Before I started the AH rebuild, I raised my coach to full height and shut off the engine. I put the safety stands in place. They have about 1/2" clearance when put in place. I did this 3 weeks ago. To date, the coach hasn't dropped a bit. I have all electric and all batteries disconnected so I know the aux compressor isn't doing this. To be honest, I'm not sure it even works. I've never heard it in 5 years, but then the ears aren't the best.
I'm just excited that she has held air all this time.
Larry
Mine was the same way during the steering gear project, over 2 weeks never dropped.
If the HWH system is off (key pad not in auto). And your HWH solenoids in the 6 packs are tight (no internal leaks), along with the lines to the bags, and the bags themselves, you can drain all the air in the tanks out, and the coach will stay fully raised.
So this doesn't mean you don't have leaks anywhere else, just the air bag part of your system is tight.
Chris
Thanks Chris, that's a great bit of troubleshooting info.
Chris,
Can we state a corollary:
With the HWH system off, if tank pressure drops-- even to zero AND you have not lost height at any wheel position, the 6 packs lines and air bags are leak-free? Yes, one would have to measure ride height at each wheel position before and after storing.
My air bag system has no leaks but I have another leak that I haven't been able to find. It leaks down to around 60 lbs in a few hours and then stays.
Having safety stands in place with air gap and 3 weeks later still have the same gap is a tight system. Mine is the same way on the front, haven't blocked the back lately for any service but will check when I do.
Once I'm parked and leveled manually I turn off the HWH system. I will normally stay level for over a month (longest I've been parked) but my system air pressure will leak down to 0 in a couple days. (I probably just jinxed myself....)
I just haven't taken the time to look for leaks.
Yup, I lower mine if it's fairly level, down to almost the snubbers. Then level and turn HWH off. Stays fine for weeks. And the coach air stays in the 80-90 level. I fixed lots of leaks, and my 6 packs are rebuilt.
Chris
I bought 4 stands from Harbor freight. I was thinking on putting them in the front or back depending which area I'm working. See any problems with that?
Dan are these jack stands or square tubing? How many tons are the stands rated for? One thing I didn't know are that stands are typically rated for the pair and not individually. So a 10 ton set of jack stands will only be rated for 5 tons if used individually. My 1999 36' U320 weighs just over 30,000# or 15 tons, the front about 6 tons and the rear 10 tons. So if I'm supporting the front I need a pair rated at 6 tons and for the rear a pair rated at 10 tons.
But a better option is to get a set of 2" square tubing about 11-12" long and use these once you raise the coach to its limit.
Look at this post: Safety Stand Placement (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=38814.msg379307#msg379307)
Sorry if you already know this, better safe than sorry.
Are you referring to the 2" square hitch extenders? They will support much more than jack stands.
When I bought the coach it came with hardwood stands which work really well.
Would love to see a picture of "hardwood stands".
Thanks.
I will see if I can get pictures into my computer and then up on the web site.
Wolfe here are the pictures of the wooden blocks I said I would post. The one I am using on the
front looks like fir to me. The rear would be a hardwood. I will check them all to see what I have.
Peter
Please buy at least 4 of these if you do not want to buy 8. I have 8 should I ever need 8. I only had 4 when I did my diesel fuel lines, one end of rv at a time. I place one next to each air bag, 8 air bags, 8 steel supports. If I lift only one end of rv, 4 work fine.
Please do not trust wood supports. Less than $50 could save your life. I have appreciated your previous posts. This post of yours scares me.
https://www.harborfreight.com/class-iii-12-in-x-2-in-standard-receiver-tube-69879.html
In addition to the park brake, I also block the wheels, I remove the ignition key, I even turn off both battery disconnects, chassis and house, that I installed. I lost a good friend, when a frame support fell while he was under a car. I've heard of too many things that can happen, such as sudden air loss. If you do not see the danger, let all the air out of your suspension and see how little room is left between the ground and the frame, you will see what I mean.
When I first bought my FT, somewhere I read of using wood supports. I made some, and used them a very short time until one split in half and collapsed. Now I use them only as redundancy next to a steel support as below.
This is a place I used to get my safety stands. I called via phone and requested two inch steel channel 1/4 inch thick cut into 8 separate pieces each 11 inches in length. The cost was $7.00 each. I was 45 miles from one of their locations so I picked mine up but they will ship right to you. Easy peasy and so much safer.
Speedy Metals Online Industrial Metal Supply (http://www.speedymetals.com)