Leveling - Before or after slide?

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Lesh

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Joined
Mar 6, 2012
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193
Location
Florida
When we picked up our RV and did the demo the tech told us there was much debate about whether or not you level before or after putting the slide out.  He said he prefers to do it after the slide but since the manual said before that's what my husband chooses to do.  Well it seems as though the weight of the slide always makes us lean to the left since we are leveling before.

So...my question is what is the proper way to do it?  Are we hurting the slide by leveling after it has been put out?  Should we always be leveling before as we are?
 
Follow the instructions in your manual.  If the RV leans a bit after deploying the slide, when you level make that side just a bit higher so it levels out when the slide is put out.
 
We have hydraulic leveling jacks so I don't believe we have the option of adjusting only one side after the fact.
 
No, I was referring to the leveling before deploying the slide out.
 
The leveling should be done before putting the slide out. The reason is the slide is structual and keeps the frame from twisting when it is in. Windshields have been broken as well as other damage when not following instructions as I understand it.
 
Ah, ok.  I'm not sure if we can make our own adjustments with the hydraulic, but I will ask my husband.  It seems as though we push one button and it does it's thing.
 
Lesh said:
Ah, ok.  I'm not sure if we can make our own adjustments with the hydraulic, but I will ask my husband.  It seems as though we push one button and it does it's thing.
Click to expand...

If that is the case and there are no keys that permit individual jack adjustments, can you not simply push the button again?? I don't think it will retract and start over but simply 'touch up' the original adjustment if it is off enough to be recognized by the system.

Many manuals state that the coach should be levelled first but there are others that state just the opposite. Do it exactly as your manual states otherwise you may end up with warranty problems or worse.... damage.
 
Follow the manual!
The manufacturer knows what is correct for your coach. Many diesel pushers with air suspensions say to deploy the slides and then level.

All of the gassers without air suspension that I have seen say to level and then deploy the slides but I haven't seen them all.
 
There is a sticker right above my slide operation that says to level first then operate the slide.  I have a 2013 ACE as well.
 
we level first and then put out the slides. We have a little smaller RV than a lot of folks. Our manual also says to level with the engine off, but we can't do that because there's no power to the jacks without having the engine running. I run the engine when levelning and moving the slides. Sometimes at home I run out the bedroon slide without putting down the levelers.
 
Lesh said:
We have hydraulic leveling jacks so I don't believe we have the option of adjusting only one side after the fact.
Click to expand...
Lesh you have same RV like me. You have option to level manually after slide is out.
 
I have two sets of written instructions for my coach jacks, both from the manufacturer. One says to level first, the other says to deploy the slides first. I usually level first - it seems logical and convenient.  However, I have not been able to detect any different result in one method vs the other.

All automatic systems have a manual adjustment mode. Read your jack manual to learn how it is done.

I find it odd that your coach leans when you deploy the slide after leveling. That suggests to me that it did not level properly to begin with, i.e. the jacks are not firmly supporting the chassis. You might want to check into that and see if there is any adjustment (sometimes called calibration) to get a more firm set-up.
 
If you're talking about pulling the RV up on leveling blocks of some type. never do it after the slides are out.  You don't want to ever, EVER move the RV, even a short distance, with the slides out.  It will make you.....sad. :-[
 
My husband says that there is an option to manually adjust the sides after it levels.  I think we will try to raise the left side a bit next time and see if that helps the leveling once the slide goes out.  Our manual says to level first and then slide so we are going to stick with that.  Thank you all for the information.  :D
 
If you have the HWH jacks with bi-axis leveling, there is little risk in making small adjustments when the slide is out as the jacks will always work in adjacent pairs and won't twist the frame.  More important is to always be sure to be on solid ground, or use pads if the ground is soft so a jack can't sink.
 
My rig is a '96 Adventurer gas model with a 15', 3 foot deep, slide. It probably weighs around 1500 lbs plus the office stuff that I have there as well. The manual reads to level first - which certainly makes a lot sense to me. The larger a rig and the depth of the slide would be the only reason I can see otherwise. Some rigs are so big they could care less about the slide weight while leveling, it would seem.

Jacks are to level, but also to provide stability. Some parking sites are very uneven and might have each wheel initially at a different elevation - which would have the rig in a twisted position prior to leveling. That's OK and natural while driving, but when parked plus adding the cantilevered torquing weight of a slide on a rig that is not as yet stabilized or level while lowering jacks just seems a dumb thing to do, IMO.

Before I extend my slide, the slide and corresponding weight of the slide are directly over the two jacks on that side of the rig. If I extend the slide, the center of gravity of the side is now about 3 1/2 feet from those two jacks. So the jacks on that side have to do the extra work of lifting the cantilevered weight against an unstable coach on the other side. If I level first, it simply has to raise the extra weight of the slide straight up.
 
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