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Old 07-15-2012, 02:37 AM   #1
bkirk
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Front Jacks

Need help, my front electric jacks are stopping when I try and raise the coach. As soon as I hit the switch to raise them, it stops. Doing it when I try and retract too. How do you raise and lower manually ? Any help will be appreciated
 
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Old 07-15-2012, 02:43 AM   #2
dieselguy
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Assuming your problem is electrical and not mechanical ... there should be a handle laying in your storage area about 2' long just like an old screw jack handle. Open your Propane door on the street side and you'll see a place to hand crank the front jacks inline with the cross shaft between both jacks. Electrically it could be motor, wiring, I can't remember if there is a reset on the front fuse or not. Others will be along to add to this.
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Old 07-15-2012, 03:06 AM   #3
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Are your batteries dry? Are you on unlevel ground? Did you chock before using jacks? Is there any pressure from TV against jacks?
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Old 07-15-2012, 03:46 AM   #4
DQDick
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X2 on both. Check what Larry is saying first. Battery could very well be the problem then if that isn't the fix do what Diesel Guy is saying. Turning the crank isn't easy, however.
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Old 07-15-2012, 03:57 AM   #5
H. John Kohl
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My experience says electrical.
First I would look at the resettable breaker. It is one of two small silver boxes on the wall behind the batteries. It is either 30 or 40 amp. These do get weak and trip faster. There has been discussions of running two in parallel to prevent the fast trip.


Second is a worn switch. I found my switch was rated at 20 amps and the contacts got burned real easy causing more resistance.

Third is a mechanical binding on the legs causing the motor to work many times harder.
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Old 07-15-2012, 06:54 AM   #6
thekennys
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all the above is right on
we got stuck in 10 degree and i think the legs bound
another time kept blowing fuses amp after i added batteries in generator hole replaced fuse with 40 amp circuit be breaker
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Old 07-15-2012, 08:21 AM   #7
Art-n-Marge
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First, diesel guy answered your question, but there are other things to consider. H. John Kohl easily covered the rest as well as others.

The dual breaker problem is for the slideouts. I don't think this has ever been documented as a solution for the landing gear. So I wouldn't mess with the breaker just yet until you find the root cause of your problem.

If the battery is the possible issue then connect to shore power and use the converter as the extra 12v power source, or connect to the TV and use the truck's battery as the power source (the truck should be running). If the RV batteries are possibly bad, then disconnect them so they don't negatively impact the Shore power or TV as they try to provide power.

If it still does not work, it's something else (the gears themselves?). If you can find the manual crank handle just know that it takes a long time to crank manually and if the gears are stripped or the gearing jammed this still may not work!

Then, in order to get around the gear problems good luck with having enough equipment to get the trailer raised enough to get hitched up to the TV. You'll need a couple of bottle jacks (at least 3 ton each, I have a 6 ton and a 12 ton) and some large blocks of wood to be able to raise the RV enough to get it hitched.

Other things to ask: Are you level? uneven ground can cause torque which causes stress on the landing gear. Are the legs at their "limit"? There is only so much travel they allow before getting to the maximum and I've read one should avoid doing this. Use the drop downs to gain more height to minimize motor movement. I realize this is a tough one to estimate and I have gotten myself in trouble but that's why I carry blocks and bottle jacks, but even these might not work if the landing gear is faulty.

Lastly, is there a remote control involved. I've heard if you use the remote, then you must always use the remote. Yup, it sounds dumb and is dumb, but this works for other remotely controlled devices.

Would you please keep us posted on what you do? Landing gear problems and solutions help everyone when they are figured out. Best of luck to you!
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Old 07-16-2012, 01:35 AM   #8
bkirk
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Thanks to all of you who offered advice and im sure its something mechanical. Im at a crountry music festival so when we leave in a week I guess I will be cranking. Thanks agin
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Old 07-16-2012, 02:00 AM   #9
bncinwv
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge


Lastly, is there a remote control involved. I've heard if you use the remote, then you must always use the remote. Yup, it sounds dumb and is dumb, but this works for other remotely controlled devices.
This information is not correct, at least with respect to our rig and the remote functions. The landing legs and rear stabilizers will work with or without the remote and in any sequence with or without the remote. You can raise with the remote and lower without the remote and even raise partially with the remote then continue without the remote. The only thing that I know of that is totally remote dependent (if turned on with the remote, must be turned off with the remote) is the scare light.
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Old 07-16-2012, 02:55 AM   #10
Johnnyg
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"Need help, my front electric jacks are stopping when I try and raise the coach. As soon as I hit the switch to raise them, it stops. Doing it when I try and retract too. How do you raise and lower manually ? Any help will be appreciated"

When you say switch do you mean the rocker switch on the trailer? If it's the remote you're refering to it's not unusual for mine to do the same thing if I'm a little to far from the reciever or the battery in the remote is weak.
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