LCI 6 Point Level Up - Hitch Height

[jd4010]

First off....want to say the I love (adore) the LCI 6 Point Leveling system on our 5er. It is the da bomb!

Now that said, I quite haven't figured out the trick for the hitch height button. When we get to our site, we put down the front jacks to allow us to pull the truck out. That, to me, would be hitch height. At which time, I then hit the auto level button and thing does its magic.

Now when we are getting ready to depart, sometimes, not all the time, when we hit the hitch height but the middle and rear jacks fully retract and then the front ones increase or decrease and we simply hitch and go. But then....there are times when we hit the hitch height button and the mid/rear jacks DO NOT retract, the front jacks go up to hitch height and it places a lot of pressure on those rear hydraulic jacks and because of this, the front won't be raised enough for us to hook up the truck....we have to manually retract the mid/rear jacks and then raise the front jacks.

So what am I doing wrong or what is the secret? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[NMWildcat]

I have the same thing. Love it!
From the manual: The hitch height function returns to the height of the RV when auto level is intialized.
That said, it rarely works for us so we don't use it anymore. I don't recall the situation you described ever happening to us though.
For us, boondocking in rough country, sometimes the nose is lower after unhitching, so I raise it above level to prevent the auto level function from having problems, which is also in the manual, so that messes up the hitch height function.
Also, sometimes when I pull out from under the hitch, the truck might pop up several inches due to user inconsistency so that will affect the usefulness of the height return function.
So now, one of us backs up the truck while the other adjusts the hitch height to the sweet spot

[nayther]

I have four point electric and I've found the same thing, works most of the time. I've also had the issue where one jack over-extends and the system shuts off on safety. Once had a front jack completely off the ground by 2" and it did not give any warning light, etc. had to lower/adjust manually from the interior touch pad. But mostly it works bitchin'.

[jannjim]

I have the same things happen on my 2020 Cedar Creek as jd4010. sometimes it works, sometimes it only raises the front jacks putting a lot of pressure on the rear. Auto level is awesome, after I recalibrated it.

[dalford]

What do you mean by “putting a lot of pressure on the rear jacks”?

[cub22908]

I would say something is wrong. I have a 2018 and Hitch Height has worked every time for 3 seasons. It always retracts rear jacks before raising front. Can't think of anything you could be doing wrong so must be some kind of fault. And from the responses it is a common fault.

[jannjim]

When hitting hitch height, it raises the front jacks before retracting the middle and rear jacks.

[Scheinin]

I think I know the answer to your problem.

When ready to leave, retract rear jacks. This will raise the rear and middle jacks leaving the RV on it's wheels and front jacks. THEN hit hitch height. It will work EVERY time.

[primo20]

on a previous trailer with the electric 4 point mine worked flawlessly. on my new unit i have the 6 point hydraulic. i have yet to get the hitch height to work. not only will it NOT return to the height when i unhitch, i have to do an auto-level before using hitch height to hook up (defeats the purpose) or else just hitting hitch heigh after camping throws the system into an error and requires a hard reset.

mine goes in on saturday for this and a host of other warranty fixes.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by jannjim

When hitting hitch height, it raises the front jacks before retracting the middle and rear jacks.

I don’t think it is adding pressure to the rear jacks. If you notice as the front comes up the pistons behind the tires retract as needed and the piston in front of the tires extend to compensate for the front rising. The system is all tied together. I raise my landing gear manually all the time when I want easy access to the front basement and the rear jacks extend/retract as needed. I also drop my landing gear all the way down when I want easy access for washing my front cap and the rear landing gear adjust as needed.

If they didn’t you would lift the tires off the ground, probably.

At least that is how my 2016 33IK Silverback system work.....

[dalford]

I copied this from the LCI manual... notice the part about where the “auto level”. Is started and how that affects hitch heigth. Looks to me if you unhitch and you are hitch high then hitting auto level will allow it to,work. It states the the hitch height is determined by the hitch height when you hit auto level.

Auto Level
NOTE: Prior to unhitching from the tow vehicle, ensure unit is parked on a level surface and chock the tires of the unit.
1. After unhitching from tow vehicle press "AUTO LEVEL" (Fig. 1F).
NOTE: Pressing any button during an Auto Level sequence will abort the auto leveling
cycle.
NOTE: In order for hitch recognition feature to function, the auto level sequence
MUST be started with the front of the unit above level.
Auto Level Sequence
1. Front landing gear retract, lowering the front of the unit below level, stopping, then lifting the front end to level the unit front to back.
2. The left side leveling jack(s) extend and raise the roadside of the unit.
3. The right side leveling jack(s) extend and raise the curbside of the unit, beginning
side to side leveling.
4. The front landing gear extend to complete the leveling cycle.
NOTE: Additional left to right or front to back leveling may occur if the controller deems necessary.
NOTE: If the auto level sequence does not happen as stated above, check to ensure proper manual function in all zones.
Hitch Recognition
1. Turn on touch pad.
2. Press the "LEFT" and "RIGHT" buttons simultaneously (Fig. 1H and 1I).
3. The front of the unit will raise to the height where the auto level sequence was
started.
NOTE: If the auto level sequence was started with the front of the unit in a below level condition, the Hitch Recognition will not function and the LCD will display “Feature Disabled." In order for the hitch recognition feature to function, the auto level sequence MUST be started with the front of the unit above level.
4. Connect tow vehicle and make sure 5th wheel and hitch are connected and locked.
5. Push “UP” arrow (Fig. 1A) until ”AUTO RETRACT” appears in LCD screen.
6. Push “ENTER” (Fig. 1C). System will immediately retract all jacks.

[BM Welder]

The previse post is right you have to press the left & right buttons at the same time. The 4 rear jacks equalize as the front goes up. Sometimes my hitch ends up a little high so I use the remote control to adjust it when I'm backing up. In the last 6 plus years it's only failed to work twice in the auto mode.

[stepdad]

Having the same Lippert 6 point system, hitch height was always 2-3 inches too high. Called Lippert and they walked me through this. Note: tech said this is an intermittent issue. In other words, don't depend on it. With that said mine works for now. But with the major convenience of Auto leveling, raising tires off the ground for tire change, this is such a minor issue.

[jd4010]

Update: Called LCI to get some ideas from them (they have TERRIFIC support). The tech I spoke asked me to attached a multimeter and watch the battery levels taking note of the voltage when it works and when it doesn't. He advised that despite being on shore power, the system runs off the batteries and if they dip too low, wonky things will occur. He also offered that next time I was near the rig, to call (they are open 6 days a week) and they would be glad to diagnose.

So I have 2 things I'm going to check. 1) Battery voltage and 2) making sure that the rig above level before hitting the auto level.

[LittleBill]

I have had the situation where when I hit the 'Hitch Height' button the front jacks will raise and the rear ones stay put, putting pressure on the back end of my unit. I then go inside to the display control and raise the rear jacks manually.

Anymore once I unhitch I will pull a little forward and either raise or lower the front jacks so that the pin will be in a position as if I were looking to hitch up. After that, I clear the truck and hit auto-level. Then when I am ready to hitch back up, I will hit the 'Hitch Height' button and the height should be at the proper spot to hitch up.

As for the rear jacks that on occasion won't come up, I will need to see if the hitch height was above level plus maybe check the battery level.

One thing I found out early on was to try not to interrupt the auto-level sequence. Wait till it has finished or you may have problems. If you do panic and try to stop the sequence you will have to either go to the display control inside to reset or wait for the auto-level to reset on it's own. Once you get the green light you will be good to go again.

[Retired JSO]

If it raises the front of the 5er but the rear jacks stay extended, how do you raise the rear jacks. Do you then have to hit retract all? Never happened to me.

[LittleBill]

Originally Posted by Retired JSO

If it raises the front of the 5er but the rear jacks stay extended, how do you raise the rear jacks. Do you then have to hit retract all? Never happened to me.

No, you DON'T want hit retract all until you are hitched up. This would cause your all (including the front) jacks to retract causing the front of your unit to dive towards the ground.

If once you hit Hitch Height and the rear jacks stay down, you will probably need to go inside your unit and raise the rear jacks manually via the display control screen. At least that is what I need to do on my 2018 36CK2.

[cub22908]

Not sure why you all have to fool around with anything other than pushing Hitch Height button. My 2018 CC has the Ground Control 3.0 6 point hydraulic OneControl panel system. As long as Hitch Height is above level the mid and rear jacks retract then nose raises to hitch height. If Hitch Height is below level then mid and rear jacks raise and then you have to manually lower nose of 5er. If you have the same system and you are fooling around with mid and rear jacks after hitting Hitch Height button then you have a problem with your jacks.

[NMWildcat]

If only everything worked perfectly everytime for everybody......

Originally Posted by cub22908

Not sure why you all have to fool around with anything other than pushing Hitch Height button. My 2018 CC has the Ground Control 3.0 6 point hydraulic OneControl panel system. As long as Hitch Height is above level the mid and rear jacks retract then nose raises to hitch height. If Hitch Height is below level then mid and rear jacks raise and then you have to manually lower nose of 5er. If you have the same system and you are fooling around with mid and rear jacks after hitting Hitch Height button then you have a problem with your jacks.

[cub22908]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

If only everything worked perfectly everytime for everybody......

You are right, exactly what I mean. If it's not working like this you have a problem.