Our Sanibel 3600 has the Automatic Hydraulic Leveling System. DW has complained to me about noises she hears and bumps that she feels during her stay in the coach on her days off last week. The "bumps" or "jerking" feels like someone "drunk walked" into the coach, yet no one is out side.
Well, I stayed up all day and night Saturday listening for the noise. Started the day checking the leveling system display for pitch and yaw. Both at 0.0 deg. The temp was 70 to 75 f. during the day. When the sun went down, so did the outside temps. At approx 1:00 am the Sanibel jerked and the coach made a bang noise. The noise was
not loud and the jerk was
not harsh. DW slept through it. I checked the leveling system display and the coach was still dead level. Outside temp at 42 f. Ground is dry and firm around coach. Did not see or hear anyone around the outside of the coach. Sunday morning was a cold one, but the outside temp climbed quickly to 72 f. and as the temp increased, the Sanibel groaned like the hydraulic slides do at the end of their travel extending or retracting. I checked the leveling system display during the day and the coach stayed dead level.
I have some questions about this issue;
1) Anyone else had this happen?
2) Could this be caused by the contraction and expansion of the hydraulic fluid in the leveling and slide out cylinders?
3) Once the system is under pressure, does the system compensate for the changes in temperature of the hydraulic fluid?
I want all who read this, please understand that this noise and jerk issue would not have caused me to wake up at night. I am asking about this because we don't know if this is normal, and Lippert knows about it, or do we have a real problem starting to happen.
We love our Sanibel, and are proud to have stepped up from a travel trailer to a quality 5th wheel coach.