Lifting for Mainenance

[masterdrago]

I'm getting ready to do inspection, cleaning, etc of the wheels, brakes, bearings and such. I see a lot of different methods to jack up the 5r. Lippert says not to use axles. Clearly if I were only going to raise one tire, I would place the bottle jack under the carriage of the springs and raise only an inch or so. I'm thinking bring it up using the hydraulic levelers just enough to get the tires off the ground, then place stands or wood blocks under the frame for safety. Problem is, I don't know how to use the levelers to raise the 5r on all 6 at the same time. Any help would be appreciated.

[speedster100]

Follow the instructions for your hydraulic levelers and lift it off the ground, easy process just put it in manual and lift till it is where you want it...

[DQDick]

I'm with Speedster, just be sure to use blocks or jackstands for safety.

[2019 montana]

Here is what I did. Get a 2x6 cut blocks to fit under the pads (6"squaire 2"x6"). Put the 2"x6" blocks under one side of (3 lifts) the trailer. Put nothing under the other side. Then do the auto level sequence. The auto level will/should lift the side with no blocks. The two tires will lift off the ground aprox. 1". For Safety I placed stands on ether side of the tires. Only take off one tire at a time. Its works great for greasing bearings. The auto lift system will think its not on a flat surface, and will compensate for it.

[rohrmann]

I just completed my annual service, and what I do is lift the four rear jacks, place 4" X 6" blocks under the four jack pads, and with the control in manual, I just push the rear button, and the entire rear of the rig lifts up and I stop when all the wheels are off the ground. Of course, I loosen all the lug nuts prior to raising the rig. Since I'm not crawling around under the rig, and when on the road when I do this, I don't have any jack stands with me and have never had the rig move when supported by the leveling system. I have had the rig lifted like this one time for over three days and it never moved. If I do need to get under it, I only do this when stands are available. I also turn the fridge off when the rig is not level when working on it so I don't cook the cooling system. Everyone should do what makes them safe, so don't do this if you are uncomfortable with what I described.

[masterdrago]

Thanks Bob. I just had no idea how to use the level-up to manually raise the 5r. So in manual, pushing the rear button raises the whole rig on the 4 rear jacks?? Process (button sequence) was not in my low pay grade brain. So...



put in slides
loosen lug nuts
raise rear jacks
block under them (to keep them short for stability when back down)
lower rear jacks and carefully continue to raise 5r off tires
block frame w/jack stands or tower built from lumber (for safety)


Do all this in manual, and push rear button....

[rohrmann]

On our rig, to work on the wheels, I just pull in the large curb side slide and the kitchen slide, leave the other two out, just because. I use blocks under the rear four jacks just to give me plenty of lift to make sure I can get the wheels clear of the ground, but usually can make it if I'm on a very level spot. Also, don't forget to turn off the fridge it you have it on. You can also use the left or right button if the rig comes up more on one side or the other so you don't get the rig higher than necessary. I have used this method since the rig was new without any ill affects.

[ChuckS]

I too use my hyd level up to lift tires off ground for annual brake and bearing work. But I use manual mode and lift one side at a time to give tires maybe 1/2 inch off surface. That way other side is anchored.

[Mikendebbie]

Rohrmann - is your fridge a residential style or RV-gas-electric?
I understand turning off a RV-style fridge - but does "level" affect the Samsung residential fridge also? I guess I have never thought about it.

[masterdrago]

Originally Posted by Mikendebbie

Rohrmann - is your fridge a residential style or RV-gas-electric?
I understand turning off a RV-style fridge - but does "level" affect the Samsung residential fridge also? I guess I have never thought about it.

If the residential frig is out of level too much it might cause issues when the icemaker mold fills with water after a harvest/dump cycle. If it's out of level by a large amount, it can cause noise issues, drain during defrost issues and crap rolling around on the shelves inside.

[CVNCheng]

I've got the Quadra Bigfoot (installed it after I picked up the trailer) and always lift using the 4 rear jacks. If it's just a single tire, I'll leave it on the jacks. If I'm pulling more than one, then I'll set the whole rig down on jack stands (12 ton). Never had a problem with the bigfoot hydraulic actuators (I store it with the wheels just barely touching the ground but not carrying load) but if I'm crawling under it, you bet your @ss I'm using jack stands.

If I was away from home, I'd just the cribbing pads (12x12x4) I use for leveling on grossly uneven ground under the feet to get enough lift.

[beeje]

I can use my 6 point level up to raise all 4 tires off the concrete floor in my pole building without any wood under the legs. The unit stays there with most of the weight off the suspension while not in use.