Why is RV ‘leveling jacks down’ light on with jacks retracted when driving?

Dear Dave,
My unit has hydraulic leveling jacks. On a few occasions I’ve experienced an alarm coming from the jack system while driving (the jacks are up). The first time this was really annoying because I didn’t know what the problem was and I was not in a place where I could even do anything about it. I was able to find out what the issue was and was able to add some more fluid and solve the problem. The alarm happened one other time and I was also able to fix the issue.

Now I’m experiencing a small amount of fluid showing up on the ground after deploying the jacks. I’ve crawled under my unit several times trying to see if there is a leak. I’ve found nothing. All the connections are tight and there is no transmission fluid on the components.

My question is, how can you tell if you have enough transmission fluid in the holding tank to prevent the alarm from going off? There is no fill line that I can see on the tank and the tank is not transparent enough to even see what the fluid level is. Why does the alarm go off while I’m driving (jacks up) and not while I’m trying to deploy the jacks? Is there an easy way to fill the tank? The location and access to the filling port are pretty hard to reach. I took some pictures which I will try to attach. I have more pictures but can’t upload them. —Barrie, 2012 Winnebago Itasca Sunova (33C?)

Dear Barrie,
Your leveling jacks are Power Gear, which is now owned by Lippert. According to the owner’s manual, the following fill procedure is required.

Power Gear fill procedure

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES WARNING:

Your coach should be supported at both front and rear axles with jack stands before working underneath, failure to do so may result in personal injury or death.

1. Check the fluid level every month. Fill the reservoir with the jacks in the fully retracted position. On 1998 – PRESENT model year coaches, the fluid should be within 1/4 inch of the fill port lip and checked only with all jacks retracted. On pre-1998 model year coaches the fluid level should be approximately 1/8 inch on the dipstick and checked only with all jacks retracted.

2. Change fluid every 24 months.

3. Inspect and clean all hydraulic pump electrical connections every 12 months.

4. Remove dirt and road debris from jacks as needed.

5. If jacks are down for extended periods, it is recommended to spray exposed chrome rods with a silicone lubricant every seven days for protection. If your coach is located in a salty environment (within 60 miles of coastal areas), it is recommended to spray the rods every 2 to 3 days.

6. Jacks equipped with grease fittings at the bottom of the cylinder should be greased with a lightweight lithium grease using a hand pump style grease gun only. 2 or 3 pumps should be sufficient for 20-30 uses.

Fill procedure for your unit

According to the manual, your unit is post-1998, so the fill level would be 1/4” from the fill port lip. Another item that usually gets overlooked is changing the hydraulic oil every two years. I think this might be a little precautionary. However, most owners don’t change the fluid at all. Since your unit is more than 10 years old, it could be the fluid is weak due to condensation, heat, or just breaking down.

Since you have noticed hydraulic fluid on the ground, there is a leak and typically it comes from a seal that has gotten compromised. This can be very difficult to find, as you have indicated. However, here are a couple of diagrams that might help narrow it down.

This is a photo from the Service Manual of the main components.

Here is the valve assembly at each leveler. Typically, a leak develops within one of the valves or the hydraulic hose connection going to it.

According to the service manual, there are other issues that could cause the light to come on while driving even though the jacks are retracted.

You can find the Service Manual on the Lippert website here. (pdf)

 You might also enjoy these posts from Dave 

• Planning ahead: Should RV leveling jacks be retracted during winter storage?
• Can I use a small battery jumper to extend and retract RV jacks?
• My RV’s auto-level system doesn’t work. How do I recalibrate it?
• Are SnapPads on the RV’s jacks a good idea?
• Why aren’t the leveling jacks working?

Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”

Read more from Dave here. 

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