Front Jack Failure + Slide / Jacks crossover

Fulltimer not by choice · 08-03-2018, 11:56 AM

Hey all,

Having some issues with my Jacks and Slides.

We have a 2012 Lexington DRV Mobile Suites. It has 5 slides and 6 jacks. When I up the trailer from winter storage last year, I noticed that the front jacks were completely down. I got them up to get the truck under and hitched up and towed the unit to our summer lot. When I went to unload, the front Jacks would not hold the trailer. Worse than that, I noticed that when I would raise/lower the jacks, the slides would also come out???

Finally got the unit unhooked from the truck and mounted 4 x 20 ton jack stands under the unit.

After a bit of trouble shooting, I noticed a leaking valve. I initially thought it was leaking from the jack itself but I pulled the corplas underbelly down and followed the hydraulic fluid to the valve. Lines all look good and clean with no signs of leaking.

I may be wrong or right but this is what I have been able to determine thus far:

Last year we brought our unit to a RV pair shop and from what I can tell, the tech jumped two slide switches together, and very poorly at that! (see electrical board pic). I am thinking this created too much pressure on the valve (circled with arrow in the attached photo) which caused it to leak. I also believe that this valve may be bypassing and directing fluid to the slides as well hence having slides and jacks operating from the same jack switch.

Lastly, the circle on top of the valve bank that is circled in the photo, is "hand loose". Not sure if this is normal or not. It would seem o me to be not normal.

If anyone can confirm or deny this diagnosis or provide their thoughts, that would be extremely helpful.

Secondly, I obviously need a new valve and board (located behind the slide switches in the trailer). The valve should be easy enough to source straight from Lippert but I called DRV and they stated that they no longer carry the board or the wiring designs for the board which blew me away. The price that I paid for the trailer seems awful steep for a "disposable trailer"!!!! Does anyone know where I might find a new board and associated wiring schematics for that board. I was told by DRV that the board is an absolute requirement.

I should also note that I am in Canada. Alberta to be precise. I have had umpteen techs come and look and they are completely baffled and overwhelmed as to what is on the go with our trailer and they have no experience with DRV mobile suite models and have never seen a set up like it before hence why I am posting.

Any help would be great and appreciated.

Mtntrek · 08-03-2018, 05:13 PM

Sorry to hear you're having problems, I'm sure it's frustrating to deal with.
Your initial landing gear problems sound all too familiar, or indicative of a internal seal problem generally associated with the original hydraulic cylinders. Random Sudden.
With these hydraulic systems, one common pump, actuating multiple devices. Any seal, valve seat, check valve failure is likely going to effect something else, possible slide or leveling jack interactions.
In regard to the finger tight, loose fitting. I would expect it to be torqued with a wrench as well as possibly having thread sealant. Sloppy trouble shooting somewhere?
The control valve coil stem probably has an O-ring where it attaches to the valve body. Which would also be torqued appropriately.
I have no experience with the PC board, but would suspect it's purpose was to sequence slide operation. Or PREVENT multiple slides from operating simultaneously. Perhaps there was a remote control function on some models? It would seem the LCI - Level Up folks might have a clue? Schematic for a PC card might be a stretch, with any mfr. though. Puzzling that DRV might express ignorance, but it does seem that any RV "components" can be here today and gone tomorrow.
Perhaps others have experience with the option.

porthole · 08-04-2018, 10:43 AM

The fitting circled is a hydraulic female quick connect. I was told by Lippert it is a test fitting to pressurize the system without using the onboard pump.

porkchop · 08-04-2018, 05:02 PM

I know this is 2018 and a lot of things have changed, but that does not look like a female to me. Maybe it's in it's 'transition' phase?

Bill

porthole · 08-04-2018, 09:33 PM

Or maybe the forum doesn't allow an edit after a set time.

clev · 08-06-2018, 08:49 AM

Per Mtntrk: With these hydraulic systems, one common pump, actuating multiple devices. Any seal, valve seat, check valve failure is likely going to effect something else, possible slide or leveling jack interactions.
In regard to the finger tight, loose fitting.

I found this all too true. When I brought my unit home, I went through it from front to rear with screwdrivers and wrenches. Most of the hydraulic connections required from 1/2 to 1 turn to snug them down. A few had oozed fluid and were puddling on the compartment floor. A few of the blade connectors were loose, and it took almost 2 quarts of hydraulic fluid to bring the bottle level up to the required limit. I've read on this forum, as well as others, that a quite a few are having trouble with the jacks and slides; perhaps it 'could' be attributed to loose fittings.

stanleyz · 08-27-2018, 07:02 PM

Have you resolved your jacks issues yet? I just took mine to the hydraulic shop today to have them rebuilt. My guess would be that you will eventually come to the same conclusion. I was curious about what you said above. You found the rv with the nose down and the jacks collaseped, and then you said you got them up and got hooked up. Did they come up on their own or did you have to use another means (bottle jacks) to get the nose up. My unit is a a lot older than yours but I don't think the system has changed much. My stabilizers started dropping three years ago. After a lot of learning and a wasted 6 weeks while Camping World tried to figure it out I finally removed them myself and took to the hydraulic shop for a rebuild. Got them back and reinstalled and they have worked perfect since. This year my landing gear became intermittent. In both instances the fluid was bypassing the internal seals and in both instances the slides would come in and out when working the stabilizers/landing gear, I can't explain why but that is what happened. I have a lippert trouble shooting program that I could scan in and send you if you are interested. Just PM me and I'll pull it out and send it. If you don't DIY then your choices are kinda slim. My best suggestion is to find a shop willing to tackle removing them and sending them to a hydraulics shop for rebuild. It is not a hard job for a good tech or DIYer. Two inlets and one main holding bolt on each jack. The problem is they are very long and you need a place to drop them. I have the good fortune of having a storm drain with a man hole right in my front yard. You can also find a film on this subject on something called Monday Working or something like that. I googled mobile suites landing gear I think and it came right up. You can probably find it on you tube. Hope this helps you and if I can help I have a nmber of pictures and data. Just let me know,

clev · 08-27-2018, 08:00 PM

I am reading about these failures all over every forum that I visit. I am extremely thankful that, after almost 2 years, I have not had problems. I posted earlier that I had tightened every hydraulic hose on my trailer plus added 2 quarts of fluid when I got it home from the dealer. Had I not done that, I may have had problems as well. Thank the forces that control my life.

stanleyz · 08-27-2018, 10:14 PM

IDK, I'm getting pretty experienced on them. I think it's like anything else mechanical some wear out faster than others. Mine is in it's 14th summer and I have had it for 11 of those and we move around a lot and the jacks get a lot of cycles. The stabilizers failed 3 years ago or maybe 2, anyway I said then that the landing gear wouldn't be far behind as they both get about the same number of cycles. We are only talking about a couple internal seals. The landing gear are a lot more trouble than the stabilizers, I know that.