Leveler System

JesseS · 10-10-2016, 02:09 PM

I have only had 2 coaches with a leveler system, and one was manual, the automatic Hydraulic system on my Alante seems to have a glitch, not sure. When I level the coach on either manual or auto most of the time it leaves the passenger rear jack up in the air, sometimes only a few inches and at other times a foot. This leaves the coach on a tri-pod stance which cant be good, either for stability, or alignment of components. I can force the errant jack down by going to manual and hitting rear jacks button.
I liked my fully manual Quadra system much better as it was power in/out 2 jacks at a time. This PowerGear system is 'Jacked' so to speak, if you go a bit to high up and cant compensate with the other jacks you have to retract them all and start over, very bad design.
And yes, I lower both the front & rear for a 3" lift before leveling on manual, just as the book suggests. Any suggestions??

eldermike · 10-10-2016, 02:39 PM

If it's a lippert system you can get them on the phone and they will walk you through your issue and tell you if you have an issue or a simple calibration that you can do with somone telling you how to do it. I called them once and left a message and got a call back in less than 15 minutes. They resolved my issue on the phone in about 10 minutes.

JesseS · 10-10-2016, 03:13 PM

I have the calibration instructions and have done that. Not sure why it keep leaving that one jack in the air.

eldermike · 10-10-2016, 06:30 PM

I would call Lippert.

JesseS · 10-10-2016, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eldermike

I would call Lippert.

I will, thanks

Stoneman · 10-12-2016, 07:24 PM

We had the right rear jack not deploy when we first bought our 31ul. I went through the setup as described in the manual and it still would not deploy on auto. Called Jayco and they hooked me up with Lippert. We spent about a half an hour going through different procedures and it started working. Have no idea what fixed it but it worked properly after that.

vincent · 12-12-2016, 04:29 AM

I am thinking about buying a 2016 alante 26y. Would like to know if anyone has had any major problems. Did a test drive and seemed quite noisey inside. Any and all replies appreciated...Vincent

oldmanAZ · 12-12-2016, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vincent

I am thinking about buying a 2016 alante 26y. Would like to know if anyone has had any major problems. Did a test drive and seemed quite noisey inside. Any and all replies appreciated...Vincent

Welcome to the forum.

You will probably get more responses by posting a new topic under Jayco 'Class A Motorhomes'. The current posting is under 'Leveler Systems' so many Class A owners may miss your question.

Again, welcome and happy motorhome shopping.

JesseS · 12-12-2016, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vincent

I am thinking about buying a 2016 alante 26y. Would like to know if anyone has had any major problems. Did a test drive and seemed quite noisey inside. Any and all replies appreciated...Vincent

@vincent We have had our Alante 26AY for a year and like it a lot. We initially had several issues, most of them small irritating things that I fixed or I beat up the dealer to fix. The quality and responsiveness of the dealer makes all the difference. I am not a fan of the Ford F53 chassis, but it is the standard for small class A's so not much choice, with the short wheelbase and the long leaf springs you get a lot of steering instability and 'Tail wagging'. After installing panhard bars in the rear (came with a front one) and a Supersteer steering stabilizer along with Kony FSD shocks the rig is now very stable and I can drive with one hand. What noise are you referring to? the coach, or the engine. Ours is quieter than our class C was, I had some dash noise but found loose screws and a bracing block out of place. We have the over-cab bunk and it made some noise until I used a tension rod across the upper door frame to brace it. Now that I have it dialed in the way I want it we are very happy with it. I have never had a coach that was perfect out the door, always needs 'tweaking' to get it right, the Alante is no different. The good thing in my case is that I am able to do most of the work and modifications myself.

JacqueTanis · 12-25-2016, 10:09 PM

We had Camping World recalibrate our auto levelers to 0. Under warranty, working great now

falfal3 · 12-27-2016, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JesseS

@vincent We have had our Alante 26AY for a year and like it a lot. We initially had several issues, most of them small irritating things that I fixed or I beat up the dealer to fix. The quality and responsiveness of the dealer makes all the difference. I am not a fan of the Ford F53 chassis, but it is the standard for small class A's so not much choice, with the short wheelbase and the long leaf springs you get a lot of steering instability and 'Tail wagging'. After installing panhard bars in the rear (came with a front one) and a Supersteer steering stabilizer along with Kony FSD shocks the rig is now very stable and I can drive with one hand. What noise are you referring to? the coach, or the engine. Ours is quieter than our class C was, I had some dash noise but found loose screws and a bracing block out of place. We have the over-cab bunk and it made some noise until I used a tension rod across the upper door frame to brace it. Now that I have it dialed in the way I want it we are very happy with it. I have never had a coach that was perfect out the door, always needs 'tweaking' to get it right, the Alante is no different. The good thing in my case is that I am able to do most of the work and modifications myself.

Hey Jesse, I also have the 26AY and hate the way it drives, was going to get the Roadmaster 1 3/4" rear anti-sway, RSSA and front anti-sway, never heard of your "panhard" setup, curious why you went that way and if you might supply some part numbers., Thanks, Steve. Happy New Year!!!!!

JesseS · 12-27-2016, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falfal3

Hey Jesse, I also have the 26AY and hate the way it drives, was going to get the Roadmaster 1 3/4" rear anti-sway, RSSA and front anti-sway, never heard of your "panhard" setup, curious why you went that way and if you might supply some part numbers., Thanks, Steve. Happy New Year!!!!!

Steve, the 26AY comes with both front & rear anti-sway bars, but both, the rear especially, are a bit light for a tall coach. The larger issue is the lack of a pan-hard bar in the rear, it has an OEM one in the front. The long leaf springs on the F53 chassis causes a lot of axle shift (side to side) on rough roads or with strong side winds. This causes the 'Tail wagging the Dog' action, rear goes left and front goes right, on a windy day or with large trucks passing you it makes for a white knuckle drive. The Axel 'floats' on the springs sideways causing this, adding and Pan-Hard bar (axle stabilizer) locks the axle to the frame rail preventing any side to side movement while allowing vertical movement, thus eliminating the Tail-Wag. Combine this with a good self centering steering stabilizer and Koni FSD shocks and it rides like a totally different coach. I can now drive one handed and trucks don't bother me much. I may still add the heavy duty add on roll bar in the back, test that and if needed replace the front.
You can find the rear Trac Bar, anti sway bar, and Steering Stabilizer Bar HERE
Or you can purchase only what you need, I would suggest you start with the Trac Bar & Supersteer stabilizer and they evaluate the ride.
I added the Koni FSD shocks as the OEM 'Truck' shocks Ford puts on the F53 are junk, much to hard with slow rebound and too small of a piston. Much better ride with the Koni. If I was rich I would put Air Ride suspension all around, but that's 4-5K.
Jesse

Allen_C · 12-28-2016, 07:17 PM

When we did our PDI on our new Alante 31V the jacks setup great then after they were set all four seemed to suddenly drop a couple of inches. The tech go on the phone with Lippert and diagnosed the issue, it burped air. After recalibrating, it is working properly.

vortrecker · 01-03-2017, 11:04 AM

What are panhard bars? I installed a trac bar and that seemed to help. Then a super steer streering stabilizer, much better. Did the shocks help that much. Our precept 31ul has factory Koni shocks, but we still get a bouncy ride

Vicr · 01-03-2017, 11:25 AM

A panhard bar is the term for a Trac Bar. I'ts kind of like facial tissue vrs. "Kleenex".

JesseS · 01-10-2017, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vortrecker

What are panhard bars? I installed a trac bar and that seemed to help. Then a super steer streering stabilizer, much better. Did the shocks help that much. Our precept 31ul has factory Koni shocks, but we still get a bouncy ride

A bouncy ride can be a combination of Tire pressure, load distribution, and shocks. If you are running the correct tire pressure for the loaded axle weight per tire manufacturers specs then I would blame the shocks. I don't know which Koni shocks your coach came with but it has been my experience that Coach makers don't spend a lot in this department. They order the rolling chassis from say Ford, with the base line shocks, on my coach they were junk, suitable for the box truck the F53 is used for, but not a Motor Coach. You would have to research the OEM shocks vs the Koni FSD, which is their better line of shocks but they made a big difference on my shorter wheel base Alante.

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