HWH Jacks are slow or stuck

HWH Jacks are slow or stuck

By December 28, 2016 April 17th, 2017 Articles, Exterior, jacks, Repairs and How-To, Resources

If you have a rig that uses hydraulic jacks for any length of time then you will undoubtedly run into an issue where the jacks won’t retract or get really slow.

This happened to two of my jacks on our 1999 Newmar Dutchstar with HWH leveling system.

Here are the tips:

Below are the basic parts of the HWH Leveling system AP2260:

  1. 12 volt motor
  2. Reservoir full of Hydraulic fluid in most cases Automatic Transmission Fluid
  3. four valves or one valve per jack if your system only has three jacks then three valves
  4. T-Handles on each valve so you can manually open each valve.

The picture below shows the reservoir:

rv_hwh_jacks-5

Here is a picture of my HWH system which is located on the passenger side in the very front under the “hood”.

rv_hwh_jacks_marked_up

A lot of times people will tell you to release the valves by opening the T-handles and then if that doesn’t work then they don’t know what to do next.

In my experience the next thing to do is make sure the T-valve is open. The system is in store mode and then see if the jack starts going up. If it doesn’t start going up then use a floor jack or in my case a scissor jack to give it a little help. If that works then your issue is with the jack.

If you are still unsure if the jack is the problem. Using an open end wrench take the hydraulic hose loose. Below is a picture of a jack thats removed. The hydraulic line inserts from the top.

hydraulic_hose_removed

Once the hose is removed the jack should retract instantly.

If it doesn’t or its slow to retract then your jack needs to be rebuilt.

If it retracts instantly then your valve is more than likely defective or your system is not in “store” mode.

In conclusion if you get the “jacks down” light / buzzer then discover that one of your jacks is still extended. Try the following:

  1. Turn on store mode
  2. Put floor / scissor jack under the jack that is not retracting and push up on it
  3. If it retracts then your jack needs to be rebuilt
  4. If it doesn’t move then your valve is more than likely stuck closed use the T-Handles at the HWH pump to manually open the valve and repeat the steps above

If you jack is bad then you can get it rebuilt locally. Call around to hydraulic hose repair companies in your area and ask if they will rebuild your jack. These jacks are very basic and depending on your location you could have them rebuilt for $150.00 or less locally if you call around.

I’m writing up an article on how to remove the jacks next.

 

 

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