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Old 03-15-2017, 06:35 PM   #1
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Changing Tires with Hydraulic Levelers?

We have a 2016 Sierra 377FLIK with the 6 point hydraulic leveling system.
I have noticed that the auto-level function sometimes raises the RV so that 1 or more tires are off the ground if the site is not so level.
Has anyone used the hydraulics to raise tires off the ground for maintenance or changing a flat?
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Old 03-15-2017, 06:55 PM   #2
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Yup, I use the hydraulics to raise the MH, then put my jackstands under a solid area of the frame for safety.
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Old 03-15-2017, 07:00 PM   #3
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My brother's trailer ( a Montana around 43' ) has the auto levelers. Trailer was new, but he wanted the china bombs gone. Took it to the tire shop, used the levelers to lift all four tires off the ground, and swapped them out. Makes it real easy to just partially rotate the tires if the rig is stored for an extended time.

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Old 03-16-2017, 10:14 PM   #4
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I have used the levelers to repack the wheel bearings and also to swap tires out. Much better than letting a tire shop raise the RV with a jack. Jerry
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Old 03-16-2017, 11:05 PM   #5
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Following our friends when they had a blowout on their Montana. We used the jacks, along with some 2x10 since he was at an angle to raise wheels and change the tire. Had to go to manual mode. The system was saying excessive angle but the low side was the side the bad tire was on. Pressed enter to clear the excessive angle alarm, up/down arrow until manual Mose was displayed and enter. Then raised low side to change tire.

I've also used mine at the tire shop to change to Maxxis tires

2000 miles on his tires. He has since changed to Sailun H rated tires..
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Old 03-17-2017, 12:35 PM   #6
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Auto Leveling

Not a reply about changing tires with AL but my wife and I just purchased a new Outback 325BH with the BAL AL system. My question is does it have to either be plugged into shore power or truck to work? When not plugged in it doesn't turn on when I push the power button. Just wondering as the selling dealer didn't know much about it when we did the walk through.
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Old 03-17-2017, 12:54 PM   #7
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ard, if your coach has two batteries or more, and are in good shape, they should have enough capacity to raise the trailer with the leveling system. My Silverback 29RE has three batteries, and it holds up well for that purpose. It's much better to have it plugged into the truck or into shore power.
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Old 03-17-2017, 01:06 PM   #8
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Changing Tires with Hydraulic Levelers

Thanks for the info Davidg. Ours only has 1 battery, but I've been thinking about adding a second one. This helps my decision.
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Old 03-17-2017, 01:06 PM   #9
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3 words: Don't Do It!

Every single manufacturer of autolevelers specifically state that you are not to lift any part of the unit off the ground (i.e. tires). Lippert specifically prohibits changing tires with the autolevelers.

When we attended Camp Freightliner this topic was specifically addressed, and our instructor told us about a incident where a guy had used his autolevelers to raise his rig to do maintenance underneath and was subsequently crushed to death when the autolevelers depressurized.

Extreme situation, I know, but the point should be taken: Autolevelers are not jacks.

BluePill is at least being safe about it: if you are going to do it anyway even after being warned, please use jack stands--and make sure that they are load rated for your RV.

Better yet, for all you pull-behind folks just get this:
https://www.amazon.com/Andersen-Manu...sen+rapid+jack

Safe and works like a charm! We had one when we had our 5er and used it on occasion (including swapping out the China Bombs for Maxxis )
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Old 03-17-2017, 01:50 PM   #10
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Bob, I have literature from Lippert that specifically advertises a benefit of their leveling system to be the ease of tire changing.

I think they dropped that from newer ads however.
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Old 03-17-2017, 01:56 PM   #11
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Would think the same thinking with hydraulic jacks would apply to leveler. Jack are known to lose pressure over time, better jack literature recommends use of jack stands. I have a family who got a cracked rib when large floor jact lost pressure while he was working on a clutch, not to mention the two hours he lay trapped until help just happened by.
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Old 03-17-2017, 01:56 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ard58 View Post
Not a reply about changing tires with AL but my wife and I just purchased a new Outback 325BH with the BAL AL system. My question is does it have to either be plugged into shore power or truck to work? When not plugged in it doesn't turn on when I push the power button. Just wondering as the selling dealer didn't know much about it when we did the walk through.
What?
What the heck kind of dealer did you buy from that doesn't know much about what they sell?
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Old 03-17-2017, 02:42 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Davidg View Post
Bob, I have literature from Lippert that specifically advertises a benefit of their leveling system to be the ease of tire changing.

I think they dropped that from newer ads however.
They could have David. When we had our 5er, this is what mine looked like.

I will say that the Andersen rapid Jack is 'da bomb for pull behind folks though
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Old 03-17-2017, 04:15 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BamaBob View Post
3 words: Don't Do It!

Every single manufacturer of autolevelers specifically state that you are not to lift any part of the unit off the ground (i.e. tires). Lippert specifically prohibits changing tires with the autolevelers.

When we attended Camp Freightliner this topic was specifically addressed, and our instructor told us about a incident where a guy had used his autolevelers to raise his rig to do maintenance underneath and was subsequently crushed to death when the autolevelers depressurized.

Extreme situation, I know, but the point should be taken: Autolevelers are not jacks.

BluePill is at least being safe about it: if you are going to do it anyway even after being warned, please use jack stands--and make sure that they are load rated for your RV.

Better yet, for all you pull-behind folks just get this:
https://www.amazon.com/Andersen-Manu...sen+rapid+jack

Safe and works like a charm! We had one when we had our 5er and used it on occasion (including swapping out the China Bombs for Maxxis )
I agree you should use caution when using the hydraulic jacks to change your tires and I would never crawl under a trailer unless supported with jack stands. My systems lifts tires off the ground occasionally when using auto level so I'm sure the system is designed to carry the RV weight. As always, you can have a hydraulic failure so be cautious

As far as the Andersen Rapid Jack.. that won't work on my 33Ik with the flex suspension... I've tried it in my driveway.
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Old 03-17-2017, 05:45 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by dalford View Post
I agree you should use caution when using the hydraulic jacks to change your tires and I would never crawl under a trailer unless supported with jack stands. My systems lifts tires off the ground occasionally when using auto level so I'm sure the system is designed to carry the RV weight. As always, you can have a hydraulic failure so be cautious

As far as the Andersen Rapid Jack.. that won't work on my 33Ik with the flex suspension... I've tried it in my driveway.
Sorry to hear that the rapid jack does not work - I was under the impression it worked on all dual axels. You should contact Andersen and let them know.

You need to take a look at your Lippert Level Up system and see my previously posted PDF from Lippert. No autoleveler is designed to support the weight of a RV.
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Old 03-17-2017, 06:57 PM   #16
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Quote:
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They could have David. When we had our 5er, this is what mine looked like.

I will say that the Andersen rapid Jack is 'da bomb for pull behind folks though
yep, I've seen that, but I also still have a copy of the brochure when I bought my trailer that promotes all the benefits of buying the Lippert LevelUp system. Among those benefits was the ability to change tires on the road without needing additional jacks.

I do get where they are coming from, because we all know that lawyers and insurance companies run the world...lol
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Old 03-17-2017, 10:54 PM   #17
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I have used my level-up 6 jack system to change several flats on the side of the highway, and to repack wheel bearings. Been doing it for 5 years with no problems. I only raise one side at a time, and never work underneath anything unless I use jackstands. Have to be a little smarter than what you are playing with!!!
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Old 03-17-2017, 11:37 PM   #18
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Sorry to hear that the rapid jack does not work - I was under the impression it worked on all dual axels. You should contact Andersen and let them know.

You need to take a look at your Lippert Level Up system and see my previously posted PDF from Lippert. No autoleveler is designed to support the weight of a RV.
Bob, I don't think Andersen can fix the problem with the flex suspension system on my 5th wheel. It actually takes a lot of lift on one wheel to get the other wheel off the ground. Now, when I had a torsion axle I was able to do it but not with these flex axles that have about 6 pivot points.

I hear you on the lippert manual you posted. I read it and could not find the statement that the lippert system was not designed to support the weight of the the RV but did see legalize as to not use it for tire changing or getting under the RV and Lippert also says I should hire a professional to change my tires. Do you hire a professional to change your tires? I also have a manual touting using the system to change tires even though the display/control panel says not to.

I guess the bottom line is be careful as any system can fail and do not get under your RV without jack stands. I don't care if you are using a bottle jack or your lippert level up system stuff can happen. I will use my level up system with the caution it deserves. Thx Bob...
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Old 03-17-2017, 11:49 PM   #19
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From BamaBob's manual:

THE USE OF THE LCI LEVEL-*UP WITH AUTOMATIC LEVELING SYSTEM TO SUPPORT THE
UNIT FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN WHICH IT IS INTENDED IS PROHIBITED BY LIPPERT’S LIMITED WARRANTY. THE LIPPERT LEVELING SYSTEM IS DESIGNED AS A “LEVELING” SYSTEM ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE USED TO PROVIDE SERVICE FOR ANY REASON
UNDER THE COACH SUCH AS CHANGING TIRES OR SERVICING THE LEVELING SYSTEM.

LIPPERT COMPONENTS, INC. RECOMMENDS THAT A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL BE
EMPLOYED TO CHANGE THE TIRE ON THE UNIT. ANY ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE TIRES
OR PERFORM OTHER SERVICE WHILE UNIT IS SUPPORTED BY THE LCI LEVEL-*UP WITH
AUTOMATIC LEVELING SYSTEM COULD RESULT IN DAMAGE TO THE 5TH WHEEL AND/OR
CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.

IMHO:

There is nothing in the manual that says you can't lift the tires off the ground, nor that the system can't support the full weight of the RV. What it DOES say is that it's not designed for you to go crawling around underneath it when it has the RV in the air.

So I believe that all their warnings have to do with SAFETY, i.e., don't go under an RV that's being lifted in any way by the system, because it could fail. You will find a similar warning on any hydraulic floor jack you buy.

So my conclusion is that you can use it to raise the tires off the ground, but you should then place jack stands under it before you start working on them, in case the system fails. I see nothing that says you can't or shouldn't do that.
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Old 03-18-2017, 12:01 AM   #20
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I've been thinking and this whole lippert issue about not using it to change tires or getting under the RV and now I am concerned. Should I not go under the front of my 5th wheel to get into the front storage area while set up in a campground using my level up system? If the level up system fails it would not crush me but it might do my neck and back in, I guess it could kill me? I haven't seen any warnings about this so I wonder why it is OK to go under the front of my 5th wheel while using the level up system but not change my tires where I won't be under the RV?

I know they make a tri-pod for 5th wheel king pins but I don't remember seeing them recommended as a required safety item. I guess I'd better stop now or the corporate lawyers will be requiring me to buy one..LOL
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