RV Lifestyle & Repair Editors

How to Troubleshoot Defective RV Leveling Jacks

RV Lifestyle & Repair Editors
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Duration:   2  mins

RV leveling jacks are essential for a sturdy and safe stay in your Lippert slide room. If the leveling jacks on your slide-out give you trouble when you set up camp for the night, there are a couple things you should inspect when troubleshooting to find the issue and come up with a solution.

In this lesson, Steve Albright walks you through a quick demonstration to teach you what to look for in order to get your RV leveling jacks back in working condition. You’ll discover the difference between an electrical problem in the motor and a malfunction in the wiring, and learn how to go about making the proper repair.

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One Response to “How to Troubleshoot Defective RV Leveling Jacks”

  1. Bob

    We have Power Gear electric jacks on our '08 Gulf Stream, Yellowstone. We bought it used in 2014 and had trouble with the jacks even as we drove it home after the delivery. The system would go into error mode with the jacks extended as we began to retract them. Sometimes we could clear the error by following either manufacturers procedures. But, that didn't work every time. After much head scratching, blog research and many hundreds of dollars searching for the fix a repair tech working on it discovered the electro-magnetic brakes on each of the four jacks had varying degrees of rust with with one being completely disabled by it. Seems the rubber boots around the motors are designed to be installed with the open end of boot facing up and cinched with a hose clamp. This was not providing an adequate seal against water seaping down the motor body and into this cup shaped boot. The water came from the spray which occurs under the motor home while driving on wet roads during rain or after, before the road surface dries. We replaced all four brakes and sealed the top edge of the boots with butyl rubber caulk and rubber tape used by roofers to seal joints. It is a peal and stick tape that adheres to the rubber boot and steel motor body really well. Haven't had a problem since that repair, nine months ago. Note, Power Gear has gone out of business so finding parts for them will likely become more difficult as time goes on. Hope this is helpful to anyone suffering similar issues.

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