One week down

realgoodbear · 06-07-2015, 02:40 PM

Well, I drove the 3895 off the lot last Saturday. Towing on the interstate was a breeze though I need practice in more congested areas and even more practice backing up.
Arrived at the campground very late and discovered the jacks would not extend at the same speed. They started out the same and then one slowed to almost no movement while the other continued down. Just left the truck hitched and went to bed. In the morning I discovered the hydraulic fluid was about 5 inches below the fill line in the reservoir. One of the guys from the campground brought some hydraulic fluid over and we filled it. The jacks still didn't operate at the same speed but we continued extending until both were supporting the unit. I sure hope that wasn't a mistake. So far everything else has worked well.
Unfortunately it is really humid and I have been running the AC continuously for 3 days. There is a constant drip of water from the roof when the AC is running and I assume it is from the water the AC is removing from the air. Is this normal? And if so, what does one do to keep the ground from becoming completely muddy-stick a bucket under it and constantly empty it?
Thanks in advance for any comments/advice.
I have so much to learn...

MartyG · 06-07-2015, 04:39 PM

Can't help you with the jacks, but regarding the AC, yes, the water is normal. It will run off one or two corners of your TT. If it is causing mud where you don't want it, you'll have to catch it or divert it somewhere else. Maybe an old plastic sheet, tarp, or even a wheel cover could channel the water to another spot.

ATCguy · 06-07-2015, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by realgoodbear

...and discovered the jacks would not extend at the same speed. They started out the same and then one slowed to almost no movement while the other continued down. Just left the truck hitched and went to bed. In the morning I discovered the hydraulic fluid was about 5 inches below the fill line in the reservoir. One of the guys from the campground brought some hydraulic fluid over and we filled it. The jacks still didn't operate at the same speed but we continued extending until both were supporting the unit. I sure hope that wasn't a mistake. So far everything else has worked well...

Don't worry about your hydraulic jacks... that's normal operation. With no resistance, the cylinder on one side fills first to extend the leg until resistance is made... and then the other side fills & extends. When they both fill to to point of resistance, then both legs extend in unison to raise the unit together.

And yes, on humid days your A/C's will drip constantly as they remove moisture from the interior of the rig. Even out in the dry conditions of AZ this past winter, my A/C units still dripped pretty steady. Nothing you can really do about the puddling on the ground, unless you wanna also bring some rainspout gutters to help drain it away.

eightydo · 06-07-2015, 05:30 PM

I hope you filled resistor when jacks were up. If not you might have a mess in the area of the resivor. Only fill with jacks retracted.

Pirate · 06-07-2015, 05:58 PM

And as I asked on another post...the hydraulic jack system uses Dextron automatic transmission fluid.

With all the jacks fully up, fill the reservoir to about 1/2" below the "fill to" level on the sticker, or down from the top of the rectangular section of the reservoir.

Pirate

realgoodbear · 06-08-2015, 06:13 PM

Thanks for the replies, you all are such a help

. I am so glad to know that is normal operation for the jacks. Now I won't be so worried about moving to another spot and discovering I have a huge problem.
I can't remember if the jacks were retracted when the fluid was filled, but I think they were as we had retracted everything that used hydraulics including the bedroom slide to see the level of the fluid in the reservoir.
We used the hydraulic fluid that the campground had which was a generic "farm machinery" hydraulic fluid as far as I could tell. Is "Dextron automatic transmission fluid" something special? I hope I didn't mess anything up...
And ATCGuy--I have been meaning to ask you if you are a current ATC, I retired from ATC last year after 26yrs.

ATCguy · 06-08-2015, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by realgoodbear

...And ATCGuy--I have been meaning to ask you if you are a current ATC, I retired from ATC last year after 26yrs.

Congrats and welcome to the retired side!

I retired in January 2013 after 31 years... USMC for 8, and the rest with the FAA.

HornedToad · 06-08-2015, 08:42 PM

If you need to add fluid, you might as well add this...

http://lci1.com/assets/content/suppo...heets/0295.pdf

Pirate · 06-08-2015, 09:00 PM

There are two types of automatic transmission fluid, Type F and Dextron.

Type F was used way back. Dexron is what is used now.

Here's a link that will tell you more than what you probably want to know about the properties and uses for Dexron fluids.

Pirate

sundancer 87 · 06-09-2015, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATCguy

Congrats and welcome to the retired side!

I retired in January 2013 after 31 years... USMC for 8, and the rest with the FAA.

Dang, all this time I thought is was All Terrain Cycle

Pirate · 06-09-2015, 03:00 AM

Ummm...so what does ATC stand for? Feeling a bit dumb.

Pirate

lcv800 · 06-09-2015, 10:20 AM

Air Traffic Controller. Tough job. They deserve to be retired.
Rusty

ATCguy · 06-09-2015, 11:07 AM

Damn... and I was gonna tell him "Anti-Terrorist Commando".

All jobs are tough, with many tougher than mine was. If you got an angry customer in your face, you've got a tough job. If you've got a deadline looming on a project, and you're running a little behind, you've got a tough job.

All I did was play a video game: Don't Let the Dots Touch!

Nana & Poppy · 06-09-2015, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATCguy

Damn... and I was gonna tell him "Anti-Terrorist Commando".

All I did was play a video game: Don't Let the Dots Touch!

Tom I love your sense of humor!

**wahoonc** · 06-09-2015, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATCguy

Damn... and I was gonna tell him "Anti-Terrorist Commando".

All jobs are tough, with many tougher than mine was. If you got an angry customer in your face, you've got a tough job. If you've got a deadline looming on a project, and you're running a little behind, you've got a tough job.

All I did was play a video game: Don't Let the Dots Touch!

Or putting up with a bat **** crazy 81 year old mother...

Aaron

realgoodbear · 06-09-2015, 01:51 PM

I loved air traffic control. I had many jobs before I became a controller that were more stressful---waitressing comes to mind. It depends on where you work, your coworkers, your management and your personality.

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