Front jacks scraping on incline

[Redskals]

We just had to bail on our overnight reservation due to not being able to enter the Campground's driveway. (r&D in Va) There is a considerable sharp incline off the road and the front jacks were making contact with the ground. This was after we encountered an even worse incline at an intersection on a detour to the campground.( we almost got stuck) Adding insult to injury were the railroad tracks on the way to our overnight accommodations at the Flying J. A sign before the tracks had an image of a trailer scraping the ground. We made it over with inches to spare but getting out in the cold with my flashlight to guide my driver is not my idea of fun. And, yes, the jacks are fully retracted and the pin is in the lowest possible hole.

This rig is new to us (high country 362RD) but we've driven it since sept all over New Jersey and to a few campgrounds with no issues. As I'm typing this I'm wondering if the tailgate made contact and damaged the trailer!? At the time i was only paying attention tot the ground. I'll have to check in the morning.

Has this happened to anyone else?

[Art-n-Marge]

By front jacks, are these in the front of the fiver and are also known as the landing legs and are used for raising and lowering the front cap onto your truck bed hitch? Are you absolutely sure they are completely raised and the drop downs are elevated completely. Wow! I have an old rig and the legs can be raised so that the bottom parts of the footpads are higher than my TV's rear bumper.

However I've seen these newer rigs and the body of the Monty is low which puts the front legs so low you might just have a problem. Maybe some air bags for your TV's rear axle might give you a little more height, but I don't know if it would be enough.

Otherwise, stay out of those places.

[Redskals]

Yes the landing legs. I've always thought the design places them close to the ground, especially compared to older models I see. I looked quite creepy comparing ours to the older Montana next to us at the truck stop. The body of the RV is lower in design which results in the legs being low. Maybe we do need airbags. I was feeling pretty defeated last night and questioning our purchase but woke up with a optimism that this was a rarity. If you read the campground reviews, many people mention the steep drive (one person needed tire chains to get out in snow). Another made impact between the truck and RV causing damage. It's funny how the owner told us "everyone else makes it in fine" when we called

[WeBeFulltime]

Have you tried taking these situations at an angle instead of head-on?

[Larry-P]

We have a 2011 Monty 3455SA & our landing legs sit low also. When sitting next to another Montana you can really see the difference in how low ours sits.

This year coming out to AZ we stopped overnight in Amarillo TX and experienced some scraping of the landing legs on the crest of the exit road when pulling out.

It was suggested that you should try approaching these driveways, curbs, etc at an angle. That's what I normally do & it avoids many of these problems.

I am however going to have airbags installed on my TV while here in AZ & I think that will help some what.

[1retired06]

having the aame issue with the 6 point LCI leveling system. And yes, air bags will help.

[whiterose]

Speed bumps can also be a problem for landing gear. One Federal camp ground we use has many scars on speed bumps from 5th wheels and travel trailers.

The same campground has a camper show every year, dealers bring along about 50 RV's. One dealer driving a one ton dually pulling a good sized Columbus, grounded his landing gear on the speed bumps; one contributing factor being the fact that cross bracing rods were fitted between the bottom of the legs and the RV frame. The attachment at the bottom of the legs used the bottom holes that would normally be used to hold the telescoping part of the leg during travel. This being the case the legs protruded over an inch, more than they would without bracing rods.

Not sure of the effectiveness of bracing rods, but the effect on landing gear clearance (with some installations) needs to be considered.

[Redskals]

At least I know we aren't the only ones. I was concerned about damage to the leveling system but we set up camp last night and all seems ok. I think we are going to try airbags and hope for the best. Any recommendations? About how much should the equipment and installation run? We will have them installed in TX

[Larry-P]

Here in AZ I just got one estimate so far for Firestone airbags installed.
$398 for the airbags & $198 for installation. Going to check around for better pricing.

[1retired06]

I went with Firestone, 400 bucks if I remember (without inline compressor) I installed myself on a weekend afternoon. Firestone has specific kits for your truck that are 100% bolt on, no drilling required. I run 45-55PSI, and twice I pumped them up to 100PSI so I could clear an incline safely.

[Larry-P]

Do you leave the 45-55 lbs in the airbags when hooking up or is it necessary to let the air out of the bags when hooking up??

[dieselguy]

Larry P ... I only put @38 psi in my bags when hooked up. If I don't let it back out to 5 or 10 psi when empty, it rides ROUGH. In my case ... say you have 20 psi in them before you sit the fiver down on your truck ... the weight of the fiver will push the pressure in the bags up to around 32 psi ... just basic law of physics. I started out with just a air fitting near the rear of my truck to use with an air bubble, but eventually went with an onboard pump under the cab with gauge and controls in cab of truck to easily adjust as needed. They are simple and easy to install yourself and there are good prices to be had if you shop around.

[Larry-P]

Thank you dieselguy.

[FordMan1966]

I thought about raising my front landing gear up one bolt hole.

[Art-n-Marge]

I found that for every inch my rear axle was raised with the air bags, then it only translated to 1/2 inch change between the ground to the bottom of the landing legs, but it's better than nothing.

[fauch]

Art, I know that you mis-spoke when saying "that for every inch my rear axle was raised"......but i was just thinking about the old FLYMO mowers when i read that https://youtu.be/YjAhoYR9kV0

[Trailer Trash 2]

quote:Originally posted by WeBeFulltime

Have you tried taking these situations at an angle instead of head-on?

I have done this many times and it works very good.

[Golfmedik]

quote:Originally posted by FordMan1966

I thought about raising my front landing gear up one bolt hole.

I raised my LevelUp front jacks up two holes. Plenty of stroke in the front legs to do this. You'll need an impact wrench to get them loosened.

[kenneth e holman]

I run 40 to 42 pounds of air in my air-bags loaded and 10 pounds empty.It might be better to raise the jacks a little but the down size to that is the longer the cylinder has to extend when leveling the more unstable the rv. I would think the suggestion to approach at an angle would be your best choice and air-bags and leave the jacks where they are. My air bags raise the back of my truck about 2 inches and i run very level. If you do raise the jacks then you will need more blocks to level the rv or your jacks will be extended so long that the front will be unstable when leveling. Good Luck.

[Rondo]

If you do raise the front landing gear or level-up cylinders, make sure you do not extend them over 11" in stroke because if you do you can cause problems with the level-ups themselves. While at the Fall Rally this year the question was asked and we were told not to exceed 11" of extension and this came from the Lippert/LCI rep himself. Besides that the more you extend your front gear or level-ups the less stability you have. If you need to bring it up more than the 11" put blocks under them. I use blocks/pads that I made from decking material under all my level-ups and get very little movement when inside the unit because of it. I've made two different sizes in height incase one side or front/back is lower when leveling.