General Boards > Technical Support

SMC Levelrs

(1/7) > >>

Larry Lewis:
Hi, I am new to the this board and also have a new to me 2001 Beaver Ticonderoga Patriot that is currently experiencing a problem with the SMC levelers. Once you hit the auto level it will dump the air and level the coach just fine but after a few minutes the left side will start to settle down. I have been told by a local RV repair center that the problem is probably with the extend solenoid and that it may not be sealing correctly which could let the jacks bleed down. There are no leaks in the lines and other than this issue the leveling system works fine.

I have done some checking around and apparently the original manufacturer, which I believe is SMC, is either not in business or do not deal with RV leveling systems. I have taken it to my local dealer in Las Vegas and they are trying to find parts for it but no luck so far. Since it appears Beaver/Safari may have used this system on many of their coaches during the early 2000 I thought I would post here to see if anyone might have more information regarding this.

One thing that is a bit unusual is the jacks do not extend to the ground but level the coach against the frame and axles which I believe is similar to some of the air leveling systems that have been around for awhile. In addition, some paperwork that was left in the coach referred to RVA jacks whom I did contact and they did not believe it was their system as they only make 3 point leveling systems. They did say that sometimes coach manufactures would buy components from them and others and customize to their own specifications.

Marty and Suzie Schenck:
I have the same system on my 2002 Thunder and had a similar problem. A facility in CA. diagnosed it as a bad hydraulic manifold. The manifold was back ordered but when it finally came in I took the coach to Beaver Coach Sales and Service in Bend,OR. They know that system inside and out. My problem was just an adjustment of two hoses. I highly recomend you talk and or take it to them. By the way, if yours needs a manifold I have one new in the box. Good luck, Marty

Gerald Farris:
It is impossible to tell what is wrong with your levelers without working on it. Most likely it is a jack with an internal by-pass or a valve leak but you will have to check it to be sure what it is

Marty is right about Beaver Coach Sales. They know your leveling very well, and they know where to get the parts to fix it if needed. Beaver Coach Sales is located next door to the factory where your coach was built, and most of their service personnel are former Beaver factory employees. If you can not make it to Oregon, give them a call, they will steer you in the right direction.

Gerald

Dave Blystone:
i also have the same system on my 01 beaver patriot 33 it is a big foot quatro system i just had mine looked at to be changed to go to the ground rather then the axle i was told it couldnt be done quatro has a shop in lakeland fla and main shop in white pidgen mi  good luck  dave
  

Edward Buker:
I have the same system on my 2002 Marquis, which was a new coach to me this spring. I have to say that I am not entirely happy with the leveling system. It seems very abrupt in adjustments in the leveling phase. When you go through auto retract it is even more abrupt when it releases the hydraulics for retracting the cylinders. There is a lot of weight involved and the retract just seems way too fast. The coach manual is also very limited in its explanations as to the optimum way to deal with this systems shortcomings. I have learned a couple of things from others and woud love other peoples comments and suggestions on the best way to use this system. This issue may or may not have some bearing on your problem. When I leveled I could not get the coach to stay level once I completed the leveling cycle. What was happening is that the air dump time built into the controller was not sufficient to dump enough air to not have residual air pressure from the tank resevoir start to bleed back into the air leveling system and start raising some air springs. Before I start to level I now manually dump air to almost zero lbs. The air dump cycle built into the leveling process takes care of the small residual. To eliminate the rapid drop in the retract phase i start the engine and fully air up the suspension before I retract any jack. This helps reduce the distance the coach will "fall" during retract. I do the retract process using the manual retract button bumping it a little at a time with a series of stops and starts so as to not drop as abruptly and quickly as I would in one full retract step. Please comment if you either have the same issues or do not. Also if you have found better leveling practices, please let me know. I bring this all up on the off chance that instead of the left side settling down with the hydraulics, that instead, it might be possible that the right side might be slowly raising with residual air.

One last thing, the feet of the hydraulic rams look to me that they had a recess built in for some kind of pad material. Did the rams ever use some kind of composite or rubber pad on the feet. Metal on metal seems not the best idea for noise and shock loading for these components.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page