2001 Marquis 4 jack hydraulic leveling system

[Mike Sulley]

Hi all,
We bought our 2001 Marquis Amethyst last October.  We have taken it out three times and every time we come home, we have to take to the mechanic shop.  Each time out we have had trouble leveling the coach.  The system was converted to manual by the previous owner.  None of the switches were labeled.  We had the mechanic check it out label the switches- which switch was which and up and down.  Last time out, upon leaving the drivers side front jack would not retract and the frame was twisted and the slide came in dragging against the kitchen wall.  I couldn’t leave the camp site because the drivers side jack prevented turning left.

It finally retracted and we returned home.  I have since had the mechanics pull all four jacks and taken them to a hydraulic specialist for replacement.  Turns out he repaired the two front jacks after cutting the back of the cylinders cut off, repaired and rewelding them couple years ago.  I know there are others out there the do this, but I want to replace all four jacks with new rebuildable cyclinders.

Has anyone done this before and found replacement jacks?  If so, where did you source the jacks?

Requards,
Mike Sulley

[Dan Johnson]

Check out the RVIA  leveling jack retrofit thread two lines below your post. He is doing exactly what you want. I have jacks on my 2002 but someone abandoned them and converted to HWH air leveling.

[Reese Hunt]

Before I decided on the EQ Systems retrofit, I checked with HWH. They did not want to add air leveling to our 2001 Patriot Thunder. If they did, it would be over $10K.

EQ Systems has ne scheduled for the 21st of July at their retrofit/installation shop in Elkhart. Since they can not remember retrofitting a Beaver Patriot, I could have an interesting day.

On the 22cd, I’ll either let your know how good of a decision I made or ask where is the best compartment to carry wood blocks for leveling.

Even after this adventure, I will still get control of the 4 corner air bag pairs with manually controlled valves. There is a possibility to level and control height for clearance issues. If anyone else has enjoyed that project, please let me know.

[Fred Brooks]

    Reese,
One strong consideration is the windshields. Coaches in general do not like being in a "twist". The windshields will reward you accordingly. The tri-pod jack system eliminates that possibility. On a 4-jack system, most manufacturers will only let you extend jacks in "pairs" so you can't twist the frame. Example: raise the front or rear or one side or the other. I hope a happy result for you, Fred

[Mike Sulley]

Hi again.  Just an update on this thread.  Decided to have all four hydraulic cylinders removed and replaced.  One of the front cylinders had previously  been cut apart, rebuilt, and re-welded.  But we weren’t taking any chances.

It’s taken a while but our hydraulic tech has sourced new rebuildable Hydraulic cylinders.  They will be reattached to the original mounting brackets.  And installed.

My question is - the rear cylinders have approximately a 4 inch disc welded to the cylinder rod.  It appears to contact a switch indicating that the ram has retracted thus lighting an indicator light.  However the front cylinders have the same switches welded to the cylinder bodies, but there in no disc welded to the cylinder ram.  Does anyone know if the original system had discs welded to the rods?  Or does switch contact something else to actuate the switch?

Our mechanic removed the cylinders and we did not see the cylinders installed.  He did state that the front rams “seated in a Pocket .  Can anyone shed light on how the system worked.  Or better yet, have pictures.

And yes Fred.  We have cracked the windshield.

Any and all help would be appreciated.
Respectfully,
Mike Sulley