Auto leveling system on 5th wheel toy hauler

[pdb_atl]

I'm in the final negotiations on a RW415 and was interested in the auto leveling hydraulic jack system and have a question for those of you with toy haulers and leveling systems...

The dealer said he would be glad to install the Lippert kit to give it a 6 point leveling system or even order one with that option, but actually recommended against it for a toy hauler, especially one that is 43' in length. His reasoning was that it usually lifted the rear up so high that the angle of the ramp was too steep and that loading some toys like custom harley's, etc would be difficult to overcome.

Does anyone have any similar experience where they had problems loading their toys when the camper was level?

Patrick

 

[cookie]

I don't own a toy hauler, but I do have the Level 6-Point Leveling system.
I guess that I don't understand your dealers thinking.
Level is level whether you level your rig with boards, beer cans or a hydraulic leveling system.
If the rig is level, how would the rear be up so high as to cause a problem?
There are some Level Up equipped toy hauler owners that will weigh in with their experiences.

Peace
Dave

 

[kakampers]

I agree with Dave...that comment makes NO sense....We have six-point system and really love it! However, since the dealer doesn't really seem to understand the system, I would order it with installed by the factory.

 

[porthole]

From the toy hauler side.

Order it from the factory. I will not have another traielr without the Level Up. It really make life convenient. My preference would be a factory order over a dealer installed order.
Factory warranty versus a warranty just from your dealer.

As to your dealers comment, he is partially correct.

Without auto level you level the trailer from side to side using boards or blocks, then you level from front to rear with the front jacks. This method will get you close and it will also have the trailer as low to the ground as possible.

With an auto level, the system starts by lowering the front, then raising it close to level. Then the left side jacks come down (always the left actuates first on mine). The two jacks bottom out then lift the left about 2". Then the right jacks do the same, also raising the trailer about 2".

Then the auto level goes through its "find level" procedure, raising the front and or the sides to get to level.
What does not happen, at least with mine is that the jacks never retract to bring the trailer to level, they keep extending minute amounts until the computer is satisfied the trailer is level. And that level by the way, is "level" that is set in memory (adjustable).

I should rephrase that a bit, Although the jacks do not retract to find level, they will work with one another in that if the right rear has to go up the the left front has to go down to keep the frame from twisting.

So if you followed all that, a trailer with auto level will be artificially higher then a "leveled" trailer without LevelUp.

And that is what your dealer is referring to, whether he realizes it or not. Your trailer, leveled with LevelUp will have the rear garage higher then if no jacks were deployed.
The closer to the ground the garage floor is, the easier it is to load and unload. And having the garage parallel to the ground makes for a steeper hump getting into the trailer, which can be an issues with lowered bikes or low slung bikes.

Solution - unload or load before leveling if needed. Or, you can always just retract the rear jacks, lowering the rear of the trailer. When done, hit the "auto" button again.

That option, would be the first check off on my build sheet.

BTW, because that traielr is so big is all the more reason to have the LevelUp.

 

[porthole]

You also have to be flexible. At Lake George for our last rally, the garage floor was a little over 3' off the ground. With my ramp open and level (I have cables holding it that way) the end of the ramp was about 5' off the ground. There was no way to get the bike and cart out of the garage. So I just backed into the space behind us to unload. When we left I pulled into the clearing in front of the trailer to load.

 

[porthole]

I m adding this as a separate reply so it doesn't get lost.

You do not have to use "auto level" all the time to enjoy the benefits of the hydraulic system.
There are times when I will level the trailer operating the jacks manually, just extending them enough to accomplish my goal.
This is especially the case where the door side of the trailer is lower. The system will auto level but put the off door side too high.

In this particular case (door side low) I would lower my right side jacks, bottom them out and lift maybe a 1/2". Then level with the left side jacks. That keeps the trailer as low to the ground as possible.

At the Virginia Beach rally last month the sites were so level I lowered the jacks to the ground and barely lifted at all. Just enough to take some load off the springs and to steady the rig (no spring bounce)

 

[pdb_atl]

Thanks porthole for those posts. The points you make about how the jacks operate and loading/unloading toys before you park and level the camper are what I was expecting.

Patrick