Auto leveling

[GraphiteDriver]

So, after months of deliberation and research, I bought an auto leveling system for my 2016 324bhts. Our TT currently has the electric stabilizers, but they still disappoint. Too much rocking, squeeking, and just the leveling can take as much as 30 minutes.
I expect the install will take me about 25 hours. Total purchase price from carid.com was $2150. Camping world quoted me $3600 including install. I read the instructions before hand. Should be pretty straight forward. Just a lot of work. Lippert built the frame and this leveler. It works in a manner that won't warp the chassis, so I have no concerns there. The box weighs 470 lbs, so it should be a pretty substantial system. I'll be swapping in wet bolts and x factor bracing for the suspension as well. Our tt has about 2000 lbs of carrying capacity so the addition of this will reduce that slightly. The current stabilizes weight about 150lbs total, which I'll remove.
So, I'll post pics of the progress over the next few weeks and a review of the system in operation.

 

[Iraq 69]

Congrats on the project. Take pics to share as others may be contemplating this also, good luck!

 

[GraphiteDriver]

So I'm about 30 hours into this over the last two weeks. So far, so good. Lippert forgot to include installation instructions and the kit also had the wrong mounting hardware. Lippert emailed me the instructions and I bought the needed hardware from lowes for about $25. Even with instructions, there is a lot of pondering each step along the way. Should be done after another 10 hours or so of work. I'll upload the photos and additional details when done.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

I'm about 45 hours into this. I've digressed into a few slightly related side mods including a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter, two roof mounted solar panels, morryde x-factor bracing, morryde wet bolt kit, new Good year tires, and a solar charge controller. I'll post all the photos when I'm done, along with a brief write up.

 

[Magnolia Tom]

Am I crazy or is 40 hours to install level up a really, really long time? I thought when the op first posted 25 hours for the install that it was a typo and should have been 2.5 hours (which seems more reasonable)

 

[Cannon07]

Am I crazy or is 40 hours to install level up a really, really long time? I thought when the op first posted 25 hours for the install that it was a typo and should have been 2.5 hours (which seems more reasonable)

Sounds like to much work. He needs to take a break and go camping.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

You're right, it is a really long time. But some of those hours were spent adding the aforementioned mods. Total time spent on the leveling system specifically will be about 32 hours. I keep the trailer in a barn and have been working on it as time allows. Make no mistake, it is a significant undertaking, especially if you have a large tt (ours is 38ft long). However anyone who has done moderate work on their car, such as brakes, suspension, or engine accessories should be able to to this.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

It is done. In putting the system through its trials, I lifted the trailer entirely off the ground. Not advised in the manual, but I had to see if it would do it. Lippert is not known for quality, but this system is a beast. Much more stable than the electric stabilizers that came with the trailer.
We're leaving for vacation with it on Sunday, and I still have to pack. So, I'll post more info, along with many photos and and a real world review when we get back.

 

[Nunyadamn]

Any pictures yet?

 

[GraphiteDriver]

Updates after two weeks of use.

So we got back from a 14 day 2200 mile vacation with the trailer last week. The leveling system works as advertised.
Almost rock solid; no sway on concrete pads. On gravel/ dirt there is a tiny amount of rocking as you move around the trailer; but it is much more solid/stable than it was with the flimsy stabilizer jacks. Leveling takes the system about 3 minutes to complete after the auto level button is pushed. At one site, I did have to auto level it twice because it was out of level after the first attempt, even thought the screen displayed, "success." Also, twice i had to reset the display because it failed to turn on. The trailer can also be leveled using the push button pad, which i located in the front compartment near the control board. This pad is used most often. I located the touch screen inside the trailer near the the entry door. Resetting the touch screen display simply involved turning off it's power to the battery. The touch screen is more of a novelty and I don't see myself using it much. The touch screen integrates with other Lippert electronics. However, since this is an aftermarket installation, those features don't apply. You really only need the touch pad to zero in the system the first time you use it. Also, during this install, I added a MoRyde wet bolt kit and X-factor bracing, Goodyear Endurance tires, solar charge controller and a 2000 watt inverter.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

Unboxing

The kit comes in a palatalized box and weighs a little over 400 lbs.

 

[Nunyadamn]

That sounds really good. Are you able to upload any pictures to the site? I have been following your thread for a while and am interested in this project. I have thought about doing this for some time. Can't really see good pictures from the manufactures website. Real pictures from someone who has done this are always better anyway.

 

[Nunyadamn]

That sounds really good. Are you able to upload any pictures to the site? I have been following your thread for a while and am interested in this project. I have thought about doing this for some time. Can't really see good pictures from the manufactures website. Real pictures from someone who has done this are always better anyway.

You must be uploading them now. As soon as I hit submit and the screen refreshed a few pictures showed up.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

The corrugated plastic underbelly was the biggest pain of the whole install. It was difficult and time consuming to remove and re-install. I had to remove the spare tire to roll the plastic back far enough to gain sufficient access to everything. The front jacks are mounted as far forward as possible. I mounted them in the same general area where the electric stabilizers were. Holes had to be drilled into the frame rail to bolt on the mounting brackets; 4 holes per bracket. I opted to weld the rear brackets on. Welding was actually easier. Vice grips were used to hold the brackets in place for marking the hole locations on the frame rails.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

Two holes are drilled on the inside and outside lip of the frame rail.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

The jacks are supported in the middle by a spanner bar that must be assembled and spans the width of the trailer frame. These photos are of the replacement tongue jack that comes with the system. I opted to use grade 8 nuts and bolts rather screw into the tapped holes in the tongue jack plate. Also shown here (not a good pic) is the spanner bar, and the mounting plate for one of the leveling sensors. There are two sensors that must be located in specific locations front and rear.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

Yep. Got some free time at work, so uploading now

 

[GraphiteDriver]

In these photos, I've started running the wires. Lippert actually did a great job with all of the wiring harnesses. Almost everything is protected with corrugated loom plastic tubing. I had previously ran wires for a 1000 watt inverter through the 1.5"pvc tubing shown here. However, the diameter was too small for all the wires I had to run through the floor here.

I drilled a larger hole in the floor and ran a straight section of 3" diameter PVC 10" long. I made a base plate out of MDO and painted everything the same color to clean up the look. This location is the forward compartment on the left (driver's) side of the trailer. I also mounted the touch pad here too. It's nice to be able to see the tongue jack from the touch pad. The instructions said to mount the touch pad on the outside of the trailer, but I didn't want to drill through the exterior wall.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

Wires ran through the floor.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

At this point the system is wired and I'm testing the electrical before mounting the touch screen inside the trailer. Also, couple random pics of the jacks. Front and rear jacks are identical.