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Old 12-19-2016, 07:25 PM   #1
Art-n-Marge
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Experience can be a real crapper...

Wow, again. A landing gear failed once again. Trying to raise the front cap to prepare for hitching up, when all that is happening is a rapid click, click, click as the gearing experiences teeth griding because the one of the landing gears has a broken shaft that causes the gear gnashing.

Fortunately, I still have the jacks and blocks to enable me to raise the front and enable me to hitch up. Now we sit in the campground where we will stay for several weeks. I have ordered the repair parts and will tackle the fix when they arrive,

Last time I had this problem I replaced the broken shaft with an alternative that was close but had to be modified to work. It was a cheap fix and supposed to be temporary, but I forgot to get the proper part and this shaft breaking reminded me of my inattentiveness.

We sometimes use bailing wire and chewing gum to shoehorn in a temporary fix but one must always remember to fix it properly ASAP.
 
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Old 12-19-2016, 10:57 PM   #2
Phil P
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Hi

I suffered with multiple landing gear failures for a number of years.

So I decided to go to the 2 drive system I ordered a motor and transmission from the landing gear leg manufacturer and installed it.

What I found after this installation was the motor and transmission from the landing gear manufacturer of the legs ran at half the speed of the motor installed by Keystone. I called the manufacturer of the legs and ask them about this; they informed me that Keystone doesn’t purchase the motor from them. So I ordered another motor from the leg manufacturer so they both run the same speed.

I haven’t had a landing gear failure sense. I am convinced that the failures the people here talk about are created by the heat developed when running the gear leg at twice the speed the manufacturer intended.

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Old 12-20-2016, 06:04 AM   #3
twindman
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I too replaced the motor on the landing gear. They called either Keystone or the landing gear co. and order it. I paid for overnight because I was on a schedule.
Pick up trailer next day and test it out before leaving the dealer. It went WAY faster than the old one. However, it blew the fuse before it finished raising the trailer. Dealer said they installed an inline fuse and gave me a bunch. So I replaced it and blew 2 or 3 more before I was done testing. Told dealer this is not right.
Dealer called the manufacturer and they said the motor was the wrong one. Got in the new motor in 2 days (mfctr closed already on day 1). It was the same speed as old motor and used it for 5-6 years more until I sold the trailer.
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Old 12-20-2016, 05:23 PM   #4
Art-n-Marge
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I am not having a motor problem. The problem I have had and had once again was for the shaft that turns the gears for the landing gear on the driver's side (not the motor/driver side).

The last repair I purchased a replacement shaft but it was not a 100% replacement in that it was missing the groove where a C clip holds he shaft in place. The shaft I purchased was smooth and I used a grinder to create the groove where the C clip could attach. The grinding work was crude and not very even and thereby may have had a weakpoint which then caused it to break off and fail. I forgot to purchase the proper part that would have been made with a machined groove and probably would have lasted longer than the two years this replacement lasted.

The point being while it's okay to apply a quick fix one should really follow up with a proper fix ASAP so not to fail again.

Good news. Today I got an email stating the part is being sent. With the Holidays it might be a week or two.
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Old 12-20-2016, 11:04 PM   #5
Phil P
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge

I am not having a motor problem.
Hi

I understand fully where your problem is. You are having a problem created by the motor.

Also because I have cut open one of the failed legs to determine just what was causing the problem it is related to Keystone using a higher speed motor than the designer of the leg intended. This information came from the manufacturer of the leg. This causes heat buildup in the long screw that extends down the inside of the leg. The inner square part that actually moves out of the bottom has a large nut that this screw goes thru. When the heat buildup cause the screw and the nut to get tight in each other one of 2 things happen. The gear train at the top fails or the screw and nut gall. Either one makes the leg unusable at least the upper gears and shaft can be replaced but after doing that several times your long screw and large nut will gall to the extent that the entire leg will have to be replaced.

The second thing that will shear the pin in the gears or fail the shaft is running the legs to their limit. I corrected this problem on the first set of legs I replace by before installation I extended them by hand until they would not go any further then marked the inner square tube 1 inch below the outer tube with a Black Sharpie. Then retracted them by hand until they would not go in any further and then extended them 1 inch and marked the bottom of the square tube with the Sharpie. Now we never exceed the marks.

When I replaced the legs the third time (The third time I replace them the dealer had to replace them the first time we tried to use the trailer) so I am now on my fifth set of landing gear legs.

After installing the correct electric motors I have not had to repair or replace a landing gear leg. That was 3 years ago and about 30,000 miles and we night stop every night instead of driving at night.


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