Just finished with the LPGA tournament here in Rochester and came to the
conclusion that I need to install some stabilizing jacks on at least
the rear if not all 4 corners. Has anyone done this and if so how? Any
suggestions on which way to go.
Marcus, you didn't say why you think you would like to have stabilizer
jacks.
Henry and Manny are correct, I have had four 12 VDC electric stabilizer
jacks on our current Royale for over 10 years. I originally had them on
our previous GMC for around 4 years, and moved them to our current coach
when we purchased it in 1990. They are the most beneficial modification
that I have made to our coach. I do a lot of trout fishing up in
northern CA mountains, in National Forest Campgrounds. Most of these
campground were built back in '30s when the only thing people used were
tents. Needless to say, they are not very level, and most people cannot
park their motorhomes on them, which leaves more available sites for me.
Some sites I end up with my front wheels several inches off the ground.
The jacks are RV trailer tongue jacks that I modified to fit on our GMC.
The rear ones set just outboard of the rear bogies, and bolt to the jack
slot in the bottom of the bogie and to the two 3/8" tapped holes in the
top of the bogie. They fit very nicely just behind the center section of
the rear skirt. Most people don't even notice they are there. They also
make a god shield if your air bag should let go while you are standing
close by.
The two front jacks required very little modification. They bolt to
plates that I welded in each inboard corner where the front crossmember
connects to the frame side rails. They set just behind the front grill
about in line with the outsides edges of the radiator.
The jacks are the heaviest that I could by at that time and are rated at
3,500 pounds. They have a built in slip-clutch that limits how much they
will lift. Each jack has it's own switch, however, I also added four
parallel DPDT switches to the dash panel that contains the normal air
system control switches. I use these to level the coach before I ever
get out of the drivers seat; by observing dash-mounted levels. Each
switch has a green light that illuminates when the jacks are fully
retracted. Wes tells me they are illegal because they are not designed
so you can drive off with the jacks down. Maybe some people do this but
I haven't had any problem so far. I've had my share of "senior moments"
but luckily driving off with the jacks down has not been one of them.
I think Manny also saw two coaches at Ukiah that had manually operated
jack stands
that I made for some friends. They were permanently mounted to the rear
bogies similar to my electric jacks. You first level your coach and then
lower the jack stands. They will automatically lock in the first
available (located every inch) hole when you let off the air bag
pressure. When you get ready to leave you just pressurize the air bags
until the jack stand clear the ground then you manually raise the Jack
stands and they will lock in the top hole. For you young GMC owners,
they are great at preventing your neighbors from observing your coach
rocking.
I have given most of my photos away over the years, however, if I can
still locate some I will sent them to Marcus for posting. I believe I
saw some photos of my jacks on Gene's web site. If there is sufficient
demand I could probably be talked in taking some more photos.
Chuck Aulgur
La Mesa CA
GMCWS Tech VP
conclusion that I need to install some stabilizing jacks on at least
the rear if not all 4 corners. Has anyone done this and if so how? Any
suggestions on which way to go.
Marcus, you didn't say why you think you would like to have stabilizer
jacks.
Henry and Manny are correct, I have had four 12 VDC electric stabilizer
jacks on our current Royale for over 10 years. I originally had them on
our previous GMC for around 4 years, and moved them to our current coach
when we purchased it in 1990. They are the most beneficial modification
that I have made to our coach. I do a lot of trout fishing up in
northern CA mountains, in National Forest Campgrounds. Most of these
campground were built back in '30s when the only thing people used were
tents. Needless to say, they are not very level, and most people cannot
park their motorhomes on them, which leaves more available sites for me.
Some sites I end up with my front wheels several inches off the ground.
The jacks are RV trailer tongue jacks that I modified to fit on our GMC.
The rear ones set just outboard of the rear bogies, and bolt to the jack
slot in the bottom of the bogie and to the two 3/8" tapped holes in the
top of the bogie. They fit very nicely just behind the center section of
the rear skirt. Most people don't even notice they are there. They also
make a god shield if your air bag should let go while you are standing
close by.
The two front jacks required very little modification. They bolt to
plates that I welded in each inboard corner where the front crossmember
connects to the frame side rails. They set just behind the front grill
about in line with the outsides edges of the radiator.
The jacks are the heaviest that I could by at that time and are rated at
3,500 pounds. They have a built in slip-clutch that limits how much they
will lift. Each jack has it's own switch, however, I also added four
parallel DPDT switches to the dash panel that contains the normal air
system control switches. I use these to level the coach before I ever
get out of the drivers seat; by observing dash-mounted levels. Each
switch has a green light that illuminates when the jacks are fully
retracted. Wes tells me they are illegal because they are not designed
so you can drive off with the jacks down. Maybe some people do this but
I haven't had any problem so far. I've had my share of "senior moments"
but luckily driving off with the jacks down has not been one of them.
I think Manny also saw two coaches at Ukiah that had manually operated
jack stands
that I made for some friends. They were permanently mounted to the rear
bogies similar to my electric jacks. You first level your coach and then
lower the jack stands. They will automatically lock in the first
available (located every inch) hole when you let off the air bag
pressure. When you get ready to leave you just pressurize the air bags
until the jack stand clear the ground then you manually raise the Jack
stands and they will lock in the top hole. For you young GMC owners,
they are great at preventing your neighbors from observing your coach
rocking.
I have given most of my photos away over the years, however, if I can
still locate some I will sent them to Marcus for posting. I believe I
saw some photos of my jacks on Gene's web site. If there is sufficient
demand I could probably be talked in taking some more photos.
Chuck Aulgur
La Mesa CA
GMCWS Tech VP
