General Boards > Technical Support
SMC Levelrs
Edward Buker:
Gerald,
Thanks for your insight, I have never worked on hydraulics. My suspicion is this system was designed with speed in mind and parts were ordered, drawings made, design put in place without some robust review process.....I'm not sure there are any users out there that likes the hydraulic ride that we have now. In my opinion I would consider the leveleing process in both the up and down phase as violent sometimes given the weight and speed of movement. I would have no problem with slowing the raise and the fall rates to less than half what they are now to make this a gentle process. The fact that it would take a minute longer is of no importance to me. A Beaver Marquis was never meant to feel like a fair ride at the midway....
Do you think a simple restrictor on the pump output and return line might work?
Gerald Farris:
A restrictor would work, but it would increase pump pressure and therefore it would increase pump wear and oil heat depending on the amount of restriction that you use. So it is a trade-off, is the benefit worth the cost.
The reasoning that I was using in the fact that design was not changed comes from the fact that the system was used on many Beaver and Safari motorhomes for two years without any changes being made. You may call Beaver Coach Sales to see if they have ever tried to slow down the system, and found a better solution to the problem than I see.
Gerald
Edward Buker:
Thanks Gerald,
I will ponder this a bit and talk with the folks at Beaver coach sales at some point soon. i wonder if several restrictors, one in the pump output line and then one T'd off that line with a return back to the return to the oil resevoir/pump assembly, as a bypass, such that the sum of the flow was the same as before would solve the pump wear issue. This would allow some adjustment by allowing you to change the ratio of restrictors for experimentation.
Does anyone have a hydraulic and or electrical schematic of the leveling system in question? The system has some good points in that it senses the points of contact and levels the coach in increments without twisting it. The leveling rams not going to the ground for a heavy coach is also a benefit in my opinion. If it would just be gentle about the process instead of "riding out the earthquake" I would be a happy camper.
I'm new to the forum and do not know if anyone else is interested in this or have just learned to live with it.
Marty and Suzie Schenck:
When I had my SMC leveling system repaired last April at Beaver Coach Sales and Service the tech told me to air the suspension up FIRST then retract the leveling jacks. My owners manual says " slides out then level" and "air up suspension then slides in". 2002 Patriot Thunder Marty
Larry Lewis:
Thanks to all of you for the information and will be trying some of your suggestions. Does anyone know if Beaver was the only coach builder to use this type of system? It does not seem like there are many RV repair places that have any real knowledge about it.
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