for less than the installed price.  I see one vendor that sells a large variety of new and used RV equipment that has complete kits consisting of new and refurbished components listed for about $2500.  I don't know whether it might be possible to use some of your existing system (pump, reservoir, controls, etc) and just replace your jacks with the swing-down type (which are available both new and used).  That type question could probably best be answered by HWH.

All the best,      Mike

Thanks for your comments on the levelers.  They sure seem good to have.  We had an appointment with Stuart’s to install them but had to cancel due to some personal issue that came up.  Hopefully we can get them done sometime in the future.

Ron S

My advise on auto-leveling hydraulic jacks.....

If you are like I was back in 2007, ordering a brand new PC made just for you, and you can't decide to get them or not......then don't get them.  If you change your mind later, then get them later.  They are the last thing installed on a brand new PC anyway.  So installing them now or later makes no difference concerning installation processes.  Who knows, you might save yourself good money, significant weight, and some technical complexities.....you know that KISS principle that comes up now and then.