Electric vs Hydraulic Leveling?

[fez111]

My 2 cents here will probably get me blackballed, but here goes. I vote for hydraulics for two reasons:

1. Having had a blowout (Westlake) the first year we had our Solitude 379FL I did not know that there was no need to jack up that very heavy beast to change the tire. I found out quite by accident that I could jack up one side to lift the wheels off the ground. Never gonna use that manual jack again.

2. After number one above, I found that I can lift all four wheels off the ground, as I have done for the past two winters. I've had no problems (knock on my hard head) with the unit or the hydraulic system and will continue doing so. My tires sure are happy!

[Jefferson Beifuss]

I don't think this forum blackballs except for politics and Chevy owners. I would agree with the commercial poster who said to find the floor plan you like and go with it. I am the flip-side of the previous poster. My rig is a 2015 GD 337RLS, which is electric jacks, not even self leveling. How retro is that! I pull out an old fashioned 4' level to start my campsite setup! I have replaced the switches front and rear, but they are available from any RV parts store and take 5 minutes to install.

The key is to get out there and get camping (safely).

[LarJam]

Is one more reliable? Easier to fix? Speed?

I guess i am just confused between the difference of the two?

The Main difference is a hydraulic system can lift the entire RV up as much as a foot on one side or both sides no longer needing to drive up on blocks to level. "Electronic Levels" are basically "Electronic stabilizers" They basically eliminate the need to crank down manually the stabilizers so you
don't feel people walking in the RV....they should be called "electronic stabilizers".

[Canadiansteelman]

The Main difference is a hydraulic system can lift the entire RV up as much as a foot on one side or both sides no longer needing to drive up on blocks to level. "Electronic Levels" are basically "Electronic stabilizers" They basically eliminate the need to crank down manually the stabilizers so you
don't feel people walking in the RV....they should be called "electronic stabilizers".

I can easily lift my 303 Reflection fifth wheel off the ground using the electric stabilizers. They have plenty of power to lift wheels off the ground. However, I use boards under one set of wheels to level the trailer side to side to take the strain off the stabilizers and trailer frame. Having had both hydraulic and electric stabilizers, I prefer electric as they don’t leak down over time like the hydraulic ones did.

[bertschb]

I prefer electric as they don’t leak down over time like the hydraulic ones did.

We've been parked in the same spot for 7 months and our hydraulic jacks haven't leaked down at all.

I've had electric levelers as well and they worked fine for me.

[Canadiansteelman]

We've been parked in the same spot for 7 months and our hydraulic jacks haven't leaked down at all.

I've had electric levelers as well and they worked fine for me.

On my 2016 Keystone Alpine I had to reset the hydraulic stabilizers once a month as they had a very slow leak. Dealer told me this was quite common on the hydraulic stabilizers and not much could be done about it.

[huntr70]

The Main difference is a hydraulic system can lift the entire RV up as much as a foot on one side or both sides no longer needing to drive up on blocks to level. "Electronic Levels" are basically "Electronic stabilizers" They basically eliminate the need to crank down manually the stabilizers so you
don't feel people walking in the RV....they should be called "electronic stabilizers".

Should probably learn a thing or two before posting. Not true at all.

[Second Chance]

The Main difference is a hydraulic system can lift the entire RV up as much as a foot on one side or both sides no longer needing to drive up on blocks to level. "Electronic Levels" are basically "Electronic stabilizers" They basically eliminate the need to crank down manually the stabilizers so you
don't feel people walking in the RV....they should be called "electronic stabilizers".

You may be thinking of the stabilizers on the travel trailers. What you are saying is inaccurate if you're talking about the electric auto-leveling systems on the Reflection fifth wheels and Solitude S-Class fifth wheels.

Rob

[SGT ROC]

The Main difference is a hydraulic system can lift the entire RV up as much as a foot on one side or both sides no longer needing to drive up on blocks to level. "Electronic Levels" are basically "Electronic stabilizers" They basically eliminate the need to crank down manually the stabilizers so you
don't feel people walking in the RV....they should be called "electronic stabilizers".

Yep, sorry but just plain wrong. I use mine to lift rig when pulling the wheels to repack the wheel bearings, and on at least two occasions the tires on one side were off the ground in an unlevel site for the duration of the camping trip. They work just fine, but as stated they are 50% slower than hydraulic.

[Rapid1]

Haha...5 mins instead of 3 minutes...big deal huh? Our travel partner with a Montana 3120 has had nothing but trouble with the hydraulic system since they've owned it. Sure, I'll give that the service should have fixed it by now but the last time we traveled, they had to tie up one of the rear jacks because it would drop while driving. To even hint that the hydraulic systems are anywhere near as dependable as the electric systems is total bs...slides included. The hydraulic system is another separate system needed because of weight. Just like anything else, most work, some don't and when they don't, its a major pain in the butt. If I were to move up from our Reflection, it would probably be to an S class Solitude, just because its electric, not hydraulic.