Zero point and calibration

The controller levels to whatever it was told is level. Save the zero point with the coach truly level and the controller bolted where it lives, using that system's own button sequence, and most 'levels crooked' calls are done.

The short version

• Level by hand first with a carpenter's level on the floor at the center of the coach: front-to-back, then side-to-side.
• Button counts differ: Ground Control 3.0 keypad is Front 5, Rear 5. Level Up is Front 10, Rear 10. Both start with the pad turned off.
• A new or replacement controller has no zero point. Mount it, home the jacks on electric systems, then zero it.
• Crooked the same way at every site is a zero point or a moved controller, not a jack.

Why a coach levels crooked

Auto level drives back to the saved reading, so a bad zero point shows up as the same error every time, at every site, with no code. A jack problem looks different: random results, one jack that quits, or a message on the pad.

• Zero saved with the coach out of level. The controller trusts it completely.
• Controller moved, loosened or remounted after the zero was saved. Lippert lists an unsecured controller under 'Excess angle', and Power Gear lists a box that wasn't secured when level was programmed under 'Out of level tolerance'.
• Controller mounted wrong. Power Gear's box mounts upside down with the arrow forward; Lippert's controller and rear sensor mount the way their labels show.
• New controller never zeroed. Power Gear says a replacement box has no stored level point. Lippert shows 'Zero point not set' or 'Feature disabled'.
• Hoses plumbed or valves wired to the wrong jacks. Power Gear lists both under 'does not level to correct level position'.

Lippert fifth-wheel sequences

Lippert says the Level Up zero point is set at the factory and normally doesn't need resetting. If a trailer that used to level right now levels wrong, something changed: find it before you re-zero.

Motorhome sequences

Lippert says the motorhome controller must be fully secured in its production location before you zero it. On diesel units with air bags the controller finds the bags itself; if it reports no air bag control on a coach that has bags, check the harness, run an auto level, then re-zero.

Factory reset and controller swaps

The OneControl touch panel has a reset button that returns it to factory defaults. Lippert doesn't publish what that clears, so treat any reset as a full re-setup: zero point, remote pairing, test cycle. A reset never fixes a coach that levels crooked, because it doesn't change the mount or the jacks.

Order matters on a controller swap. Lippert requires homing after Ground Control components are added or replaced, and a new controller has no zero point to come back to.

1. Mount the new controller in the original location, oriented per its label (Power Gear: arrow forward), and fully secured.
2. Connect and check every harness at the controller, jacks or valve coils, and pad.
3. Get voltage up: 12 V or better under load.
4. Electric systems: home the jacks. Give every jack at least 6 in to retract, then hold Retract until they all stop on current.
5. Level by hand with a carpenter's level on the floor at the center: front-to-back first, then side-to-side.
6. Save the zero point with that system's sequence. On an LCI LED panel with air bags, set the air feature in the 20-second window.
7. Pair the Linc remote if used (Ground Control: options menu, 'Wireless config').
8. Run a full auto level and check it with your level. Fifth wheels: start that run with the front above level so hitch recognition gets a height.

Careful: Don't work under a coach held only on its leveling jacks while you're setting it up. Lippert's service steps start with jack stands under the frame front and rear.

On the job

1. Confirm the complaint repeats: same corner, same direction, at more than one site.
2. Check the controller mount and orientation, and the rear sensor on fifth wheels.
3. Load test the battery; get 12 V or better under load.
4. On Ground Control, clear any special jack error by homing first.
5. Level by hand with a carpenter's level on the center floor: front-to-back, then side-to-side.
6. Enter calibration with that system's button count and the pad off.
7. Save, and keep everyone out of the coach until the stability check finishes.
8. Retract, run a full auto level, and check it with your level.

Numbers

• Ground Control 3.0 keypad: pad off, Front 5 times, Rear 5 times, then Enter
• Ground Control 3.0 OneControl: tap 'Connected' 6 times quickly to open the options gear
• Level Up fifth wheel and motorhome: pad off, Front 10 times, Rear 10 times (5 and 5 on Winnebago motorhomes)
• LCI LED panel: Front 5, Rear 5, then 'Retract all' 3 times; air feature window 20 seconds
• Homing before zero (Ground Control): at least 6 in of retract on every jack

Shop tip

Put your level on the floor at the center of the coach, not on a counter or a slide floor. Counters and slide rooms aren't true to the chassis, and the controller will copy whatever angle you hand it.

Where this comes from

• Lippert, Ground Control 3.0 Troubleshooting Guide, CCD-0001746, Rev 08.06.18, p. 6
• Lippert, Ground Control 3.0 5th Wheel Owner's Manual, CCD-0001518, Rev 11.19.18, p. 9
• Lippert, Ground Control 3.0 FW with OneControl Owner's Manual, CCD-0001519, Rev 06.28.18, pp. 6, 11-12, 17-18
• Lippert, Ground Control 4-Point Operation and Service Manual (Gen II), 100411-revB
• Lippert, Level-Up 5th Wheel Owner's Manual, CCD-0001531, pp. 7-8; Setting the Zero Point on the Level-Up System, CCD-0002110, Rev 08.30.18
• Lippert, Level-Up Motorhome Owner's Manual CCD-0001535 p. 9 and Troubleshooting Guide CCD-0001751 p. 7; Sprinter Owner's Manual CCD-0001515 p. 4; LCI Class C User Manual (Tiffin)
• LCI Electronic/Hydraulic Leveling and Slideout Owner's Manual, Rev 07.14.2014, pp. 7-8
• Power Gear TIP 0213 Rev 0 (5/19/2005); Power Gear 82-L0506 Rev 0C, control box and troubleshooting sections

Try it on a service call

Put the lesson to work on a hands-on troubleshooting case.

• Auto-level leaves it crooked

Keep going on slides and leveling

Learn it

• How a slide room is built and carried
• Identify the slide system in a minute
• The in-wall controller: versions and fault codes
• Ball-screw actuator slides: clutch, stops, diagnosis
• Rack and pinion drive: electrical diagnosis

Prove it

• Slide stalls halfway out
• Slide comes in crooked
• Hydraulic slide crawls and stops
• One side of the slide won't move
• Auto-level leaves it crooked

See it in 3D

• In-wall slide 3D wiring model
• Hydraulic leveling 3D wiring model

Codes and specs

• Slides: schwintek
• Lippert in-wall and through-frame slides
• Leveling: ground control
• Lippert 5th wheel hydraulic auto level

On the job

• Slide-outs
• Leveling jacks