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Old 01-03-2021, 09:41 PM   #1
jdarwin
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Leveling questions

Let me give you some background before the questions.

We’ve been stationary for almost 6 weeks. Our site is on an incline. To keep the front legs from extending to the max I used blocks. Today I noticed the doors and drawers will not stay shut. I went outside and used the LCI panel in manual mode to re-level the coach. It was off by 6-8 degrees. When I finally got it level, the jacks were almost completely extended and I had to extend the legs on the entry steps.

Here’s my questions. 1. Should I have used the auto level function to re-level? 2. Will it hurt to have the legs completely extended (I’ve heard not to do this)? 3. If I wanted to use a carpenters level to check balance, where would I place it?

Thanks
 
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Old 01-03-2021, 10:31 PM   #2
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John-- While at the National Fall Rally in Goshen in 2018 the question was asked about the length of the landing gears being extended and we were told by the Lippert/LCI reps the legs/rams should not be extended more than 11". When asked what to do if they needed to be, we were told to use blocks to bring them back to the 11". Extending the leg more than that makes the rig unstable and can damage the rams. Nothing else was said on the subject.
If you would like more information on it you can always call Lippert Customer Service. They are probably one of the best Customer Service's I've ever worked with.
In reference to where to place your carpenters level-- I've been told two different places-- 1. on the island counter or on the counter area somewhere 2. Hold it on the trim strip by the control box for the level-up if your level is short enough. These two places should give you a good reading concerning how level your unit is.
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Old 01-04-2021, 07:06 AM   #3
Montana Man
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That was a lot to be off. Hopefully it was due to ground settling and not the hydraulics. Using the auto level would have been fine.
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Old 01-04-2021, 07:18 AM   #4
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I have a 4' level. I put it on top of the forward compartment hinge and the left basement door hinge when checking for level.
I have found so far the readout on the Level Up control panel is quite accurate.
We use Lynx Levelers (made in USA, available at Walmart) for under the jacks to shorten the stroke. Makes the unit less wobbly with shorter strokes.
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Old 01-04-2021, 08:32 AM   #5
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If leveling manually, use a carpenter's level on the main entry door. Lay the level against the back-stop of the door (up and down). Turn it one way and you can check level front to back. Turn it the other way and you can get level right to left. If the trailer is level, the doors inside the trailer and the main entry door should not swing, but stay put wherever they are. Same with cabinet doors.

Use the door frame, everything else will fall in place.
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Old 01-04-2021, 10:06 AM   #6
DQDick
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Having had three Montanas, I can tell you that the level will get different readings in different places in the rig. The doorway is good, but find a place that when it says it's level your wife agrees that it is and then use that from then on.
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Old 01-04-2021, 10:43 AM   #7
richfaa
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reply

Quote:
Originally Posted by DQDick View Post
Having had three Montanas, I can tell you that the level will get different readings in different places in the rig. The doorway is good, but find a place that when it says it's level your wife agrees that it is and then use that from then on.

Very true. Helen uses the bathroom door if it stays open the level is good.
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Old 01-04-2021, 04:24 PM   #8
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Thanks for the comments. As a follow up to my story, I didn’t mention we had about 30 hours of rain last week and a little snow. Apparently the rig did some sinking. As I said, I manually re-leveled last night. This morning I found the driver’s side tires off the ground. I retracted the jacks and auto leveled. All is good. I used my level on top of the LCI panel and the front storage/generator bay. It all looks good now. Thanks for everyone’s help.
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Old 01-05-2021, 06:57 AM   #9
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Since we have a dog we have tennis balls, setting one on the counter tells us if we are level or not on a daily basis. I also fount that the Level Up is very accurate but do check it from time to time with a level. I have two Andersen jack blocks I use if it looks like the front jacks will be extender too far, they spread the load out with a large foot print.
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