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Lippert Install of Leveling System on 2021 Reflection 315RLTS Travel Trailer

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  • Lippert Install of Leveling System on 2021 Reflection 315RLTS Travel Trailer

    I was headed out to Elkhart County from Virginia to get the MORryde independent suspension installed on my RV. Decided to have Lippert install their leveling system on my travel trailer. Since my travel trailer exceeds 10K pounds, there is no leveling system sold by Lippert to consumers, so this has to be installed by Lippert, no DIY. This system has 5K capacity jacks in the rear, 3K capacity "C-Jack's" up front, and their own tongue jack which integrates into the leveling system and is controlled by the leveling system computers. The official name is Ground Control TT Leveling One Control.

    I entered Lippert Plant 82 at 1701 Century Dr., Goshen, IN 46528 around 6:50am on April 13, 2022, and left with an installed leveling system that same day around 4:20pm. I'd estimate that it took these professionals who have done this many times around 16 man-hours to do the job.

    I was motivated to get this system based on a video from "Finding Our Someday" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkdb...dingOurSomeday
    I also bumped into Jessie of Finding Our Someday at Thousand Trails Peace River Campground in Wauchula FL this winter, and after a year and a half of use, he said this is favorite camper upgrade, so I was convinced to get the system.

    Pros: - This will give you the most stable travel trailer, period. It doesn't get more stable than this. See time 12:40 of the above video for their excitement about the stability (I note that during a load of laundry in the RV after the install, the camper still jumps around on the spin cycle, but so does my home when I'm doing laundry.)
    - Automatic leveling (but boards may still be needed under the tires if the side-to-side level is really off in order to keep the trailer wheels on the ground when level).
    - You can manually use the system to raise the trailer off of the wheels in order to change a flat tire (this is not recommended by Lippert nor me, as any jack can fail, and jackstands should be used)

    Cons: - Expensive ($5.2K in April of 2022, with the price going up to about $5.7K in May of $2022) (parts = $3,900, labor=$1,032, sales tax= $275)
    - Loud tongue jack, especially when raising the trailer (Go to time 10:25 of this video to hear how loud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qayp...hannel=Lippert)
    - Slow tongue jack (Don't know the exact speed as compared to the stock jack, but I'd guess it's half the speed of the stock jack)
    - Slow leveling process - it takes 3 or 4 minutes for the system to level the trailer, after the trailer is disconnected from the truck. (Manual says not to be moving around inside the trailer during the leveling process).
    - Need at least 2 sets of 10 leveling blocks in total to put under the two front jacks and tongue jack when trailer is parked on a downhill. (See the picture below).
    - Phone App is not intuitive/shuts down when your phone screen display times out.
    - If system loses the memory of what is level, system could twist/bend your trailer frame trying to place the trailer into what it thinks is a level system.
    - for trailers weighing more than 10,000 pounds, Lippert must install the system, although there are mobile Lippert technicians throughout the U.S.
    - I was told by Lippert that the leveling system adds 150 pounds of weight to the trailer, although I have not verified this claim.
    - I was disappointed that they used unpainted metal to support the front and rear leveling sensors.
    - they cut an X in the trailer coroplast in the rear center of the underbelly to mount the rear level sensor, Two screws were used to hold the cut coroplast in place, but no tape was used to seal up the cut.

    Tips/Comments:
    -
    the integration into the Compass Connect system was amazingly easy. The CAN bus/Phone App recognized the leveling system and my phone app instantly had the leveling functionality without the need to configure anything
    - In order to get into the settings/secret menu on your phone to reset the zero level and or individually control the jacks, you need to tap the word "Leveler" on the app 5 times.
    - When I got home after the Lippert Install, the system had no idea what was level. (This could have been due to the welding on the trailer frame by MORryde when installing the independent suspension). After resetting the level, the system has worked perfectly since then. However, if I was not paying attention and did not stop the operation of the leveling system when it "lost" what is level, my frame could have been twisted/bent.
    - In my experience, it's better to control the system using the hardwired interface than the phone app. My phone display would go dark after a certain time, which would shut down the operation of the leveling system. The phone app must remain open and in front on the phone during the leveling process. This issue does not exist when using the hardwired interface.
    - There are two sensors to detect the levelness of the trailer and detect a possible twisting of the trailer frame. These sensors were mounted by Lippert on unpainted metal plates which will rust (I need to take things apart and paint them)
    - I never realized that an improperly operating leveling system (or an improper manual operation of the jacks) could bend/twist the trailer frame.
    - Jesse of Finding Our Someday recommended that I keep the rear PSX-1 stabilizer on the trailer to provide added stability.

    At the end of this post is the link to download the Lippert Manual for the system:

    The hardest part of the install is that Lippert had to plasma cut the rear jack brackets to match the contour of the trailer frame. They then welded the bracket onto the trailer frame:

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    The control panel was mounted to the inside of the wet bay door.
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    Note that the tongue jack has no weight on it, and is pretty far off the ground. I needed to use a total of 20 blocks under the tongue jack and the front leveling jacks. I first tried to to auto-level without the blocks under the front leveling jacks and the system gave an error because the front leveling jacks could not extend down far enough to level the trailer.

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    Here is view from the rear. This is at Shenandoah National Park and spot is pretty tight for a 38 foot trailer, so I backed up as far as I could, putting the rear leveling jacks on the back side of the stop block (while still being on the asphalt). Note the use of the original rear stabilizer.

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    The Leveling System plugged into my Lippert One Touch Unity Board which I never saw before this procedure. On my trailer, it's in the pass-through storage compartment, passenger side, on the rear wall.

    Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_4874.jpeg Views:	0 Size:	204.8 KB ID:	84792
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Jimmer; 05-11-2022, 06:56 AM.
    Home Base: Fairfax, Virginia
    2021 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS Travel Trailer
    2002 Ford F350 7.3 Diesel 4X4 SRW

  • #2
    I ran up against the 6 attachment limit in my original post.

    Here is a pic of the rear jack bracket welded onto the frame.

    Click image for larger version

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ID:	84794
    Home Base: Fairfax, Virginia
    2021 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS Travel Trailer
    2002 Ford F350 7.3 Diesel 4X4 SRW

    Comment


    • #3
      Jimmer -- awesome write-up! Of course this is being added to the Modifications List.
      Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.

      2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus

      Comment


      • #4
        An update by Lippert in the Fall of 2022 to the Compass Connect App and the One Control App removed the ability to access the advanced features of the leveling system including zero-point and individual jack control. After about 10 weeks of intermittent communications with Lippert, Lippert confirmed that they removed this feature from the app, and that I had no way to set the Zero Point on the App. Thus, if the leveling system got out of calibration, the expensive leveling system that I had Lippert install at their factory would never work.

        I'm happy to state that Lippert stepped up and sent me at no charge a One Control Touch Pad worth about $550. (Part number LC83VR).

        This is designed to be mounted inside an RV through a thin wall and is not water resistant. I wanted it to be mounted in outside so I could have access to the leveling system from outside of the trailer. I bought a waterproof project/junction box (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087F9TS25...t_details&th=1) and cut out about 2 inches from the middle to make it thinner, and JB welded (2-part epoxy) attached the two parts of the box together. Ran 6 wires from the One Control Board in the camper to the box (Can bus in, Can bus out, and power).

        The project took a lot more time than expected, but I'm happy with the results, and happy that Lippert acknowledged I had an issue and they stepped up to fix it.

        I'm super happy with the leveling system. It's one of the best mods on my camper. I'm pretty particular in getting the camper leveled and set up. Nothing like pulling into a camp site, pressing a button, and the camper leveling itself!!

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        Last edited by Jimmer; 05-12-2023, 08:38 AM.
        Home Base: Fairfax, Virginia
        2021 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS Travel Trailer
        2002 Ford F350 7.3 Diesel 4X4 SRW

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