Jacking before or after slides?

[Party Barge]

I pull into our site and run the slides while the engine is running, then walk around to look for ground clearence, shut off the engine and dump the air and level.

It has seemed to me that when we first got the rig , I would level, then extend the slides. Then I would have to re-level because of the three slide configuration.

What concerns me is that many times the ground in the dirt camps are not level and when I extend the slide first, then dump the air that the rig is torqued to the ground configuration then torqued back to the level position, which puts stress on the side walls and seals.

I also use 12 inch square jack pads at all times. I found that they give me a stable jack support.

I have not found a yes or no from winni, or hwh in the manuals or on the phone. What is your procedure and why?

[Party Barge]

I pull into our site and run the slides while the engine is running, then walk around to look for ground clearence, shut off the engine and dump the air and level.

It has seemed to me that when we first got the rig , I would level, then extend the slides. Then I would have to re-level because of the three slide configuration.

What concerns me is that many times the ground in the dirt camps are not level and when I extend the slide first, then dump the air that the rig is torqued to the ground configuration then torqued back to the level position, which puts stress on the side walls and seals.

I also use 12 inch square jack pads at all times. I found that they give me a stable jack support.

I have not found a yes or no from winni, or hwh in the manuals or on the phone. What is your procedure and why?

[PizzaGuy]

Bob
The proceedure you are using is the one recommended by Monaco. When it comes to slides , they call it "First Out -- Last In.

[Party Barge]

My last rig was a Safari, but had no slides, but I may have heard the infor from a tech lecture at one of our ralleys. The safari had a three point jack system and I understand the the new Monaco's have no jacks and stay on the air system while parked.

[AFChap]

I can't tell you where I have seen it, but my understanding of Winnebago's recommendation is level first, then extend slides. BUT, at GNR in an HWH seminar, the tech said that is true with a large galley slide, but that the smaller bedroom slide would be no problem.

My procedure: Park, dump air, then get out to check for good position and any obstacles to the slides. If good, put jack pads under the jacks, go back inside and start the automatic leveling. When the leveling process is complete and the system shuts itself down, I put out both slides. Then the DW goes to check the shower door and the throne room door for level. Sometimes I tweak one side or the other up a bump or two.

After we are in place a day or so I will sometimes notice the coach is moving a bit when someone walks around, particularly if we are on dirt. When I notice that movement, I will re-level by LEAVING THE JACKS DOWN and just starting the auto level procedure again. Nearly always it will self-tweak a couple of jacks to firm things up.

[Jackm]

The User's Manual for our 2004 Brave recommends leveling first and then extending the slides. When I first got the rig, I once put the slides out without leveling (I was in a parking lot). It was a BIG MISTAKE. The living room slide became jammed and it took a service call and four hours of creative cursing to get the slide back in. Slides are heavy and there's a lot of friction. My advice...don't even think about moving a slide unless your rig is reasonably level. Advice no. 2. Don't move a slide unless your engine is running. A drop in voltage to the hydraulic pump can also result in a jam.

Jack

[Jeeperrmartin]

My book and hwh demos say jacks down slides out, and when leaving slides in jacks up. This last winter I replaced the pump, and HWH said always run the engine for longest pump life.

I have been off level some and also have scraped the slides. Sometimes I bump the side up a little on the jacks to make the slide go in easier.

I go to the dealer, and he is on uneven ground, and he never starts the engine, and doesn't put the jacks down to run the slides in and out, unless the battery is weak.


I asked to see what it looked like, and he runs the slides in and out without the engine running. I told him you should start the engine, and he tried battery dead, and coach was to weak to run the pump. He had to run shore power out to it. Never did get the engine to start that day.

I would guess that is why the batteries don't last too long on new units. The dealer doesn't watch them as close as the owners do.

[smlranger]

The service folks at the dealer where we got our current rig seemed very knowledgeable and the tech that delivered our rig also had a Journey. He advised always to use the jacks to level the rig before deploying the slides. He noted that (even at their dealership) you can deploy the slides if you are parked on a firm and level surface like a parking lot.

If we are overnighting in a level parking lot somewhere and we only extend the samll BR slide, I don't put the jacks down. However, if we are extending the large LR slide, jacks go down.

[RCtime]

In the HWH MMANUAL IN MY 02 jOURNEY.
LEVEL 1ST THEN SLIDES OUT
Slides in then jacks up.
and thats the way I do it.

[RustyJC]

On all of our previous as well as our present RV, the manufacturer-recommended procedure has always been to level the rig prior to extending the slideouts, then to retract the slideouts prior to retracting the leveling jacks.

If we're just overnighting, many times we won't unhitch from the truck. In those cases, I'll just run the jacks down far enough to stabilize the 5th wheel, then extend the slideouts - with the procedure reversed the next morning. We've never had a problem doing this.

Rusty

[Wayne M]

Destination manual for 39W says level first, then slide out. Also says run engine when leveling and extending or retracting slides.

Like others, when the slide are out I will tweak the levelers if I have to.

[DeanLinAZ]

My 2002 Sunrise manual and now my 2004 Journey manual say to level first, slides out second. When departing you should retract slides, then stow the jacks, letting the system shut down on its own.

Works for us.

[steelheadbluesman]

With only a couple of carefully executed exceptions, my slides DO NOT MOVE without the jacks down and engine running. Whether I'm using auto or manual controls to extend the jacks, there is way too much herky-jerky movement to have the slides hanging out there with all that weight, which I suspect would likely lead to real problems down the road. Why risk it unnecessarily? My 2 cents.

[ichn2go]

Why would anyone want to put their slides out or in without the coach being level?

To accomplish this jack and level first and then jacks come in last.

Happy holidays to all.

[Tom N]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ichn2go:
Why would anyone want to put their slides out or in without the coach being level?
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll answer with.....on occasion I have put my slides out to so I could position the coach exactly where I wanted it. At Myrtle Beach, the beach sites are tight and they have a picnic table shelter on the passenger side of the coach. I put the bedroom slide out and parked about 6" from the shelters roof.

Since my basement compartments go out with the drivers side front slide occasionally I'll put this slide out so I can position for the necessary clearance for swinging the basement doors open.

But mostly I level and then extend the slides.

-Tom
Quail Roost until April

[ichn2go]

Tom, you are speaking of the exception instead of the rule. Yes, there are occasions when you have to extend a slide,,but I can usually eyeball the space. i see at you stay in N Myrtle also,,best regards,,,and Happy Holidays,,,Jim