Auto Leveling Woes

[fez111]

The question is - have you taught your rig what "level" is? We discovered that our rig needed to learn that before the auto level would work correctly. It was always failing until we re-leveled it.

I might be mistaken, but our Solitude has lost its memory a couple of times over the last couple of years and it seems to have happened after I turned off the main battery switch when the unit was unplugged for extended periods. Does disconnecting all power cause the levelling system to lose its mind? Hmmm?

[terryriddle]

I have the Lippert auto leveling on my 2018 303RLS. Just came back from a trip to Hilton Head. The site was concrete, looked fairly level. Looking at it before backing in, I couldn't see that there would be an issue - the slab was a bit higher on one side less than an inch. Upon auto leveling, we got an error that the system was unable to level the camper. So we looked at the manual which we had previously downloaded and spent over an hour trying to figure out how to use the system to get level - gave up as it was getting dark and cold. The solution in the manual is to move the unit - no place to move it to though.

I guess I thought that this system would be able to handle this - it's not like I was on some crazy angle. You would think that it could figure out how to do this itself - it's called Auto leveling after all. How do others do to get level using the auto leveling system? Do you do something before unhooking? I have the stack-able blocks - but you would have to re-hook in order to put them under the front legs. What do you do if you get this error? I'm just out of ideas as to how to get things level.

My wife and I have been camping for over 40 years with both travel trailers and 5th wheels. We got the Reflection with the auto level 3.0 system. The first thing we were told was to lower the front (while still hooked up) at least 8", then drop the legs to about six inches above ground..lift off the truck and pull it away. After this, hit auto level.. The 8" in the lowered auto leg gives the front room to lower for auto leveling to begin. The more I have read about this system and all the issues I see, we have decided to always use manual level mode, using the bubbles on the front and side to level on ramp, etc and feet to stabilize the unit with some minor touches to the leveling of the bubbles, front to rear and left to right. We had one to two others at the dealer say they use manual mode all the time to avoid frustration/errors, etc. I may try auto level once or twice..so time will tell.

[terryriddle]

Now I am starting to wonder if I have electric or hydraulic leveling. I am fairly sure they are electric.. I see the electric lines coming into the motor of each of the front legs and the 3.0 leveling system control panel is on the ceiling of the front storage area with a 35 amp Littelfuse for each leg of the leveling system.. I am 99 percent sure that is all electric...but can someone close the last 1 percent?

[Gold Country Livin']

Now I am starting to wonder if I have electric or hydraulic leveling. I am fairly sure they are electric.. I see the electric lines coming into the motor of each of the front legs and the 3.0 leveling system control panel is on the ceiling of the front storage area with a 35 amp Littelfuse for each leg of the leveling system.. I am 99 percent sure that is all electric...but can someone close the last 1 percent?

terryriddle, I'm not sure which trailer you have and I did not find it in previous threads. FatTire mentioned a 2018 #303 ? The 3.0 is all electric on my #303 2017 model. There is no hydraulic system on that trailer. Is this what you have? What you described as wiring and fuses etc. sounds like mine. Works perfectly after I re leveled it manually. Basic trouble free after I understood it better (when new).

[Second Chance]

Now I am starting to wonder if I have electric or hydraulic leveling. I am fairly sure they are electric.. I see the electric lines coming into the motor of each of the front legs and the 3.0 leveling system control panel is on the ceiling of the front storage area with a 35 amp Littelfuse for each leg of the leveling system.. I am 99 percent sure that is all electric...but can someone close the last 1 percent?

Ground Control 3.0 on the Reflections is electric - not hydraulic.

It would help folks help you better if you would put your rig info, etc., in a signature (like mine below).

Rob

[toolman.dustin]

I have the Lippert auto leveling on my 2018 303RLS. Just came back from a trip to Hilton Head. The site was concrete, looked fairly level. Looking at it before backing in, I couldn't see that there would be an issue - the slab was a bit higher on one side less than an inch. Upon auto leveling, we got an error that the system was unable to level the camper. So we looked at the manual which we had previously downloaded and spent over an hour trying to figure out how to use the system to get level - gave up as it was getting dark and cold. The solution in the manual is to move the unit - no place to move it to though.

I guess I thought that this system would be able to handle this - it's not like I was on some crazy angle. You would think that it could figure out how to do this itself - it's called Auto leveling after all. How do others do to get level using the auto leveling system? Do you do something before unhooking? I have the stack-able blocks - but you would have to re-hook in order to put them under the front legs. What do you do if you get this error? I'm just out of ideas as to how to get things level.

I have a Travel Trailer so a 4 point auto level system. Your 6 point system will most likely behave in a similar fashion. I tried over and over and could never get it to work. It always ended up with all 4 wheels off the ground and an error code. Here's what I finally did. You can manually level just about as fast as the auto level. I posted this on another site several months ago so just copied and pasted it here. My Lippert jacks are electric.


I don't have a question, just sharing some info that might help someone else trying to get the Lippert system to Auto Level:

Lippert Ground Control Travel Trailer (TT) (Yellow Controller). The leveling system came pre-installed on a 38' 2018, Crossroads, Sunset Trail, Grand Reserve, 33CK travel trailer. This was a new purchase that occurred on 5/30/2019. I like the system a great deal. BUT, the auto level does NOT work.

Within 30 minutes after purchase of the TT, we went to a local campground that was asphalt and almost perfectly level and could not get the auto level to work. The unit will run until all 4 wheels are about 6" off the ground and then generate an error code. We drove to the RV Sales dealer, reported the problem and they sent their senior tech over to see what was wrong. He worked on it for about 10 hours over two days. Of approximately 20 attempts to auto level he was only successful 2 times. During the hours of work he opened the all weather bottom of the TT to confirm the leveling sensors were mounted correctly, which they were mounted correctly. He called Lippert and talked with at least two different support techs and tried various ideas to get it to work. Eventually, he got it to Auto Level 2x in a row and declared it operational. He gave me a Lippert phone number and a persons name to call if I had problems in the future.

Of the 20 or more times I’ve tried to auto level in the past 45 days (we’ve been traveling for 3 weeks) the auto level has never completed successfully. It always fails with the TT tires 6” off the ground and the error message says the jacks have reached their max extension.

I called Lippert and talked with “a guy” who said he was the boss of the Service Techs. I was not impressed. He first insisted I cut open and bottom of the camper to confirm the leveling sensors were installed correctly. Even after I assured him we had already done that. I opened it up and took pictures to prove. No matter what I talked about he assured me the auto level was working properly despite the fact it never completed successfully one time. Always 6” off the ground with an error message. Finally, I gave up and decided to develop my own procedure for manually leveling the TT.

Here’s what you need to know. The leveling controller doesn’t really know what is “level”. You can stop at any time and reprogram the controller by telling it it’s level, even if it isn’t. This is important to do in order to get full functionality out of the control panel. (my system uses the Yellow Controller, there are 2 or 3 other versions of the controller, Salmon and Pink come to mind).

Here’s why re-zeroing the controller frequently is important to understand and to do and redo often. There are 4 jacks, 2 on the front, 2 on the rear, 2 on the left and 2 on the right. You can USUALLY control these in pairs (unless the controller thinks the frame is twisted or too far out of whack. Then it will NOT allow you to operate the jacks in pairs. It then starts raising/lowering jacks one at a time even if you're trying to adjust them in pairs.

IF the controller believes the camper is very near level, you can also operate each jack individually; RF, LF, RR, LR. BUT, only if the controller believes the TT is almost perfectly level. can you operate them in pairs. IF the controller believes it way out of whack it won't let you adjust any of the jacks. So……. What you need to do is frequently re-zero the controller by telling it the TT is level. My controller is re-zeroed by turning off the control panel then pressing the “front” button 5 times and then the “rear” button 5 times. The controller will turn on and allow you to you press the “enter” button to re-zero the controller. Then the control panel will shut off.

Next, turn it back on and set it to manual mode. Now, because the controller believes the TT is level, it will allow you to operate each jack individually OR in pairs until it gets too far out of whack and then it blocks you from running the jacks 1 or 2 at a time. All you have to do is re-zero it again and you can keep adjusting jacks in pairs or individually.

So, here’s the process – lower all 4 jacks manually (in pairs, either Front & Rear OR Left & Right) until they just touch the ground ground. THEN – USING A LEVEL (I use an 8" level, but I've also used a 4 foot level) start adjusting the jacks in pairs until all 4 jacks are on the ground and then individually until YOUR LEVEL says it’s level front to back and side to side. My 38’ TT means I have to level side to side at the front and then side to side at the rear to avoid twisting the frame. I usually raise all the jacks until most of the load is off the tires, but I usually don't lift the tires unless I'm on a slope and that the only way to get it level.

With this process, I can now pull into a campsite, unhook from the truck and using this procedure have the TT leveled in less that 10 minutes. I’ve watched other campers spend 30-45 minutes with manual jacks and leveling platforms. So, thought I'd love for these to level automatically, I don't consider 10 minutes much of a sacrifice. These electric jacks are great once you learn the technique. Every once in a while I try the auto level but it never works, it’s just a waste of time.

All in all I love the electric jacks and the controller, but I’ll only give it 3 stars because it won’t auto level and the Service Techs at Lippert were absolutely no help when I called. On a side comment, I’m an electronics engineer, I’ve designed controllers and computer programs similar to this when I designed manufacturing process for Compaq Computer and Motorola. I suspect there is a problem either with this particular controller or with the software in general. But I couldn’t persuade Lippert to swap out my 30 day old controller so I could find out. Maybe later this fall I’ll go back to the sales dealer and try to get them to replace/repair it. Right now, it’s mid July, 2019, and every place I’ve called has a 3-4 week lead time to get in to look at it.

Update: 12/12/2019 - this process of leveling has worked so well I'm no longer interested in trying to make the auto level work. I doubt Lippert would be willing to swap controllers to get to the bottom of this problem.

[terryriddle]

terryriddle, I'm not sure which trailer you have and I did not find it in previous threads. FatTire mentioned a 2018 #303 ? The 3.0 is all electric on my #303 2017 model. There is no hydraulic system on that trailer. Is this what you have? What you described as wiring and fuses etc. sounds like mine. Works perfectly after I re leveled it manually. Basic trouble free after I understood it better (when new).

Sorry... I have a 2020 Reflection 260RD.. It is a four point leveling system and Second Chance is correct, it is electric. Should it fail, with the right socket and an electric drill, I could extend and retract the individual leveling leg, should it fail. I have also read that it is best to unplug the electric socket on the leveling leg.

[Grandesigner]

I know, old thread here...
We had a failure to level on our last trip, so I just did it manually with the control box. I was thinking it needed to be taught level again, but when we got home, it seemed to work just fine.???

[Hoopy Frood]

Did you get an error message?

[Grandesigner]

Yes, something like 'out of limits' came up. It began nose low and ended up appearing nose high when level, but none of the usual tricks listed above worked, so I made it work manually. There was plenty of travel available to be had.