Hydraulic Rear Leveler Not Fully Retracting

[TravlinTom]

The right (passenger) side rear leveler does not completely retract on my 2024 Keystone Montana 3123RL. The five others retract completely.

Any thoughts on how to fix?

 

[Carl n Susan]

Hydraulic or electric?

 

[TravlinTom]

Hydraulic

 

[TravlinTom]

It extends and retracts. Just doesn’t retract all the way

 

[Carl n Susan]

I would have guessed hydraulic, but wanted to be sure. Low fluid would explain not extending but surely not partial retraction. There is a lot of P.S.I. moving those jacks. I am guessing it might be bent and causes it to bind more than the pressure can overcome.

Are there any signs of hitting something? Have you tried a straight edge on the shift when the jack is fully extended?

 

[DutchmenSport]

If you need to use the camper and no time to explore a proper fix, an easy simple solution: Put blocks under the jack to close the distance the jack has to extend. You can use the jack then until you get it fix properly.

 

[Mikendebbie]

One thing that gets mentioned here often is that sometimes air gets in the lines. The remedy is to “cycle” the system “several” times. After long periods of storage - I have had jacks slowly creep down, which is a symptom of air bubbles. I manually cycle the jacks up and down “several” times (I picked 5 cycles as my several)…retracted the jacks and they all stay up.

This might not be your problem, but it’s free to try and see if it helps!

 

[ChuckS]

Image showing how a dual action Hydraulic cylinder fluid flow works during extend versus extract

Your mid/rear levelers on each side are connected in tandem .. each side has a separate Hydac fluid flow control valve

Since the other leveler on that side extends/retracts normally there is no issue with the Hydac valve

My money is either a bent cylinder rod OR that cylinder is bypassing internally

Perform an internal bypass 5est on that cylinder and you will have your answer .. very easy test to perform with basic tools and basic mechanical skill sets

Lippert support video showing how to perform bypass test

 

[C&P RV]

I'm going to back up a step here since the OP didn't say where he's physically located. In cooler weather, it's common for my rear door side (aka passenger side) jack to not fully retract with I use the Auto Hitch or Auto Retract functions. Easy fix -- select manual mode, press the retract button so it's illuminated, then try pressing rear or the appropriate side (which I think is right in this case). If the jack isn't bent, it should retract. If this works for you, I recommend you check the jack at each stop to make sure it doesn't drift down during travel.

 

[TravlinTom]

One thing that gets mentioned here often is that sometimes air gets in the lines. The remedy is to “cycle” the system “several” times. After long periods of storage - I have had jacks slowly creep down, which is a symptom of air bubbles. I manually cycle the jacks up and down “several” times (I picked 5 cycles as my several)…retracted the jacks and they all stay up.

This might not be your problem, but it’s free to try and see if it helps!

Great idea! Thank you….

 

[TravlinTom]

I'm going to back up a step here since the OP didn't say where he's physically located. In cooler weather, it's common for my rear door side (aka passenger side) jack to not fully retract with I use the Auto Hitch or Auto Retract functions. Easy fix -- select manual mode, press the retract button so it's illuminated, then try pressing rear or the appropriate side (which I think is right in this case). If the jack isn't bent, it should retract. If this works for you, I recommend you check the jack at each stop to make sure it doesn't drift down during travel.

Great idea!! I’ll try…. Thank you

 

[Mikendebbie]

I learned something today in a phone call with Lippert customer service. I replaced my OEM drivers side rear jack (referred to as Gen 1 jack) with a Lippert Gen 2 jack. The orange hose fitting had a slow drip and would not seal after multiple attempts to tighten. This morning I cut the old fitting off and i put a field fitting on the hose end, then reattached to the jack. I saw no immediate signs of leaks…however i did notice the jack foot would not retract all the way up…left about 1” low even after multiple cycles up and down.

Lippert says Gen 2 jacks WILL NOT RETRACT ALL THE WAY UP like Gen 1. This is normal. They get lots of calls on this.

I am not sure what year Gen 2 jacks became the OEM…maybe your 2024 has a Gen 2 jack. To identify Gen 2 jack - look at the top fittings. Gen 2 will have a Tee for the black hoses. Gen1 has separate ports or the black hoses. Pic below shows the Tee and the 1” of piston showing at the bottom.

 

[C&P RV]

Lippert says Gen 2 jacks WILL NOT RETRACT ALL THE WAY UP like Gen 1. This is normal. They get lots of calls on this.

My 2022 has Gen 2 jacks, so very likely the OPs is Gen 2 as well. Fully retracted they leave about 1" exposed. I think his issue is (was) 3-4" or more exposed. I've had that happen to that door (passenger) side rear jack on my 2022 when the temps were in the high 50s. Hopefully the OP will let us know if he was able to get this resolved.

 

[TravlinTom]

VERY interesting!!! This sounds like the issue. It’s an inch or two!!

 

[ChuckS]

It would be a problem for a lot of folks if this was a rear leveler and not a mid leveler.... If Lippert is gonna build an 8K leveler that leaves one inch exposed then there should be a RED LINE embossed on it so folks can actually tell if the leveler is fully retracted instead of having to guess..

I've got Gen 1 levelers.. I look when I hear the pump motor change pitch and verify all four levelers are fully retracted with no exposed pistons... I know they are fully retracted...

Not liking the idea of an inch or so still being exposed on the Gen 2 series

 

[ChuckS]

Ground clearance - easy way to verify on those rear levelers if you have adequate clearance from foot pad to ground when fully retracted is do a simple "string test" as I show in my video ( at about the 6 min mark )...

If the foot pads are above the string when fully retracted then there should not be a clearance issue with the rear leveler leg...