Leveling 2016 Seneca

LoveLife · 12-31-2018, 12:14 PM

Newbie question here. As new owner of a 16' Seneca with an Equalizer leveling system I have a question as to what good habits other owners have before deploying the leveling system and before retracting them. My previous RV was a Sprinter based C with rear hydraulic stabilizers that did not level the coach. So the 4 point leveling system is completely new territory for me. The video on Equalizer's site shows some good points and shows the engine in off with brake on when operating the leveling system. But when breaking camp I thought I read somewhere to start engine first to let air system inflate prior to retracting. Also what other items do you bring with to level the unit if any? Also does anyone use the Snap Pads on their gear?

SloPoke · 12-31-2018, 01:01 PM

Page 6 of the operators manual says:

Your coach is equipped with an air suspension. The air suspension is deflated when the auto-level button is pressed and re-inflated when the all retract button is pressed.
The re-inflation requires that there is air pressure available to inflate the air suspension when the all retract button is pressed. So it is recommended that the engine be started and air pressure allowed to build prior to pressing all retract to assure that air is available to inflate the air suspension.

ChuckW · 12-31-2018, 01:02 PM

Following...

Yes, I have the snap pads. Love them!!! I bought and installed prior to going to Airventure 2018 because I knew we would be on softer ground. Worked like a charm. Much easier than using blocks of wood.

RyRoRyan · 12-31-2018, 02:06 PM

I dont have snappads, but may get them in future. I have found that I dont really need anything under the pads unless I am staying in a really soft space, like at the lakeshore.

Leveling this unit is a bit different than Class A's or other C's that normally have metal based springs on all 4 wheels. With our units having metal up front and air in the rear, things are a little different. Our units will attempt to level with the rear airbags full and you can easily tell the unit will sit up high and its stability is not as great as if you were have it lowered like a class A. If the rear airbags where deflated when you started to level, you will find the coach will sit much lower to the ground and be more sure footed when living in it. The problem is that Jayco did not include the ability for us to do that easily. If you do a search, you will find a few people who have added rear bag dump valves to their coaches to make this super easy. Since my coach only moves locations about 6 times a year, I have developed another way of dumping the air which works well for me, costs me $0, and takes maybe 5 additional minutes at setup time. Here is what I do...

Once in my spot, I make sure that I am parked in a way that I can open all my storage and slides and not in the way of the water or electrical connections by any means. After that I shut off the motor and then I pump on the brakes (2016's can do this since we have air brakes...older units cant do this since they are hydraulic) until I release all of the air out of the tanks. Now the airbags still have air since they have their own valves, but there is no air to refill them, so I use the equalizer system to lift the rear axle up just a bit to cause the valves to open and the bags will deflate. Be careful here, if you lift the rear wheels off the ground, the only thing keeping you from moving is the equalizer pads themselves, so either chalk the front tires, or make sure the rear tires still have traction. Once all the air is out, I retract the equalizer system, and you will easily notice the rear tires tucked up in the fender wells showing you the system is dumped. From there, I just do an auto level and get a much lower, stable rig. I keep a bubble level in the rig and check the level before and after the slides go out and have realized that even though it says to level again after the slides are out, that I have not needed to do so, as the coach doesnt move at all after I pulled the slides out. What I have noticed is that if you deflate first, the coach will level itself back out pretty much at driving height. If you dont deflate, the coach will level about an inch or two above driving height.

To get packed back up, I first pull my slides back in (dont move your slides without your jacks down) , then I start my motor up to fill the rear bags back up. Since its sitting at ride height already, when I retract, the rear just stays where its at within a few mm's. This prevents pop noise and shifting of the coach you may experience sometimes if you let it all the way back down. Once, I am retracted and air pressure is back, I am on my way.

SloPoke · 12-31-2018, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyRoRyan

I dont have snappads, but may get them in future. I have found that I dont really need anything under the pads unless I am staying in a really soft space, like at the lakeshore.

Leveling this unit is a bit different than Class A's or other C's that normally have metal based springs on all 4 wheels. With our units having metal up front and air in the rear, things are a little different. Our units will attempt to level with the rear airbags full and you can easily tell the unit will sit up high and its stability is not as great as if you were have it lowered like a class A. If the rear airbags where deflated when you started to level, you will find the coach will sit much lower to the ground and be more sure footed when living in it. The problem is that Jayco did not include the ability for us to do that easily. If you do a search, you will find a few people who have added rear bag dump valves to their coaches to make this super easy. Since my coach only moves locations about 6 times a year, I have developed another way of dumping the air which works well for me, costs me $0, and takes maybe 5 additional minutes at setup time. Here is what I do...

Once in my spot, I make sure that I am parked in a way that I can open all my storage and slides and not in the way of the water or electrical connections by any means. After that I shut off the motor and then I pump on the brakes (2016's can do this since we have air brakes...older units cant do this since they are hydraulic) until I release all of the air out of the tanks. Now the airbags still have air since they have their own valves, but there is no air to refill them, so I use the equalizer system to lift the rear axle up just a bit to cause the valves to open and the bags will deflate. Be careful here, if you lift the rear wheels off the ground, the only thing keeping you from moving is the equalizer pads themselves, so either chalk the front tires, or make sure the rear tires still have traction. Once all the air is out, I retract the equalizer system, and you will easily notice the rear tires tucked up in the fender wells showing you the system is dumped. From there, I just do an auto level and get a much lower, stable rig. I keep a bubble level in the rig and check the level before and after the slides go out and have realized that even though it says to level again after the slides are out, that I have not needed to do so, as the coach doesnt move at all after I pulled the slides out. What I have noticed is that if you deflate first, the coach will level itself back out pretty much at driving height. If you dont deflate, the coach will level about an inch or two above driving height.

To get packed back up, I first pull my slides back in (dont move your slides without your jacks down) , then I start my motor up to fill the rear bags back up. Since its sitting at ride height already, when I retract, the rear just stays where its at within a few mm's. This prevents pop noise and shifting of the coach you may experience sometimes if you let it all the way back down. Once, I am retracted and air pressure is back, I am on my way.

+2 - What Ryan Said...
except that we have hydraulic brakes, so I reach underneath and bleed the air supply by the drain valve... Not all the way, but about 3/4.

Most of our camping is boondocking and we will never find a level campsite in my lifetime, so there will be blocks placed under 1,2 or three jacks to stabilize from soft soil or to help level the rig w/o having the jacks overextended. But I can't say that we don't have at least one tire off the ground very often.

JimL · 01-01-2019, 01:33 PM

This is great info! - and, DUH - I had no idea the rear airbags came into play with the leveling system, I thought it was all about the hydraulic leveling itself (I have a 2018 M2 37HJ with the Equalizer system/octogon pads/snap pads).

Anyway, I struggle with this in my FT park - just returned from a week in SoCal and sure enough, the back of the rig is way off the ground, even with it sitting on blocks.

Will absolutely give Ryan's process a try - I'd like to get to point where the levelers are just down enough to stabilize the coach.

BTW - I'm very happy with the snap pads - great product.

Thanks!

LoveLife · 01-01-2019, 05:38 PM

Yes Indeed great advice! Thank you everyone. I will be doing the same to my rig too.

McGintys924 · 01-02-2019, 06:04 AM

I have always be cautious about picking up the front wheels off the ground (which the levelers will easily do in auto mode) because I felt it placed a great deal of stress on that seam between the sidewall and the cab (many members have started a problem where this has come apart and provided pictures) because the jacks are so far back on the forward area of the frame. Now, that being said, it looks like having the front wheels off the ground is common for Steve and he has not had any issues so perhaps this problem is only theoretical. Lifting back wheels off the ground would be very concerning as they have the Parking Break.

I have also found better results with manual leveling (pushing the buttons) and a level mate pro.

Crossingover · 01-02-2019, 01:06 PM

All the advice here is good to follow. I block-up beneath each foot to minimize the ram stroke and add stability (we rarely have the luxury of parking on a paved surface), and double-chock a front tire. Also helps to select a level campsite in the first place so the levelers are just stabilizing the coach, not getting you on-bubble too.

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