Hydralic Fluid Tank

[Dick Simonis]

I've finally been crawling around under the coach trying to famialiize myself with things and did find the hydralic tank for the slide and whatever else it's used for.  Lordy is that an inaccessable installation.  I have no idea if I can reach the top to check fluid level or not.

Just wondering how others get at it for checking and adding fluid.  Also wondering if making an access panel from the battery compartment might be feasible.  My other thought is whether it would be practical to try and fabricate a dipstick tube going into the battery comparment.  

Thanks for any thoughts on this subject.

Dick

[Joel Weiss]

You are describing the reservoir for the RVA jacks and the front slide.  Yes, it is a fun tank to access.  I ended up buying a drill-operated pump and several feet of PVC tubing and can now pump fluid up to the reservoir when needed.  It's not something you should have to do often unless you develop a leak.  

Hopefully, you won't need to fool with it.  However, if the hydraulic lines to your main slide have never been replaced you may want to consider a preemptive replacement before they fail.  I've heard a couple of different versions of the story, but according to RVA, which participated with Safari in the design of the front slide as an add-on to the leveling system, Safari didn't want to pay for higher pressure hydraulic lines so the ones that were installed were ~2-3k psi instead of 5-6k psi.  They will fail eventually (we know).  According to RVA, the key stressor is the fact that design of the slide requires the cylinder be "forced" to be fully open or closed and the extra pressure needed for that exceeds the capability of the OEM line.  

Joel

[Dick Simonis]

Joel, thanks for the input.

I assume that you need to work by "feel" to get to what ever is on top to access the fluid.  What kind of a fitting is up there?  Do you need a wrench, or is it a finger removal.

Gotta be a better way.

Lastly, is there an alarm for when the fluid level is low??

I have 3,000 psi hoses that actually look like they might have been replaced at one time.....due to the lack of grime, still a pretty blue color.

Dick

[Joel Weiss]

Dick--

The access to the tank is through a port near the top; you remove the plug with an Allen key.  If you are lying on the ground and wipe the top of the container it is pretty easy to see.

According to the RVA instructions, the top-off procedure is to put any of the jacks down around 6" and then fill the reservoir up to the point where the alarm stops.  The "low fluid" alarm is the same "ding ding" you hear as a warning when the jacks are down.  Sometimes if you make a turn quickly you might hear the ding once or twice as the fluid sloshes about.  The level is a bit finicky; I get an occasional ding from sloshing and it occurs more often when the weather is cold and the fluid volume has contracted.  I'm sure I could add a little, but I'm not in the mood at the moment.  

I had been told that the correct spec for the hoses is 5,000 psi.  Someone on the forum will be able to verify if this is correct.  Yours may have been replaced, but the person doing the repair may not have known that the original hose was under-rated.   Five thousand psi hose is not cheap; the cost of parts alone for both hoses was more than $400.  

If you do have them replaced, I suggest doing so at a truck repair facility.  A friend of mine had his repair done at an RV dealer and it cost more than twice as much as mine did.  I paid ~$1,000 to diagnose and resolve the problem.

Joel

[Richard And Babs Ames]

We just had to reseal our slide two way hydraulic cylinder because of a seal leak. The fluid (ding ding ding) alarm staying on when the the jacks are retracted is a sign you need to add fluid. Did not happen to us for 10 years but had to add fluid several times till we fixed the cylinder. It is a dirty but easy job. From underneath the tank I unscrewed the vent cap and inserted a small funnel and poured in dexron til the warning light goes out with one jack lowered 6 inches. We have a second RVA control panel in the bay behind the batteries by the remote start and gauges. Easiest job is the person who watches the warning light and tells you when it goes out. On ours it takes about a pint of fluid but can vary a bit. You will be grimy when you finish as you are working in an area that picks up a lot of dirt.

[Dick Simonis]

Thanks, I appreciate the replies.

Right now I don't have the "ding, ding" when the jacks are retracted so I guess that for the time being there is nothing to be concerned about.  Question though:  with a full tank, how far should the first jack drop before the alarm sounds?

[Gerald Farris]

Dick,
With the tank full, the first jack should be extended more than six inches before the alarm sounds.

Gerald

[Joel Weiss]

According to the RVA website, if you fill the system the way I described then the alarm will not go off until at least one jack has gone down more than 6" or multiple jacks have gone done a total of ~6".  RVA acknowledges this isn't a perfect solution, but no harm should come from it either,

[Frank Bannert]

How will this work, if you have auto leveling and no jacks?  You don't have a jack to lower, and I don't want to be under there when it would try to lower the suspension.  My light on the system does beep occasionally, and I hit the retract button, and it will quit.  Maybe I am low on fluid as per replies.
Frank

[Edward Buker]

Frank,

I think you have the leveling system that applies a hydraulic jack between the coach frame and the axles that SMC developed. I do not believe that there is a sensor for fluid level in that system. There are 4 electrical pushbutton switches mounted to the coach frame (horn buttons if you will) that are depressed by the ram foot in the full up position. If anyone of those is not fully up you will get the alarm and have to hit the retract button momentarily to retract a jack. I have the same experience that once in awhile, mostly early in the days drive I will get an alarm. I believe that this is caused by fluid expansion with heat slightly depressing a jack downward but it could also be some pressure leakage through a solenoid valve. I consider this normal for this system even though I would prefer that it did not occur.

As an aside you should check those switches for free movement whenever tires are removed. I also do that switch check with a half inch dowel from the ground once in awhile to make sure they are all working. These switches are known to rust and freeze up.

Later Ed

[Tom and Pam Brown]

I am confused isn't the hydraulic tank for the jacks in the front passenger side behind the access panel?

[Joel Weiss]

I am confused isn't the hydraulic tank for the jacks in the front passenger side behind the access panel?

I don't know where it is in a Marquis, but the Patriot's definitely have it in the right rear.

[Gerald Farris]

Tom,
The hydraulic tank for the jacks and slide is located in the rear of the coach, behind the battery compartment on many SMC era Patriots as discussed above. In most of the Marquis coaches (like you have) of the same years, the hydraulic tank was located under the front steps, and are accessed by removing an access panel that is actually part of one of the steps unless you have a side door as opposed to a front door.

Since there are several models of Beaver coaches discussed here, you have to be certain to look at the coach model that the question was about. All coaches vary in component location from model to model and year to year.

Gerald  

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Gerald, there is a tank in the front passenger side.  When you remove the front access panel facing the coach the tank is to the left with a chrome cap.  I have to assume and the hoses running to it suggest this is the tank.  Have they ever placed them there?

[Gerald Farris]

Tom,
I am not certain were the hydraulic tank on a 1999 Marquis is located, however the 97 and 98 Marquis was located in the position that you described, so if your coach has a removable panel in the center of the front cab below the windshield, your hydraulic tank will be located were you described.

The 2000 to 2002 Marquis did not have a removable panel in the front cab, so the hydraulic tank access was moved to a removable plate in the front stairs for the those models.

Gerald