HWH heads up Winnebago Repair man

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ct78barnes

ct78barnes

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Posts
108
Location
Bryan Ohio
Got to talk to the rv repairman after they re calibrated our jacks and he told me this. After getting the auto level working and leveling the coach you are not to go in and out of the coach or move around the coach while it is in auto trying to do its job. He said it is best that no one is inside the coach . We have two switches on the out side and have got the coach to level in auto. Hope this helps as I have talked to a lot of people that have given up using auto leveling. He said the censer when moving around can not do its job with the coach moving all around. Hope this helps
 
Thanks for the tip!

If you stay still, there is no problem with staying in the coach while the jacks are auto-leveling.  As an FYI, I have to recalibrate my level sensors about every 12-18 months.  It's easy to do but the hardest part is laying under the front by the HWH control box .  There is a 5/16" nut for one level axis and a 3/8" nut for the other axis.
 
Yeah, they all say that but I don't think it's a big issue. Walk around in your rig and see how much it moves - that will give you a feel for sensitivity to weight shifts. In some rigs, putting weight on the entry step may cause it to shift an inch or two. Maybe in a slide out too. Larger/heavier  rigs probably won't jiggle hardly at all, but smaller ones may. But small ones probably don't have auto leveling either.

If the auto-level gets within an inch of perfect - that's one inch over 35-45 feet of distance - would you even notice?
 
We do it either way and it does not seem to make much of a difference. It is the mechanism it self that is not very accurate.

It is a mercury switch that works like the old mechanical house thermostat do. The tipping point of the mercury switch varies to much for the size of the coach.

Also like John mentioned it needs readjustment about once a year. I am getting lazy and just do it by feel a lot. I seem to do a better job. ;D
 
We're almost always inside when auto leveling ...I HAVE to be inside to start the process.  After it completes the process, DW checks the shower and throne room doors for movement. About 75% of the time I have to tap one side up a bump or two before she is satisfied (maybe because we were moving around during the process?).  Mine has never been adjusted.
 
Paul - the newer models have inside and outside jack controls.

Even though I adjust my level sensors as carefully as possible, there is a bit of variance with them and I almost always have to touch up the jacks after they deploy on auto.  Like you, I use the head and shower doors for the final arbitrator of what's level.
 
Quick question: What is the attraction of having auto-level vs. just the regular manual-level?  We seldom take more than 1 or 2 minutes to level the m/h, and almost never have any "back and forth" with jacks going up and down for minor adjustments.  Our process is: Both front jacks down until firm contact is made, both rears down until firm contact, then level front to back, then extend which ever rear jack is on the low side until level side to side.
 
Auto leveling takes a little of the work out of getting the jacks down and leveling the coach really well most of the time. 

I push the HWH On button twice and the air dumps and a pair of jacks goes down until level, then the other jack(s) until the other axis is level, then if there is still a retracted jack, it goes down and the controller will pump fluid into each jack until it reaches a certain pressure.  It's a pretty slick system.  No regrets about paying a few extra bucks for it when we ordered the coach.
 
John

What is your calibration procedure?

Do you manually level the coach with a level on the floor or on the counter or go by doors or a little of all? In other words what is your method to level the coach first? I have been told two different ways and actually witnessed one of the two.

My coach apparently was way out of level from the factory and had to be recalibrated.
 
Mine was a new, custom designed [as they had never had a '94 Suncruiser before,]  computerized HWH install last August. It did not include an outside switch nor was any ever offered as an option. I expect the sold it to be for the top models of every manf. 
 
Tourmaster said:
What is your calibration procedure?
Click to expand...

It's extremely simple.  Get the coach level by use of a spirit level on the cooktop or use the head/shower doors (they should stay open at 45 degrees) and then adjust the left-right and fore-aft calibration nuts on the HWH control box as required to where the out of level lights on the HWH control panel are dark.

Bob - the auto-level version of the HWH jack/slides control panel was an option on our high-dollar Horizon.  It probably came standard on the Ultimate Advantage and Ultimate Freedom models (the very top-dollar models Winnebago ever produced.)
 
We use a bubble level &/or the level in my Droid phone on a countertop. There's a separate (inferior) bubble level alongside the driver.
 
Mine is auto, touch once, touch a 2nd time and they lower and the 3rd time they level and shut off with the red light saying done on the dash. -just no outside accessible 3 buttons to do that. But we're ususlly just sitting and looking around. 
 
John do you have the wife sit in the drivers seat and tell you when the light goes off. I think ours is under the living room slide as that is where all the wires meet and the oil container is. How hard was it for you the first time you tried it and how off level do you let it get till you redo them. I think you said once a year but us not full timers might get by with every two years. ;)
 
This is no help to you Winnie owners with HWH jacks, but may be of general interest to those considering an automatic leveling system.  The Equalizer brand auto-level jack system can be recalibrated right from the control panel. Just level up the coach with the manual control buttons, however you like it, and press a couple buttons to have it redefine and remember the current status as "level". It will repeat that definition of "level" until instructed otherwise.  Sure beats crawling around underneath with tools to calibrate the level.

The Power Gear auto-leveling system is also recalibrated (they call it re-zeroing) from the control panel, though the procedure is a bit more complex than the Equalizer system.

I have only recalibrated my Equalizer system once in 5 years. It's not perfect - it sometimes needs a bit of manual correction if the site causes them to go to extreme range on one or more of the legs, but it does a nice job overall.  I can do the power & water hook-ups while the jacks attend to the leveling chores.
 
ct78barnes said:
John do you have the wife sit in the drivers seat and tell you when the light goes off
Click to expand...

The HWH control box has four LEDs under the glass that you can watch while you adjust the leveling sensor nuts,  they are small and hard to see unfortunately.

Gary RV Roamer said:
..The Equalizer brand auto-level jack system can be recalibrated right from the control panel. Just level up the coach with the manual control buttons, however you like it, and press a couple buttons to have it redefine and remember the current status as "level". It will repeat that definition of "level" until instructed otherwise.  Sure beats crawling around underneath with tools to calibrate the level....
Click to expand...

Wow - that is slick!
 
On our 2007 Adventurer the adjustment was easy to get to. Over the 4 years we had it I had to adjust the level 3 times. I also had 2 other auto level buttons , one in the wet bay and one at the entry door. The only times I used them was if I was having to place more than one block under the pads. Made it easy to watch the jacks going down.
 
Thanks for the feedback.
I was told rather grumpily by people in the RV business to never use a level on the counter top or stove top but to only use an accurate level on the floor. It wasn?t long before I finally started to do it my own way which is on the counter and stove. However I had not given much thought on the doors.
 
I was told once by an RV person that the counter top is about the best place to place a level. My Chief of Staff uses the bathroom door. If the door swings then she knows which way to raise or lower the house.
 
Tourmaster said:
..I was told rather grumpily by people in the RV business to never use a level on the counter top or stove top but to only use an accurate level on the floor. It wasn?t long before I finally started to do it my own way ..
Click to expand...

Ah young grasshopper, you have acquired much wisdom..  :D
 
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