LANDING GEAR - Montana Owners Club

SDVIKINGRON · 03-17-2009, 04:41 AM

GREETINGS ALL...
MY 2009 MONTANA 3400RL SEEMS TO HAVE STRIPPED LANDING GEARS BOTH SIDES. AM PRESENTLY SET UP IN A RV PARK IN S. TEXAS AND HAVE BEEN FOR THE PAST 4 MONTHS. USED A HYDRAULIC JACK TO INITIALLY LEVEL THE UNIT IN OUR SPOT AFTER LANDING GEAR FAILED AND WILL HAVE TO USE HYDRAULIC JACK AGAIN TO GET THE UNIT BACK ON THE TRUCK. PLAN TO STOP AT A KEYSTONE DEALER ON THE WAY BACK NORTH FOR SERVICE AND AM TRYING TO GET THE DEALER TO HAVE PARTS ON HAND FOR THE REPAIR WHEN I GET THERE. DEALER IS NOT SURE WHAT PARTS TO ORDER AND SAYS KEYSTONE WILL CHARGE THEM FOR A WARRANTY PART IF IT IS NOT NEEDED. QUESTION IS, 1) HAS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE AND 2) WHAT PARTS SHOULD BE ORDERED? THANKS

kilch123 · 03-17-2009, 04:43 AM

See this thread:

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ad.php?t=32788

I think Mr Kohl had the same problem, then did the repair himself

Hope this helps!

CRUZIN 2 · 03-17-2009, 06:52 AM

Ron

How long are you staying here in south TX.? I forgot which park you are in, would like to get together, if you're not going to the MOC get together at Riverside Thursday the 19th.

SDVIKINGRON · 03-17-2009, 08:22 AM

Larry, will be here until 4/1 what time is the moc gathering?

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by CRUZIN 2

Ron

How long are you staying here in south TX.? I forgot which park you are in, would like to get together, if you're not going to the MOC get together at Riverside Thursday the 19th.

SDVIKINGRON · 03-17-2009, 08:26 AM

Thanks! I popped off the caps on the top of the landing gear and can clearly see the shaft coming out of the motor is broken and the gear to what I suppose is a shaft going down the leg is cocked, maybe indicating that shaft is also broken. T gears on the starboard side seem to look ok.

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by kilch123

See this thread:

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ad.php?t=32788

I think Mr Kohl had the same problem, then did the repair himself

Hope this helps!

CRUZIN 2 · 03-17-2009, 12:41 PM

Ron & Janet
The MOC get together is this Thursday 19th at 2 p.m. at Riverside. Hope to see you there.
Larry & LaVonne

timandsusan · 03-17-2009, 02:40 PM

I had the shaft on my 2006 shear and a Montana dealer in Amarillo thought it was an easy repair. Well after finding out that the gears in the leg were also jammed, the leg had to be replaced. There was no leg available so we said load it up and I will head on back home in San Antonio with one leg. Then the dealer's staff dropped the Monty on my truck and bent the other good leg! So now I got hooked up and needed two legs and a new shaft in the motor. The Amarillo dealer covered the approximately $1100 worth of damages including body work and my extended warranty covered the original leg failure and shaft failure. Lesson learned--if you can make it home to your dealer--then do that. I will never stop again on the road for repairs unless I cannot get home for the work to be done there. If I remember correctly the total damages paid by the Amarillo dealer and my extended warranty was about $2.5K.

SDVIKINGRON · 03-17-2009, 03:44 PM

Tim,

Thanks for the reply...after talking to the tech at the dealer I have chosen to do the repair, we decided he would order a new port side leg and the motor/gearbox. After my service date is locked in I will divulge the name of this dealer...they are the BEST I have ever done business with....friendly and service oriented..a breath of fresh air from the rest of the Montana dealers I have had experience with...especially the Mission TX dealer who dissed product and the company.

Ron

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by timandsusan

I had the shaft on my 2006 shear and a Montana dealer in Amarillo thought it was an easy repair. Well after finding out that the gears in the leg were also jammed, the leg had to be replaced. There was no leg available so we said load it up and I will head on back home in San Antonio with one leg. Then the dealer's staff dropped the Monty on my truck and bent the other good leg! So now I got hooked up and needed two legs and a new shaft in the motor. The Amarillo dealer covered the approximately $1100 worth of damages including body work and my extended warranty covered the original leg failure and shaft failure. Lesson learned--if you can make it home to your dealer--then do that. I will never stop again on the road for repairs unless I cannot get home for the work to be done there. If I remember correctly the total damages paid by the Amarillo dealer and my extended warranty was about $2.5K.

sunshineduo · 03-18-2009, 05:05 PM

Today I spent the afternoon trying to figure out why the leg just dropped to the ground after we had traveled about 200 miles. It raised up and hooked up just fine, but apparently we sheared off the pin that transfers the torque from the second gear to the screw. I called for help and a local repair service came out and helped me disassemble the leg, but told me it was beyond repair and that I should order a new one. About an hour after he'd left I had a replacement pin fashioned (5.5mm dia by 21mm long) and we were up and running again.
The last time I accidentally hit the p-stop too hard it popped the inline fuse, but apparently this time it just sheared both ends off the pin. Not a terribly difficult repair, just completely unexpected.
I think I'll call and see if I can get a couple of spare pins from the factory, or maybe they'll want to send a whole new leg. The makeshift part is holding up for now, but I can't tell exactly what the original pin was made of (I presume it's just stainless).
The job took a while as I'd not been that intimate with the landing gear before (and it's a tough climb above the generator compartment to undo the cross-shaft).
When you guys are talking about stripped gears, do the gears actually disintegrate, or does this pin-thing happen regularly?

The Old Fogies · 03-21-2009, 01:46 AM

The first time I was returning to the dealer for some warranty work, I had the Monty on the truck and was walking away when I heared the jack fall down. Tied it up with straps and added it to the list. Dealer replaced under the warranty.

SDVIKINGRON · 03-26-2009, 06:26 AM

Here is the info on a GREAT dealer with exceptional service as I had promised earlier:

Camper Clinic II
15855 S Ih 35
Buda, TX 78610
(512) 312-1478
(512) 295-7878
http://www.camperclinic2.com

sdroots · 04-12-2009, 06:05 AM

We own a 2007 Montana 3000RK. Recently we have been blowing the 40Amp fuse on our landing gear. We popped off the top caps on each landing gear; both show grease. The gear works fine when not under load. When unhitching from truck and we are extending the landing gear, the load gradually builds as we raise trailer. At some point, we hear a clicking noise and the fuse blows shortly thereafter. The noise is coming from the driver side in vicinity of motor/reduction gear. Any idea what the problem is? What should be the next step in diagnosing the problem? Thanks for any suggestions.

H. John Kohl · 04-12-2009, 07:59 AM

I would guess without checking that the clicking sound is the 45 degree gears slipping and chipping.
To verify pop the flat top on the drivers side and inspect the gears real close. Here is a link to pictures and diagram of the gears. The alternative is the slip clutch in the reduction gear.

sdroots · 04-12-2009, 11:34 AM

Thanks for the feedback. We will inspect bevel gears closely while listening for the clicking noise. With respect to the slip clutch is there anything to done diagnostically? Are there adjustments?

simonsrf · 04-12-2009, 01:15 PM

This may not be your problem, but we found that when the legs were not even (same length) caused by slipping the gears, we were trying to raise and lower past the limits of the screw threads on the legs adding excess pressure to the motor.

While still on the truck, by removing the shear pin on the square shaft that holds the two pieces of square stock together, you can then run the motor with no effort either up or down to equalize the length on the legs. Then replace the shear pin and you are at least back to even.

Our motor runs with less effort, but we still have to be very careful about our height each time we load and unload.

sdroots · 04-13-2009, 03:05 AM

Thanks for all the feedback. Our two legs appear to be extended by the same amount so we don't suspect slipping of gears. When extending the legs to raise trailer off truck, we paid careful attention to source of loud clicking noise just before fuse is blown. The loud clicking is associated with wild shaking of the reduction gear. While simultaneously watching bevel gears, nothing there seems unusual. Therefore, my best guess is that the reduction gear has failed in such a way that when under heavy load it causes the fuse to blow. This clicking is associated with the amount of load and not reaching the limit of travel. Can anyone offer any ideas on if this makes sense and if so, what happened to reduction gear to cause this?

H. John Kohl · 04-13-2009, 03:50 AM

That reduction gear should have a slip clutch in it. So yes it makes sense, and what you describe is probably it slipping - I have never noticed mine slip) but something is binding to cause it to slip and the fuse to blow. So, my suggestion is back to checking each leg for binding.
I called the manufacture of the Landing legs, Venture MFG, and talked to tech about my gear problem. They were very helpful. You can also call Lippert if Venture is of no help. Good luck and let us know what you find.

sdroots · 04-14-2009, 08:49 AM

We've now disassembled, cleaned, lubricated, and reassembled each leg. It's working much better right now. We will order the repair kit for the Right side (driver side) since we had wear on both bevel gears, deformed washer, and two slightly bent pins! The Left side looked good. We suspect that the fuse was blowing simply due to sand that had accumulated in the screw creating excessive resistance. We've been in the desert of AZ this winter and encountered lots of wind with blowing sand on occasion. We called Doug at Venture Mfg Co and got excellent support.

As an aside, we learned that the legs and reduction gear are from Venture Mfg Co. The motor with gear case are from Lippert Components. When I called them they said it was a Tuson Landing Gear motor.

sdroots · 04-17-2009, 12:26 PM

As followup, we've removed, disassembled, cleaned, lubricated and re-installed both landing gear and it now works great without blowing fuses. We did note significant wear to bevel gears, pins, and washer on Right (driver side) leg. In the meantime, we have ordered repair kits for both legs. My thought is to hold the kits in reserve for the future. Is this wise or is there some reason that the leg with significant wear should be replaced immediately? One reason is if the existing damage could lead to more damage in other parts not included in the kit, but I can't think of what they may be. Ideas anyone?

Fire1 · 04-20-2009, 02:47 PM

My landing gear failed while on the TV so it now a permanent part of the Monty.
can someone tell me hw loose the motor is supposed to be?
Mine move very freely I am not sure it is designed to be that way.
Having a mahine shop look into the landing gear tomorrow and like many seem to say it is most likely the shear pin in the gears that broke but until he looks who knows.
But I am still intrested in the loose motor and gear train
Thanks
Doug

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