How level is level enough?

[cmillsap]

As my signature will show, I owned three Wanderlodges prior to owning my present Prevost. Two of those busses were equipped with slides. The big negative I felt about a Wanderlodge revolved around the operation of the slides. I always felt it was a P.I.A. to extend and retract the slides. Sometimes we camped overnight without opening the slides because it was more trouble than it was worth to go through the process. The Wanderlodge LXi is equipped with a HWH hydraulic slide integrated with the HWH hydraulic leveling jacks. The zero tolerance between the slide body and the bus body made it imperative that the bus be level before extending or retracting the slide. Consequently, the jacks had to be deployed to level the bus before the slide controls allowed the slide to be operated. Therefore, if the jacks were unable to level the bus, there was no ability to operate the slide. So extending the slides was an intimidating multiple process and the steps had to be followed exactly.

Don’t get the wrong impression here because ‘by and large’ two of the 43’ Wanderlodge LXi that I owned were otherwise magnificent machines and certainly as good as any converted Prevost of the same vintage.

My Prevost XLII is equipped with a Level Low system. Switched on, you can level the bus by operating the three leveling valves that direct air to and from the suspension air springs. Surprisingly, it is used to level the bus after the slide is extended. The slide will only function with the Level Low switched off. Once it is switched off, the bus suspension will return to ride height.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the ease of extending or retracting the slide on my bus. It is such a simple procedure. Just park the bus on a relatively level site found in most RV parks. With the park brake engaged, transmission in neutral, engine running (hi-idle) and aux air system pressurized, just push a button to extend or retract the slide. How level should your Prevost be before attempting to extend a slide? My rule of thumb is if the floor is level enough to live comfortably but maybe not perfectly level it’s ok. But I wouldn’t be extending the slide unless the bus was relatively level. I guess my years of owning a Wanderlodge has made me over cautious.