Leveling System for Solera

[Taylorgso]

Originally Posted by hkreck

I have the big foot stabilizers on my Solera and I can't complain. I did a trip in May and even towing a dolly and car behind me I didn't have any problems getting around. Even going through the mountains in W. Virginia. If you want to call those mountains.

Debbie's right! If you went through on Turnpike (I-77) or on I-64, you didn't really see the WV mountains. Get off the beaten path and you'll see the REAL West Virginia.

[Tranquil Jim]

Well, the "other shoe" has dropped! Bigfoot now says the system they quoted to my dealer was not auto leveling. So, the price bumped up from $3,800 to $6,000. Ouch! Not gonna happen.

Forest River says it has no problem with the Bigfoot 4-point leveling system being installed on the Solera and that installing it will not create any warrantee problems as long as an authorized FR dealer does the installation. Bigfoot says it is designed for the Sprinter chassis.

The problem is that I don't think it is worth $6K for a little convenience. I will be looking into some of the simpler solutions you folks have suggested.

[Taylorgso]

Originally Posted by Tranquil Jim

Well, the "other shoe" has dropped! Bigfoot now says the system they quoted to my dealer was not auto leveling. So, the price bumped up from $3,800 to $6,000. Ouch! Not gonna happen.

Forest River says it has no problem with the Bigfoot 4-point leveling system being installed on the Solera and that installing it will not create any warrantee problems as long as an authorized FR dealer does the installation. Bigfoot says it is designed for the Sprinter chassis.

The problem is that I don't think it is worth $6K for a little convenience. I will be looking into some of the simpler solutions have suggested.

They show the auto system on their website with direct order for $3660.00
Wonder what would happen if you just clicked on "add to cart" and placed an order?

Can't believe dealer would want $2400.00 to install.

Anyone for sueing for false advertising? I know a scheister lawyer!!!

[hkreck]

No offense meant but they are foothills compared to the Rockies. (quote from Jeremiah Johnson)

[Taylorgso]

Originally Posted by hkreck

No offense meant but they are foothills compared to the Rockies. (quote from Jeremiah Johnson)

No offense taken. But you do realize there are flatlanders that have gotten lost in those "foothills" and never gotten out! (Sort of like "Deliverance")

[hkreck]

Iowa may not have mountains Ed, but it anything but flat. On the other note about the big foot levelers. I didn't think they could put a four point system on the Solera, no room in front for them?

[paulmlac]

Jim -

Sunseeker owner here. I added Quadra's Bigfoot auto level system to our unit after the sale. I went directly to Quadra in SW Michigan. They also have a facility in Florida. If you are even remotely close, I would strongly recommend going directly through them. Two reasons. I trusted Quadra many times more than any dealer. And they did the install cheap. I think their normal install price (at least for a Sunseeker) was $600. I did the transaction over the winter (I.e., the slow season) and paid only $150. Was in and out within three hours. Just food for thought.

[Tranquil Jim]

Interesting thought, but White Pigeon, MI, is about 2,300 miles east of me; Florida is more than 3,000 miles. Just doesn't seem cost effective from here.

I am very mechanically inclined and have a well-equipped home machine shop at my disposal, but I don't think I want to crawl around under the Solera to install a system I'm not familiar with.

[Taylorgso]

Originally Posted by hkreck

Iowa may not have mountains Ed, but it anything but flat. On the other note about the big foot levelers. I didn't think they could put a four point system on the Solera, no room in front for them?

Well, I didn't think so either, Henry. But with the growing community of Sprinter-based RVs, it was a market waiting to be tapped. I'm sure they've been working overtime trying to figure out a way to get the front levelers on to fit.

I had HWH auto levelers on our old diesel pusher. While they were a convenience, they were also a nuisance. If I didn't keep them lubricated, they sometimes didn't want to return for storage, or occasionally position themselves correctly to lift the coach. - mine were the knee action type, and I even rolled off of them once or twice! With the short wheelbase of the Solera, my little leveling pads work very nicely. And at $6K, it's money I think I'll keep!

Only time I've been to Iowa (except flying in), was coming right down the western border in a MH back in '94 - and I slept pretty much all the way through - my daughter was driving! But will probably be going through sometime this September. Good friend just moved to Spearfish SD, and we're planning a trip out there last couple of weeks of Sept and first couple in Oct. Hope to see a lot of the midwest on that trip!

[hkreck]

Don't blame you Ed for sleeping I 29 is pretty boring. A bit better than going through Nebraska thou. Have a good trip we're going in that direction next month too after going up to Minnesota.

[2012WhiteSolera]

Has anybody tried those sicssor type screw jacks you see welded to the four corners of some travel trailers. I would assume two of those strategically placed in both rear corners of the Solera and a China Feight cordless drill motor, to activate the jack, might be a low cost solution. Any comments to this would be appreciated.

[papap]

Jacksonian reason they would not work.

[2012WhiteSolera]

Papa, translate to RV lingo please. Your speaking clingon dude!

[papap]

Not sure what appen there. Should be. No reason why they would not work.

[Taylorgso]

Originally Posted by 2012WhiteSolera

Papa, translate to RV lingo please. Your speaking clingon dude!

Papa's got a brand new Bag! - a wierd spell checker!

[bmp]

Hello. I'm new owner of a 2010 Solera SS24S on a 2008 Sprinter chassis. After about 15 nights camping around N. California (we "Summer" in the Sierra near Lake Tahoe) I'm already tired of blocks and wedges for leveling. And then there is the issue of stabilizing, which blocks and wedges do not address. So I've spent about two weeks haggling with the dealer that sold us the rig; researching online; and talking with Bigfoot. I'm about to push the "order now" button on the Quadra web site for the EZ four point (non-automatic) system but thought I'd share my findings and rationale with you folks before taking that final step.
1. The dealer will not install the 4-point system due to the issue with drilling or welding the frame for the front legs. I understand from Quadra that many have been installed up front without any frame issues -- at least to their knowledge.
2. The EZ non-automatic system uses only one tank that can be installed in almost any available space. The automatic system has a tank as part of each leg and causes all sorts or installation problems due to the lack of space. The single tank system takes a bit longer for the leveling process to be completed. But compared to blocks and wedges....
3. On some terrain, the system will lockup when the rear feet are within two inches of their maximum extension but have yet to make ground contact. The "work around" is to add blocks under the landing area and reset the the system.
4. The 4-point EZ package includes one supporting cross member. A second is recommend and only costs $75.00 when ordered with the $2,390 package.
5. All of the 4-point systems I've found, electric or hydraulic, cost about the same so using the one that Forest River has selected seems to make sense.

What am I missing?

[Sandiegodoug]

As far as I know, the only system forest river offered was the big foot system and it was not a leveling system but a stabilization system. The legs hung a little low for me so I'm using a couple of 4 ton jacks to stabilize . I agree using the giant Legos can be a pain but when camping in state parks with uneven sites I still see the rigs with the fancy leveling systems using blocks under the wheels and crawling under their rig to put blocks under the leveling system too. And I don't want to give up any ground clearance

[devilsquid]

Originally Posted by bmp

Hello. I'm new owner of a 2010 Solera SS24S on a 2008 Sprinter chassis. After about 15 nights camping around N. California (we "Summer" in the Sierra near Lake Tahoe) I'm already tired of blocks and wedges for leveling. And then there is the issue of stabilizing, which blocks and wedges do not address. So I've spent about two weeks haggling with the dealer that sold us the rig; researching online; and talking with Bigfoot. I'm about to push the "order now" button on the Quadra web site for the EZ four point (non-automatic) system but thought I'd share my findings and rationale with you folks before taking that final step.
1. The dealer will not install the 4-point system due to the issue with drilling or welding the frame for the front legs. I understand from Quadra that many have been installed up front without any frame issues -- at least to their knowledge.
2. The EZ non-automatic system uses only one tank that can be installed in almost any available space. The automatic system has a tank as part of each leg and causes all sorts or installation problems due to the lack of space. The single tank system takes a bit longer for the leveling process to be completed. But compared to blocks and wedges....
3. On some terrain, the system will lockup when the rear feet are within two inches of their maximum extension but have yet to make ground contact. The "work around" is to add blocks under the landing area and reset the the system.
4. The 4-point EZ package includes one supporting cross member. A second is recommend and only costs $75.00 when ordered with the $2,390 package.
5. All of the 4-point systems I've found, electric or hydraulic, cost about the same so using the one that Forest River has selected seems to make sense.

What am I missing?

You might want to google stabi-lite or the PT-22 system (both are electric and made for the Sprinter chassis) for the stabilization part of the equation. I asked about them earlier on in this thread (no one addressed my question) and there is another thread about the Stabi-Lite recently.

[hkreck]

I have to agree leveling is a pain in the, But I have four bags of the lego blocks and a RV app on my ipod which has a level meter in the system. When I first park my rig I put the ipod in the frig. It show me how far off I am on each side then I go about using the blocks. It's worked great this last summer the app is called the RV companion. It also has an area for storing info about your rig.

[Tranquil Jim]

After a fair amount of research and three months of use, I have concluded that I really don't need levelers...especially at the price they want to install them. I have five plastic three-step blocks for leveling if things are too out of kilter. As for stabilizers, we don't seem to be bothered much by the coach rocking back and forth. It seems pretty stable.