Level Up Fail

[Dontana]

I may have posted this in the wrong forum initially.

I have a 2012 Montana 3700 and belong to a membership park. As the season opens, park personnel move rigs out of storage and onto sites. While doing so, the level up system failed when the down button on the control panel was depressed by a worker and it fell on their truck. At least that is the report.

There was damage to my front cap and the system is in error mode and won't respond to ANY keyboard input. After research on youtube, I have learned that this "dropping" although not common has happened to other individuals.

The battery may not have been at full charge initially due to winter layover, but after being charged and registering 12.5, there are still error codes and no responsiveness from the system. A generator was brought in to determine if this type of direct connection would meet with success. No dice.

Could the forum members who may have knowledge of the above scenario please comment, prior to me getting involved with insurance and logistics for repair of the cap and the system?

 

[Carl n Susan]

I am dubious, to say the least on the Park's explanation. I bet there are dents in the truck's side rails and the tailgate is bowed backwards along with being dented. The true sign of a "high hitch" where the RV slipped out of the hitch when they tried to move it. Do you have pictures?

Conceivably, the "front" button could stick on and cause the pump to continue running but I don't see it having enough pressure in the Retract position to damage the front cap of the truck. While it would retract the jacks off the ground, the only force would be the weight of the RV laying on the truck. Not desirable, but definitely not enough to cause sever damage. And the same "Front" button may have been used (and didn't stick) to lift the RV prior to hook up.

What do you mean the "system is in error mode"? Does the key pad illuminate? The key pad is pretty simple switch connected by a cable to the true brain which is in the front basement on the ceiling. Has it been damaged?

In all my years on RV forums, I have never heard of a hydraulic system failing and catastrophically falling.

I would get a RV knowledgeable insurance appraiser to look at the damage.

 

[Dontana]

Thanks for your input Carl. I've followed your posts for years and consider you to be helpful and knowledgeable. I'm at a distance from the park and only report what has been reported to me about error codes.

In addition, although you may not have heard about a situation such as this, I have included a youtube link for your reading.

I have been in contact with the poster today and they still have no answer to their situation. It will be a week or so until I get to the park to sort things out and hope to update the forum.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[Drifty1]

I believe that you are being scammed. I bet that they didn’t do a tug test when they hook up to the trailer or they unlatched the trailer without putting the landing gear down. Just my thoughts.

 

[Carl n Susan]

The hydraulic system needs good battery power in order to operate. Whether you are connected to shore power or a generator, the AC current feeds the converter which produces the 12V needed by the hydraulic system. The converter supplied 12V is insufficient for the hydraulic system if the batteries are dead. In over 23 years with my Level Up system, I have never been plugged in when setting up initially. I always level first and then plug into shore power (if available). I boondock a lot and never have shore or generator power to set up of take down. The You Tube vid shows the current voltage (13.4) which just says they are plugged in and the converter is doing its thing.

Several of us have looked at the You Tube vid numerous times. We think the cause was operator error ("Retract All" rather than just lowering the front) but none of us have that style key pad. Getting to that option on our key pads requires using the up function twice on the left panel.

If you have ever done a "Retract All", then you know it is a slow process and not a sudden drop I doubt the You Tube vid problem has any bearing on your issue.

Pictures of the RV and the truck along with these "error codes" are essential in diagnosing the failure.

 

[Dontana]

Tech replacing faulty keypad, if that doesn't work I'll reply

 

[rickybobby]

I've found when not responsive, unplug the connections off controller, inside front above batteries. Then plug them back in.

 

[Kfinnert]

If there is power to the hydralic system...

Hydraulic systems can lose pressure if seals in the rams are failing, hoses connections are lose or a hose has a leak.

Leaks in the system cause the rams to actuate. The ram will release and move to a neutral position where the pressure is equal. By and large this is a slow movement.

Example: We use squeezes to load one ton bales of hay onto semis. If a ram is leaking, then the lift of the bale is slower and there is evidence of the leak. If the bale remains in the squeeze's lifting forks, then the bale will cause the lifting mechanism (rams) to lower. It is slow enough to let you move out of the way. Never have we had the damage as described or shown in the video.

Which gets me to the next point. If there is a catastrophic failure where the hose has severed, then you will have the ram collapse into itself and major damage will occur. When you have a catastrophic failure you will have a large amount of fluid and blown hoses. I do not know what a catastrophic failure of a ram seal would do, but I do not think it would be equal to a hose rupture insomuch as the fluid is contained within the system and not free flowing.

Unless there is evidence of a catastrophic hydraulic system failure, then the trailer was high hitched and they dropped it. Or, the pins in the leg extensions were not in place and the extension gave away. Regardless, it sounds like employee error when moving the rig.

As for the video. I would want to know if the wheels were blocked and the pin was not dragging on the hitch.

They could have three probable issues causing the trailer to fall.

First, there is a slow leak in the hydraulic system that permits the trailer to lower onto the hitch before they pull away, and this goes unnoticed. As they pull away they pull the trailer forward off if the blocks used for leveling. The trailer falls onto the bed of the truck.

Secondly, they are not clearing the hitch before pulling away from the trailer. With the sane result as describe above.

Third, they are not blocking the wheels before they pull away and the trailer is rolling forward and off of the blocks into the bed if the truck.

Or, a combination of any of the three.