Lippert Leveling System

[sauerld]

Just bought our 2013 Keystone Alpine. First question: Was that a mistake?

2nd Question: My auto retract does not work on the unit so I have to do it manually. Secondly, since I have to retract manually, when I push the retract button and then start lifting the front jacks they will retract a little and then stop. Push again, they go up a little more. Continue this and they finally retract all of the way. Has anyone experienced this or is it normal like the dealer told me. Thanks much, we are leaving for AZ from Iowa for 1500 miles trip and sure don't want to have any problems. Any other tips or cautions?

[CWSWine]

Sounds like a low battery. Check the voltage on the control panel and if much below 12 volts that probably the problem.

[Cbrez]

Q1 - Buyer's remorse perhaps? If you liked the unit enough to buy it, I expect you'll enjoy it when you use it. We went from tent camping to a 39' 5er. Super high pucker factor when we first drove it off the lot, but absolutely no regrets.
Q2 - Try unplugging the connector in the rear of the control panel and plugging it back in. This sort of resets the panel. We can access the back of the panel from the LP bottle compartment, so I didn't need to remove the panel to reset it. If that doesn't work, call Lippert. I had a problem with mine after a battery short and they were extremely helpful. Worst case, you may need to purchase a new control panel - ~$210

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum :wlcm:

First of all it's NOT normal for the front landing gear to act as you describe. Is the system electric (ground control), or hydraulic (level up)?

[sauerld]

They are hydraulic

[sauerld]

They are hydraulic.

[chuckster57]

Ok. Now let's see if we can figure out why they don't fully retract. When you turn the control pad on, you can scroll through some information screens using the up/down arrows.

What is the voltage?

[sauerld]

I have received a low voltage reply in the past, maybe the brand new battery they were suppose to put in was not new. i'm thinkin about adding a second battery.

[sauerld]

I think around 12.2, but like I say I have gotten low readings and it seems like it goes down quickly.

[sauerld]

Yes, on the scrolling.

[chuckster57]

A second battery is an excellent idea. If you can't verify the existing battery is less than a couple of months old, then get 2 fresh ones.

When you put them in put the two battery positives together and the negatives together. Then take the feed to the trailer and put the positive on one of the battery positives, and the negative feed to the negative post of the other battery. After that if the jacks still act up, I would seek out an independent repair facility. Being told "that's normal" is to me a "we don't want to fix it" response.

[bobbecky]

I'm pretty sure your system is the same as on my Montana, and these rigs were built using 40 amp breakers on the line to the hydraulic pump. My rig did the same thing as yours is doing, and the fix, as long as the cable is #4 if I remember correctly, is to replace the breaker with an 80 amp breaker, and this is the fix that was recommended by Lippert.

This is what was in my rig, feeding the pump
http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_222954_0_95a8a311bbcfe2a14af1825064133158.jpg

This is the replacement breaker I installed
http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_222954_1_23d78629322a2fd40749db0962102cad.jpg

On your other question, I never use the auto-retract mode, not that it works or not, just never felt the need to use it. From what I've heard from others, it never gets you exactly back to hookup height, just close, but you still need to adjust before backing into the hitch.

[Still go once]

Yes, on the scrolling.

Your battery is the same as dead at 12 volts, it should be at least 14 at full charge.

[chuckster57]

Your battery is the same as dead at 12 volts, it should be at least 14 at full charge.


Actually 12.7VDC is considered fully charged.

[bsmith0404]

Yes, I've had the same problem, but mainly when the batteries are low as already mentioned. I have had it happen at other times, every now and then one or two legs will still be down a few inches. Just hit the button a second time and they finish retracting.

[bobbecky]

The lower the voltage, the higher the amps, so that would cause the breaker to trip quicker when operating the system.

[ChuckS]

Wonder how this all turned out?

[Barbell]

Had a similar problem when our Montana was new (2014 model). At least one or sometimes two jacks would not retract all the way until you recycled it. Finally, other 12 volt problems surfaced and we traced those to a bad bimetal breaker located on back wall of battery compartment. Once replaced, never had the problem again. Few weeks ago, we discovered at about 10:00 am that we had no ac power and the one battery was carrying everything. Went to park management and was told the power was off for several days for maintenence issues. Absolutely no notice was given. As we don't have a generator, we had to pack up and move. The battery was so low, I first thought I would have to find someone with a car to put jumper cables on to get the rig hooked up. However, I did have enough juice to get the slides in and the truck hooked. The big problem was getting the jacks retracted. By pushing the retract button, waiting a minute or so and doing it again, I finally got everything retracted. Did have the truck hooked up and running so some juice was flowing to the battery but it took 30 minutes or more to get the jacks all retracted.