Lubricating Landing Legs

[H. John Kohl]

Those that have been here for a few years know I replaced stripped gears on the driver side front leg three years ago.

Last year the legs started binding real bad. I finally popped the cover off the passenger side finding the gears were as dry as the day they were installed. No I did not check them when I did the driver’s side. If you feel there is a lot of resistance raising the Monty check both sides. It is accessible through the propane tank compartments. As you can see in the pictures the flat top can be pried up with a screwdriver etc. I put about three Table Spoons of gear oil down the top hoping to lube the screw portion. I also added a couple good GLOBS of bearing grease to the top section.

Today I pulled the driver side leg to do a preventative maintenance on it. I ran the screw all the way out. I found it had lubrication on it. I also found the screw portion to extend about 20 and ½ inches. So you should be able to extend your legs about 19 inches with assurance you will not hit the down stop. I added a large amount of axle grease in the top of the leg. I did not pull the passenger leg because it is a little more complicated. I did add two globs of grease and put the cap back on.

Here is a reply I got from Doug about lubrication period and type of lubrication.

quote:
Hi John, It's not a bad idea to lube every year or two depending on how much you use them and under what conditions... If you play in the desert a lot you might consider completely disassembling them yearly to clean and re-lube the internal components, under normal highway usage, you might want to re-lube the gears in the top of the leg every couple years, and if it is something you can do, removing them and completely disassembling them to clean and re-lube the screw and gears every 2 or 3 years wouldn't be a bad idea. We us a moly (Molybdenum) based grease here, but any good automotive type EP grease will work.
Hope this helps, Doug
Doug Olson V.P. Engineering Venture Mfg. Co. Dayton, OH 45414
Ph: 937-233-8792 ext. 27 TF: 866-365-1957 ext. 27Fax: 937-233-8485

[danandbetty]

Thanks again, John. Mine are awfully slow and starting to sound a little 'grindy' so I suppose it's time to the kind of PM that you're describing.

[HamRad]

John,
Thanks for sharing this info. Now there's another job I've got to do!
Dennis

[Imp]

We tried to do that, but can't get the top off. It is almost like they are soldered on. So we have never lubricated them.

[H. John Kohl]

The top will come off. Use a knife point. One other option is the hole on the side. Take a small bladed screwdriver and push in and up at the same time at the hole. It may open the spacing a little. I strongly recommend getting it open and applying some grease.
If you are at Goshen or NE or GL rally I will open it for you.

[richfaa]

Thanks for the reminder. The 3400 is in drydock for cleaning, upgrading and maint. I had forgot about the landing gear lubrication. We have everything we can get out the door of the 3400 and in the garage. Boy this thing is big when it is empty. Carpet cleaning in progress.

[jimcol]

John, Thanks for the post. I did mine last year but will put on the list to look at next time I have it out. Jim

[Rondo]

Thanks John! As soon as I get out to the hometown and pull the Monte out of the "hole" and set it up for some work and some additions and improvements I'll be checking the landing gear also. I know I've never put any lube in through the top but at Fall Rally Dave and I put some lube on the legs to make them move a little easier. Got to hit them again this spring too. Take care and keep those informercials coming!!

[NCFischers]

Keep it up, John and I'll never stop working on it. God, the list is getting long.

[alandaudrey]

John, thanks for the reminder.

[helmick]

John
Thanks for the pictures.

Rondo
Maybe we can make this a projectat the Rally in July.

[Rondo]

Might be a good idea Ron! I'm sure there will be others there that haven't lubed theirs for awhile. I think I'll practice on mine here and make sure I know what I'm doing first however. We can all get greasy and then hit the pool afterwards to clean up! And the Gulf of Mexico thinks they have an oil slick!

[jackel1959]

John,
Thanks for the info and the slide show. I will be popping the caps off in the next couple of days and see what it looks like on the inside. The rig is only a year old so I am curious to see how much, if any, grease is in there. It was nice to see the post from the Venture Engineering V.P.
Jack

[Illini Trekker]

Also thanks for the reminder. It's been two years since I last greased mine. I removed the top as you have shown us, but for the long screw I greased it from the bottom. I removed the pens that hold the shoes on the leg. I used a piece of vinyl tubing that would slide over the screw and pump grease in and up the tube. I saved the tube in the stick home for the next time I need to grease.

[garyka]

I pop the covers off and pour about a cap full of oil down the top once or twice a year.

[sfish]

Thanks for the info.I did a search for lubricating landing gear and I must of missed the previous posts.Thanks Again.

Steve

[bob n pam]

Thanks, John. Your good information saves us all so much headache.

[stimpy123]

Guys,
I must have missed this instruction in our "walk around", and in the manual. Thanks for posting this warning. It is really too bad that some of this info isn't passed along by the dealer.
Best wishes,
Steve

[CamillaMichael]

The newer units have grease fittings that make the process pretty simple...thought I read about this and posted about the fittings facing forward, thus making the job a little more challenging????

[H. John Kohl]

The question is how effect is that grease fitting. Does it put grease on the top gears? does it get grease on the screw post? I asked Venture about it.