Quote:
Originally Posted by rvhammer
Help.... I have a spot where my Alpine needs to be parked close to a power supply. The problem is that there is a slight grade and when I auto-level inevitably the wheels on the low side always end up 3 inches from the ground. I have tried placing 2x12x12s stacked 3 high under the jacks but it made no difference. I realize I could probably manually bring the jacks down to get the wheels back on the ground if I needed to. My question is what are the ramifications of having the wheels off the ground for any length of time? Thanks in advance for your suggestions and thoughts.
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The jacks are extending to level the frame, so placing boards under the jacks will only suffice to cause them to extend less, however your wheels will still be in the same location (3" off the ground) when the frame is level. If you're inclined to want the tires "touching the ground" when you're finally leveled, you might want to back onto a couple of 2x12's on the low side. That way your wheels on the low side will end up probably resting on the 3" of boards rather than being 3" in the air.
The only other way that I can think of would be to get a tractor and level the area. That, however, would easily destroy your drainage if it's around a building and cause big problems with your foundation.
I'd just back onto a couple of 2x12's and see how it does.
The Lippert Owner's Manual for the Autolevel System states this:
NEVER LIFT THE COACH COMPLETELY OFF THE GROUND. LIFTING THE COACH
SO THE WHEELS ARE NOT TOUCHING GROUND WILL CREATE AN UNSTABLE AND
UNSAFE CONDITION.
What I think they are saying is don't go crawling around under the coach with the wheels off the ground because a mechanical failure may cause the coach to drop and damage something or injure you. They do not say anywhere that the 6 point system will cause the frame to warp or cause any problems. In fact, they say the 6 point system eliminates any twisting or possible frame damage. They do, on the 4 point system state that twisting of the frame may cause slides to stick or twist and could cause frame damage. With the 6 point system this is eliminated because there are jacks in front of the forward axle and behind the rear axle, so essentially, you're jacking the coach where the suspension attaches thereby eliminating any extra twisting of the frame that is not already engineered into the flexibility calculations of the frame as it sits on the tires.
As for problems from having the wheels off the ground, I can't think of any significant ones. The frame is designed to carry all the load anyway. Whether it is at the jack points or at the suspension points is pretty much academic. Now if it were a moving load (ie: towing down the road, the frame camber would come into play and the center part of the frame would be the best place to carry the load, but parked, it's a static load and you're not going to hurt anything with one side of your axle's off the ground. (assuming the rig is stable on the jacks and won't slip off or move around on you)
If it's any "consolation" it is easier to change the tires and check brakes/grease the bearings that way, so maybe this is "good fortune" rather than "bad luck" Just don't go crawling around under the coach