DON-B2
WAYLAND, MICHIGAN
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Joined: 02/07/2005
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i see that leveling jacks on most class c's are an option if your buying one brand new. how essential is it to have them on a class c that is 28-31 feet long? i guess i can see how necessary it is on a class a of that lengh due to the height and weight but are they really necessary on a class c?
DON ROBERTS
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woolfy
Saint Charles Mo.
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Joined: 10/06/2006
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For me it is. It keeps the Rv stable when camping and the refrigerator level. And if you have slide outs it's nice to have the coach level so they don't bind or get out of aligned.
2007 Itasca Spirit 31' Ford V-10
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Mark Twain
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Polishnurse
Schodack, NY
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Joined: 03/13/2007
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They tend to make life a lot easier. When I had my C, I used some wooden 2X8"'s to block up the wheels, to level up. But for the most part I just let it be since most spots were pretty level. It will also keep you from feeling people walking around as much. There not cheap to add on, I believe around four grand. JMHO Bill
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golfknut
SW Michigan
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Joined: 02/21/2004
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Really necessary?.....depends on who you talk to.
Most of those who have them will tell you they wouldn't live without them and those that don't get by very nicely without them.
It depends on how much effort you want to put into leveling your unit. If you don't mind throwing down some boards or "blocks" and are good at judging how many inches of lift you need and where you need it to get level than you can get along nicely without them. If leveling is a hassle to you and you want an easy solution than get them.
It also depends on where you camp. If you are almost always on fairly level sites than there may not be a big need for them.
We have them on our 31', but really only because they were on it when we bought it used. We absolutely LOVE them but I don't know that I would shell out the $2,000 to $3,000 to buy them at this point in my life if we didn't already have them. If money was not an issue I would definitely have them. It brings the leveling process down to just a push of a button...can't get any easier than that. Also very nice when setting up camp in the dark or when it's raining.
I'm sure they give stability to the motorhome while camping but we have never camped without them being down so I don't know how "rocky" it would be without them.
We have the Big Foot levelers and they are made down in White Pigeon which is only about 30 miles from here and not too far from you either.
2005 Jayco Granite Ridge 3100SS
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ed6713
FL
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Joined: 04/24/2004
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I had installed them on the RV I sold recently. My new Class C doesn't and I don't plan on adding them for the following reasons:
1)Leveling with blocks is a piece of cake. Rarely takes more than a few minutes.
2)Because on the design of the chassis on all Class C's, the "throw" of the jacks is quite limited. I recall mine was 7" in front and 9" in the rear. Almost always I had to crawl underneath to put wood blocks under the foot of the jack so it could raise the corner high enough to level it. A big PITA.
3) The automatic system costs about $3,000. I can buy lots of blocks for that money.
4) The jacks frequently lower the ground clearance. You need to be very careful with steep drives or you'll pull the jacks loose.
5) I've heard it said that with jacks, tow trucks will have a very difficult time hoisting you up for a tow if needed. The rear jacks are so low they drag on the pavement. Never been towed so I can't say from personal experience.
6) If the site is real unlevel, the jacks may lift a tire, or perhaps an entire end, of the RV off the ground. Not good at all. The owners manuals warn against this practice. Sometimes on my old RV, the entire coach frame racked so much, The entry door jammed. The emergency brake works off the rear wheels. If the rear is lifted off the ground, it's quite easy to simply roll off the jacks. $$$$$ repair bill.
7) Seems to me that about 1/2 the time no leveling of any type is required.
8) Just one more mechanical system to breakdown.
9) Just one more mechanical system to maintain.
No more jacks for me. Once was enough.
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ron.dittmer
Near Chicago
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Joined: 02/26/2007
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Our RV is under 24' in over-all length. This means we can fit in most any campsite, which also means it gets into a few uneven & hilly sites.
We use These bought off the web, and These bought from Wal-Mart.
I stuck one level near each rear wheel, one in the back, and two in the cab by the driver. In most cases we turn the steering wheel a little, and let tires go in and out of dips in the parking pad, and all is level enough. On rare occasion, we pull out the orange interlocking blocks.
Total investment was only $130. And it all weighs just a few pounds too.
I advise you take your $4000 and invest $2500 of it in heavy duty front and rear stabilizer bars, Koni-RV shocks, Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer, and a Henderson rear trac bar, along with a good wheel alignment. Not only do those greatly improve the handling of the RV, they also significantly reduce the RV's rocking motion when parked.
Bought new in June 2007, Phoenix Cruiser-2350
Fits inside our garage.
Dingy towing a red Toyota MR2 Spyder
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jcamp123
Putnum County, New York
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Joined: 11/19/2005
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I just love my HWH hydraulic leveling jacks.
He who dies with the most toys wins.
2000Coachman with super slide
1974 Super Beetle With 2110 cc. engine
A teamster for 38 years
Widowed,Retired and traveling
Joe and Tara my Toy Poodle
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Scrib
Maplewood
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Joined: 05/31/2007
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They're not necessary Don, but they sure are nice! We would put them on ours in a heartbeat, but we did necessary (not just nice) suspension upgrades first, then we got one of our cars all setup to tow. Finally, we upgraded the electrical system with batteries and an inverter (we mostly dry camp). Those were all $2k to $3k upgrades, about the same as hydraulic levelers. I'd like to think we might get to it next year, but we're coming up on time to do the brakes, seals and all that other "dirty" stuff, so I'm not sure.
good luck!
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j-d
Sunny Florida USA
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Joined: 09/04/2003
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Our old Class C came with jacks that work but we've stopped using them. The front ones are so far back and the rear ones are so close together side by side that getting the lift we want one one side or end will cause a lot of lift that we don't need. We mouned the Hoppy levels graduated in inches (the front/rear and left/right levels are different) where we can see from the driver's seat. Between moving around on the site and using one or two 2X8 boards we can level. Also, the jacks are kick down so they don't add much stability when parked.
Something not mentioned so far is that many C coaches have very limited carrying capacity and a set of jacks is a lot of weight.
God Bless, jd
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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Joined: 11/01/2002
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I don't have them and my brother/SIL don't on their 29 foot RV. I see no reason for them and my brother's family has much better use for the money. In fact they use lumber. I have a combination of CW ramps and bases I made for them (because the ramps are a poor design). If I were to do it over it would be home made lumber ramps from the get go.
95 Chinook Premier
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