Bouncing like a pogo stick

[ernest917]

Had a nasty, scary experience yesterday....

Went through the drill of getting packed up go in order to leave the campground - disconnect sewer, water, elec., etc.

Retracted the power auto levelers (lights all went off indicating that they were all up) hooked up toad and then pulled out of campground onto main road....

Entire coach begin bouncing up and down... Slowed down (was only going about 20mph) and bouncing seemed to go away... Pulled onto freeway and bouncing returned with a vengeance...

Again had to slow almost to a stop... Made it to next exit with wife having a come-apart... Pulled into a Kmart lot and sat trying to figure things out....

The thought came to mind that maybe the airbags had failed to inflate and i was riding on frame and shocks so I lowered the levelers completely then raised them again.... This time, even though the lights indicated that levelers were fully retracted. I continued pressing the retract button... All light were off and I went outside to check coach height.. It was raised off frame....

Rest of two day trip went perfectly so I guess the moral of the story is - don't trust what the lights are telling you cause it ain't necessarily true....

[chmx]

I had the same thing happen 2x on my new coach. I have only had it for a week now. I stopped and put it in Neutral, set brake and pressed the retrack all button for the jacks. I heard the air go out of the bags and the light go off on the levels and all was good. The level system seems like you need to hit the button 2x just to make sure. I had the RV in to Freightliner today for service and told them what was happening. They said it was most likely the level sensors and they are not showing all the way up. The dealer was pretty worthless and would like to talk with a Forest River dealer.

I wonder if anyone else has had this issue? My friend with a different brand Diesel RV said he has it happen sometime and he puts it into neutral and then reverse and it will fix it.

[Superchief]

??? Was the ignition on when you were trying to retract. Mine won't operate unless the key is off. As a backup, I do always walk around the coach and look under it before I move. Just making sure I didn't get distracted and forget something. Have found the antenna up once and that DW was not in the coach. Great save there!

[ernest917]

Pretty hairy when you've pulled onto a busy freeway with no place to pull off.... Had to drive about 2 miles...

[ernest917]

Ignition was off.... Levelers evidently just weren't all the way up.... If they aren't up, sir bags won't inflate....

[RANGERBOB]

I've found that the indicator lights on our dash unit sometimes give a false reading. Like Superchief, I always do a walk around to check that the jacks are up. I routinely put a piece of plywood or 1X8 under my jacks so I have to get down and dirty to grab them to store them, as an extra reminder. On my walk-around, I also check all the storage doors to be sure they are locked, Yes they've flown open. I also check my generator to be sure the cover is on properly, Yes I had one drop off...a little $150 error. I also check the look of the tires and double check the toad set up, Yes I dragged it down US 50 with the tires sideways until I figured out that something was haywire. That made me sweat but no damage. On our recent trip to Arizona, we were on our way home, when I started hearing a "funny" noise. I thought it was coming from the front end of the motorhome. I thought oh oh multi-K repair. I pulled into the trading post in Cameron, AZ and when I braked, Kabang the door flew open. I had latched it without the deadbolt and the regular door latch had wiggled down into the open position. I'd been hearing the step extend and retract as the door began to open whenever I steered right, and yes I'm keeping a journal of all this for my next book!

[OldCoot]

RANGERBOB, while we were in FL these last few winters, we have seen several mh owners put 2 x 12's, 12" x 12" x 3/4 plywood, etc. under their jacks and quite a few of them have added loops of rope to their blocks and pull them out with their awning hook. Looks a lot easier than "getting down & dirty". I think it is a very clever idea.

[Ericvr4]

this happen to me on my rig 5 times.my 2011 390bh sat on lot for almost a year. pretty Scary the 1st time! the problem is when rig sits there is a relay that gets stuck. the air does not transfer back to airbags. you have to cycle it on retract again, or level it then retract again, and when the levelers come up it thinks it is done. there is nothing to say airbags are filled? it will drive on frame with no warning lights. i always check the rig raised up.(should have about 4 or 5" between tire and fender) when it is done. i also always look under to make sure jacks come up. i have not had that problem again, i sat in 1 spot and did that cycle 4 times. if that doesn't work i believe the relay is located under coach in front. they told me to tap on it with wrench. frieghtliner is well aware of this problem. it uasally will work after you start using coach more.

[Ericvr4]

oh make sure your air is up to pressure before you retract.

[Superchief]

Does it help if you empty the air "canisters" periodically. I think your suppose to do it monthly. If I had not gone to Freightliner Camp, I wouldn't know how or why to do this.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Superchief

Does it help if you empty the air "canisters" periodically. I think your suppose to do it monthly. If I had not gone to Freightliner Camp, I wouldn't know how or why to do this.

correct thing to do is purge tanks of moisture daily when driving .
I would say every time you stop to camp would be best .
And by drain I mean pull the cord till moisture is expelled .
any air newer system have dryers that work quite well but it never hurts to check them if its easy .
BY the way these dryers need serviced once a year

[tmmar]

There are chords on the frame behind the front wheels- 2 on one side and 1 on the other (can't remember which right now). You should periodically pull the chords to bleed the tanks of any water that might have accumulated. Also, the air dryers need to have the dessicant cartridge changed every 3 years per Freightliner's maintenance schedule.

When I am going to leave the campground, after I retract the levelers and the air pressure has built up, I try to find a spot on something outside (a near by tree for example) and line it up with the bottom of the door window or something else in the coach. I then watch to make sure that the coach rises in relation to the spot I chose as the air bags fill. If it doesn't rise, I will hit the retract all again and watch the coach rise. This happens to me just about all the time so now I usually hit the retract all twice just as a matter of course.

[Joker]

I have the same problem. It usually takes twice.

[wnytaxman]

I usually won't move the coach until I hear the whoosh that tells me everything is totally inflated and ready to move. That extra minute or so can save you a lot of time and even some money down the road.

[ernest917]

Whoosh??? What whoosh??? I've never heard a whoosh..... Should I be hearing a whoosh???

[Joker]

The whoosh, I believe is the pressure dump from the air system. It lets you know that the system has reached its upper limit threshold pressure. However, I think my system has reached that point without inflating the air bags. So, not sure that's a reliable indicator of air bag inflation.

[dieselman]

The Woooooosh that you are hearing is the air dryer discharging. Your air pressure should be about 135 psi then the d2 governor will signal that your tank are up to pressure and the dryer will eject any moisture from the system. This is the same air system that is used on class 8 tractors. If all else fails and you can't get your coach up, There is an override button on the dump valve under the frame. It requires you to get under the coach but if all else goes south, it will get you back on the road !!!!!

[Superchief]

Your thinking we can fit under there with the air bags empty? I need to start dieting now. :-)

[JEM]

Had the same experience my first time out. Be sure before you retract jacks that your air pressure is above 75 on your two gauges. Air pressure will eventually build up but ride is very hard and you get bounced around.

[Moracechaney]

I had this also, so what I have figured out is depending on the sequence of retracting your jacks, it may take a long time to air up the suspension, so since I now crank up, let the pressure build up to over 100(the bar between 75 and 150), then retract the jacks, all is well. Otherwise takes a while and the suspension only airs up after the brake system is up, takes a while if driving, which can't be good for it!