Spare 30 amp fuse for the landing gear.

[Wrenchtraveller]

I had my 30 amp landing gear fuse burn out on me on the first part of my trip. I had to extend the landing gear by hand because I did not have a spare 30 amp fuse. I was able to go to an auto supply and I bought a 5 pack of these 30 amp fuses so I now have spares. This was the first time I have ever had a problem with this and my last 4 Fivers all had the same power landing gear unit so this may have been a weak fuse but it is fine now.

[stiles watson]

Hey Wrench,

I don't understand electrical stuff. You pop a 30 AMP fuse under normal use. We popped a 15 AMP circuit breaker with nothing on it but a dining table light and two laptops. Oh,well........??

[noneck]

Mine went end of last year, not obvious though as it looked fine but tested bad with VOM. I replaced the glass fuse and holder with the new style blade type to make it easier for replacing.

[sreigle]

Stiles, some circuits have some things drawing on them that are not obvious. In our Montanas the kitchen circuit is the biggest offender. It has the refrigerator plugged into it. I think our central vac may be on the same circuit but am not sure. Anyhow, that's probably what gotcha!

[Wrenchtraveller]

I don't understand why fuses can last for years or 2 seconds but I can tell you that cranking the landing gear up is no easy job.
The Good Lord may have short changed me in the brain department but He gave me a body that can still do hard work at 56 years of age and for that I am grateful but I am sure if one had shoulder problems, he would find it very hard to crank a unit up.
That is the reason for this post. Have a spare fuse and save yourself some hard work.

[sreigle]

I think mine cranks with an electric drill, if I recall. Our first Montana cranked manually, I think, but, fortunately, it wasn't difficult. Just a whole lot of cranking, which in itself can be very tiring. I agree about keeping spare fuses handy. I have some as well.

[jsrang]

Where is this fuse located? Looks like all 15 amps in the fuse panel.

Jim

[SlickWillie]

I've never had a blown fuse on the landing gear, but it seems to be a common problem. Why not a manual reset breaker on this instead of a fuse? I could see not wanting the type that resets automatically, but I don't see any problems with the type you must reset. Any down sides to this I'm not aware of?

[Wrenchtraveller]

Jim, on my 06 2955RL, the fuse is the old glass tube style in a plastic fuse holder in the wiring beside the landing gear motor. Just snap the little plastic holder open and you will access the fuse. If you want a pic, let me know.

[jsrang]

Don,
Thanks for quick response. I checked, but don't see any plastic fuse holder. There are 2 wire nuts splicing the wires together, followed by a wire cover which I split open and checked all the way to the front panel entrance. No visible fuse holder. Perhaps a pic would help. I have an 05 3650RK. I would think the fuse holder location would be pretty standard. MIMF from Lippert, are you out there? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Jim

[Dean A Van Peursem]

We had our landing gear fuse blow on the first outing in our late 2006 3400RL. Did not know where the fuse was so asked for help on here and got immediate assistance. The fuse on ours is behind the batteries in the front garage and is an "in line" plastic fuseholder using an automotive type two spade fuse. Had quite a bit of trouble finding it to begin with and then had to pry the holder open with a sharp knife edge. But replaced the 30 amp fuse with a spare we had with us and haven't had the problem again on several later camping trips and over 3 months in AZ this past winter. I still haven't found anything in Montana's documentation that shows the existance of this fuse or much less where it is located. Montana has not done us owners any favors by the outright lack of any wiring diagrams. I still don't understand how they get by with it.

[Wrenchtraveller]

Jim, here is a pic, I described the location poorly from memory as it is on the back wall behind my batteries. The hose in the corner of the picture vents my two batteries.
The yellow label on the fuse bottle says 30 amp and had to be cut to open the fuse bottle.


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f7...r/P1000086.jpg

[jsrang]

Don,
I found it! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! A Pic is really worth a thousand words. I have the bottle fuse as well. Will be getting a spare, before we head North in a couple weeks.

Jim

[Wrenchtraveller]

Hey, it is a pleasure to help out a fellow Montana owner and I wish you a wonderful trouble free trip. All the best, Don

[Garin1]

Stiles, I was having trouble with my kitchen circuit also. I thought it was a weak breaker till I traced all the outlets and found that half my living room outlets are also on the kitchen breaker.

[sreigle]

Thanks for the picture, Don. It does make it easier to spot since that bottle doesn't look much like anything I've seen before.

[Tom Gina 06]

May want to check that fuse if you have a larger unit. The fuse in my 3400 is a 40 amp and very hard to find one of those. Finally found them at a car stereo installation place. They did not sell them over the counter but they did donate a few to me. Just a heads up because in my unit the 30 amp fuses lasted about 5 seconds.

[Cat320]

quote:Originally posted by Tom Gina 06

May want to check that fuse if you have a larger unit. The fuse in my 3400 is a 40 amp and very hard to find one of those. Finally found them at a car stereo installation place. They did not sell them over the counter but they did donate a few to me. Just a heads up because in my unit the 30 amp fuses lasted about 5 seconds.

Mine is 40 amp, also. Found some at an auto parts store...Wally World did not have any!

[sreigle]

Well, since I have the same fifthwheel model as you guys I guess I better check ours. I have some spare 30's someone gave me but...