Leveling jack goes bang!!

[BigHomey]

We have had our Coachmen for just over a month now and even though we have "camped" in the RV garage to test things out, we went to a local campground this week to test it out more before winterizing it.

When we got parked at the campground and hit the auto level button, everything was going fine and then a loud bang with the MH dropping down in the front. I crawled under and found that the front passenger leveling jack had broken loose from the frame and was pushed way up out of position. After further examination I could see that the U mount that the leveling jack is bolted to had only been tack welded to the frame in 2 spots and had never been fully welded. Apparently parking it in the garage (on level concrete) never put enough stress on the system to cause the failure.

So, I was able to use 2x12 blocks to get the MH level enough to camp in for the week and it will be off to the dealer next week. I guess I will need to spend some time under the coach checking other stuff to see if anything else has been missed.

[BobandDonna]

Are your jacks by Lippert? We had a jack failure on our first trip also. The seal ruptured when we leveled on fairly level ground. Our previous RV had the Big Foot leveling system and had no problems in nine years of use. The Lippert system seems inadequate for Class A motorhomes.

[BigHomey]

It is a Lippert system. This failure had nothing to do with the Lippert jack system but rather with the failure of Coachmen to weld the jack housing to the frame during the manufacturing process. The other 3 jacks look to be welded properly. I would bet that even a Big Foot jack would ultimately fail if there were only two 1/4 tack welds holding it to the frame.

[jonwisconsin]

Sorry to hear this. Hopefully, you will get it fix at the dealer

[oletimer]

quality control is non existent from Forest River it seems.
we purchased a prime time rv a division of Forest river. the brake drum was not turned enough so who ever puts on the dust caps just smashed it with a hammer and puts the cover on... Water line kinked up behind the faucet in the shower, now this is not a problem if it was checked before leaving the mfg. but it wasn't they say they are checking people need fired when they dont do their job

I had fans installed at the dealer and they hooked up the easiest way to the light circuit, so that had to be redone... help I guess is had to get, what gonna happen when trumps laborers are going to take these willing to work away...

[D. J. Schuler]

Thinking out loud, my leveling jacks are bolted to the frame, front has brackets welded to the frame and jacks bolted to them. If something goes wrong with a jack it can be replaced easily. By the way I did check the brackets/flanges for sufficient weld, thank you for the post.

[seadoogtx]

Sorry for your troubles, However I don't understand how Forest River claims
" Built with pride."

I say that because my new coachman went to the shop the day after I bought it because the hot water heater had a broken tee. With water all over my coach. Of course it took them 2 months to fix it. Seriously. With an appointment.

Now 8 months later it is back in the shop fixing about 18 items . Three of them water leaking inside the coach. Not from rain but just washing it.

Other items the lamination stick on's on the cabinets are peeling away.
The door will not open from the inside if you close it. You have to go into the cab and go out the regular doors and open it from the outside. Of course the door does not seal on the bottom.