kraviks
Montana
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So, I got distracted while hooking up after a weekend out in our 2012 Keystone Passport. I started to raise the tongue and quickly realized I hadn’t retracted the stabilizer jacks. When I closed the Slide it seemed to catch. Had to work it a bit. (Figured I needed to adjust the cables). When emptying the black and grey water tanks there was a pretty good leak coming from the valve area. Hard to tell exactly where as the underside is insulated. The trailer did pull fine coming home with no issues. Could I have bowed the frame like a banana? Or is all this coincidental?
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nickthehunter
Midwest
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You say, “quickly realized …”. How much did you raise it? 1 inch, 6 inches, 2 feet?
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CarnationSailor
Cathedral City, CA
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I think the stabalizer jacks would bend before you could damage the frame. Also, it is recommended that you bring in the slides before hooking up.
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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nickthehunter wrote:You say, “quickly realized …”. How much did you raise it? 1 inch, 6 inches, 2 feet?
^This. Need details to understand context.
Adjectivally, I used the front stab jacks this summer on a big ole floppy long cheap newer TT, that was one model away from being a park model camper, to support the front of the trailer so I could remove a block from under the tongue jack to get the tongue lower, the lazy way. It didn’t bend the frame.
And I doubt your electric jack in front/stab jacks in the rear have enough power/strength to taco the frame. Possible but not likely IMO.
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MFL
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Welcome to the forum!
I agree somewhat with above post, as many stabilizing jacks are not meant to support much weight. I do think some issues (water leaks) are likely a coincidence.
I always make sure to be level, when deploying, or retracting slides, and not raise/lower while slide is out.
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valhalla360
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It likely did bend but most likely elastic deformation (ie it will spring back once you release the stress). Of course while bent, the slides may get jambed. It also may have damaged some of the plumbing.
Do the slides work smoothly once home and leveled?
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JBarca
Radnor, Ohio, USA
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kraviks wrote:So, I got distracted while hooking up after a weekend out in our 2012 Keystone Passport.
I started to raise the tongue and quickly realized I hadn’t retracted the stabilizer jacks. When I closed the Slide it seemed to catch. Had to work it a bit. (Figured I needed to adjust the cables).
When emptying the black and grey water tanks there was a pretty good leak coming from the valve area. Hard to tell exactly where as the underside is insulated.
The trailer did pull fine coming home with no issues. Could I have bowed the frame like a banana? Or is all this coincidental?
Hi,
You may have a few issues going on at the same time, or they are related. Need some more info to help better. Let's start here,
Having had to deal with camper bent frame rails and slides before, help us with this info as a start.
1. What model camper is your 2012 Passport? The floor plan helps us understand where the slide opening in the camper is in relation to the trailer tires/suspension. Ideally, you can post a picture of the slide side of the camper, with a pic showing from the back wall to the front ball coupler. We can see the relationship between the slide opening, wheels/axles, and the dump piping.
2. When you realized the rear stabilizers were down (and the front too, but they would not hurt, but the back ones could), you stated when you closed the slide, it caught. Tell us, was the tongue jack still up in the air from the initial jacking up when you brought the slide in, and the slide caught? Tell us when the slide came in and where was the tongue jack at that time. Still up high, back down to normal level, etc.
2A, As was asked, how high did you jack up the ball coupler above the level camper to start the hitch-up process when you discovered the jacks were still down? 2", 4", 6" etc. Knowing your floor plan can help as 19 ft camper may have more issues then a 30 ft camper when the tongue is 6" higher then level camper and the jacks are down.
3. You said you thought the cables needed to be adjusted. Heads up, wait to start adjusting the cables until we sort out how the slide caught.
4. Do you know what brand of slide cable drive you have and, ideally, the model of the slide drive? Is it the BAL system?
5. Tell us what caught on the slide when it came in? Examples might be: the lower rear corner, upper rear corner, etc.
6. Regarding the water leak, we need to know how the tank, piping, and dump valve location relates to the tire/axle location. If yours has the cover on, this will be hard to see or know, but I wanted to ask if you know. Do you? Was the leaking water grey or black water, if you could tell? Trying to connect the dots on how high the camper was raised, where the pipes are located, and whether that amount of movement cracks a pipe going into the tank. Since your camper is a 2012 model, it could have some miles on it, pending how they mounted the tanks and pipes into the tanks; normal frame flexing from towing can start a crack in the joint of the discharge pipe going into the waste tank. Your event may have been the last straw to an already fatigued joint. You or we do not know if it is a cracked pipe, but I have repaired cracked pipes going into the tanks due to frame flex over time in just normal higher mileage towing. Generally, the grey tank, the pipe routing, and the pipe straps did not leave any room to flex, so when the frame flexes, the pipe flexes at the joint into the tank. Over time, the joint starts leaking.
Hope this helps,
John
* This post was
edited 10/05/23 07:17am by JBarca *
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kraviks
Montana
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Thank you for all the replies this is helpful. Normally I don not hook up with the side out. I this case I was trying to be efficient and allow my wife to pack things up inside as I hooked. Probably why this happened as I was out of my normal routine. The trailer is a 2012 Keystone Passport Ultra lite TT. I don't have the exact model number on hand however the trailer is roughly 27 ft. I raised the tongue approximately 4" to 5" and then immediately lowered back to level once I realized what I had done. The leak was black water, the drain valves are located behind the rear tires. The slide caught on the rear side, seemed to pull in out of sync more than a specific catch point,. this repeated once home and level but only when brining the slide in. it retracted just fine. I have not touched the cables and unsure of the brand of slide cable. Id have to check. I do have an appointment with the dealership service department to get this all checked out. I really appreciate all the feedback.
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