Billy

I'm planning to make the trip to Alaska in 2023. I don't care to go with large caravans, but would like to go with a small group of perhaps three RVs. If anyone might be considering going with just one or two others, please contact me. We have a year to plan, but it will go quickly.

Thanks to all who replied to my questions.

Dutch: Was there a discussion of the hydraulics with the graphic you posted? Please post a link to the article. Billy

Off the top of my head Kirk, the Grand Design Momentum "M" class toy haulers (specifically the 395M) now come with the front pair of jacks mounted at a 6 degree outboard angle. If I remember correctly, the same is true on the Voltage 4115 with hydraulic jacks. There are others. I just forget exactly which ones and I don't want to get them wrong so I won't mention them by names. Sure, with these jacks, you'll never get away from having some side loading in many situations. However, doesn't mounting them at an angle ensure you will always have the wear and bending force on them trying to move the rod out of alignment with the center axis of the cylinder while the rod is under load and is in motion? Certainly there will always be wind loading. But you aren't moving the trailer up and down all the time in the wind. It just seems starting out with this error built in is ensuring you'll be behind the proverbial "8-ball" every time you drop the trailer. Certainly, using blocks to reduce the necessary stroke would help minimize the out-of-alignment damage. Very good point Rick. But I really don't know since this is not my field of expertise. That's why I ask the questions. Billy

For those with front, hydraulic landing gear mounted at angles away from vertical, have you had hydraulic leaks yet from bad seals? How long after delivery did they start leaking? I was with a salesman recently who Googled these leaking jacks and told me his indications seemed to indicate that on average, one or both front jacks start leaking around two-year intervals. What seems to me to be the sad part is, the seals failing prematurely should be reasonably predictable if you think about it. As the trailer rises or falls, the fixed angle away from vertical would require the feet of the jack to move further outboard as the trailer rises and further inboard as it lowers. But how can the feet move with perhaps 4,000 pounds or more on each jack? Do the feet move? Does this eventually bend the rod? I’m not a Hydraulics System Design Engineer, so can someone educate me on how the feet can move? The hydraulic cylinder remains mounted securely to the frame at, let’s say, six degrees. If the feet do not move, how then can the rod not apply an unequal side load against one point on the seal? It could perhaps be enough to not only ruin the seal prematurely, but it may even be enough to bend the rod. A bent rod may even be the cause of the jack not retracting normally. Just enough bend to act sort of like it’s just “sticking” may not be detectable to the human eyes. If the rod is bent, would it not be pretty much a waste of money not to replace the rod with a straight one when the seals are replaced? It seems likely to me that the cylinder would need a good inspection and it may even need to be honed, if they do that. Heck, why not just buy a new jack? Has anyone had leaking hydraulic jacks a second time after replacing seals in the same jack once before? I have asked factory Reps about this. All I have ever been told is they are mounted at a slight outboard angle to be slightly more stable in windy conditions. Well, okay. I suppose the math may show that on paper. I honestly don’t know. However, with only the front two jacks being angled outboard, is it really going to make a significant difference in the real world? The other two on each side, middle and rear, are mounted in the vertical. I’m thinking few people leave their trailer very long without deploying all stabilizer jacks. I’m just thinking of taking what should be an extremely reliable system and shortening the life expectancy of critical parts for no off-setting real gain. I’ve read many forums and failure of hydraulic seals is already more common than it should be, IMHO, and it seems the front two jacks are more likely to be the first ones to leak. After all, this is not new technology. Are we being sold a bill of goods on this set-up?