Front Jack Troubles - The conclusion??

[bncinwv]

After an interesting week battling a problem that I thought initially was battery related, then as I posted previously, I thought it was related to retracting the jacks too far. I believe I have stumbled onto the underlying cause of the reluctancy of the front jacks wanting to work properly. To give a little background, this was the first trip that I ever took without the use of my between-the-tire Camping World wheel chocks. The main reason is that I had to use the wheel chocks on the boat trailer sitting in the uneven driveway. So I substituted chunks of firewood as the chocks, which led to the problems. When the legs wouldn't retract or extend, I troubleshot the electrical connections to no avail and then finally had to resort to the hand cranking method. After hand-cranking for a while, the electric motors would mysteriously decide to work. After the jacks got to the point of releasing from ground contact, I noticed that they moved laterally about an inch and a half each time. This was the problem. Since the rig was not immobilized, the jacking procedure for unhitching was putting the legs in a bind by allowing the rig to roll slightly, therefore the motors wouldn't work. After hand cranking enough, the legs loosened the binding action and the electrics would then work. Live and learn, now I have got to get another set of chocks, which happen to be on sale at Camping World and I am sure that I can convince Santa (DW I mean), that we (I??) really need another set for Christmas. This post is provided for information purposes only, without warranty, may or may not apply to your situation, but should be filed away for possible future reference (in case you happen to do one of the dumb things that I usually find ways to do!!!!).
Bingo

[DHenry]

Bingo, I had the same problem of the 5th wheel moving backwards when I was retracting the landing gear, so I learned to pull the truck forward just a bit after hooking up to the hitch. This would put forward pressure on the 5th wheel so it would not creep back. I never had the problem of the jacks not retracting, just a lot of backward roll (up to 6" at times).

[richfaa]

Bingo..I have logged that information away.. Who would have thunk. Good job and another example of why this forum is second to none.

[bsmeaton]

I wondered about that, good catch Bingo. I use to pull test with the legs down until I watched them jump laterally once when I started to raise them.

[rogue]

Bingo, You may have stumbled upon ONE of the reasons for the fuse blowing. If the legs have a bind because the 5er moves once the legs come down and start to lift the unit, that may put added pressure on the motor and blow the fuse. I'll have to pay attention to this when we are leave mid Dec to head south.
Bob

[Waynem]

Well, once, when I was dumb and did not raise the rear stabilizers, trying to raise the front to hook up to the TV kept blowing the breaker(fuse). I would think that the bind that way would be almost the same as a sideways bind and cause the same situation. Something to be aware of.

Thanks Bingo.

[gpats]

Check into the roto chocks--a bit expensive but worth every penny of the cost---I use them as first thing on and last thing off--

[exav8tr]

This was the problem that Bill & Lisa suffered at the Keystone service center while at the Fall Rally. The Montana guy brought their trailer out and set it down with a sideways load on it. When Bill tried to raise the gear to level the trailer to sleep in the fuse blew, several times as a matter of fact. When Keystone checked it out, they had bent the gear beyond repair and ended up replacing the whole works for them including motor, gears, legs, feet and everything else in between.

Glad you found the problem Bingo and didn't have to replace anything. Could get rather costly. I, too, wonder if this is why so many folks are having fuse problems with the landing gear. Something worth looking into......

[Bill-N-Donna]

Good catch Bingo!
I’ve only had that to happen to me once. I have used the wheel chocks for the most part. However in the past when it appeared to be very level I would sometimes not use them. It may in fact not be as level at it looks which could still create a binding situation. I think it will be best to use them all the time, not only for the binding but for the safety of it as well.

On another note I also try and set the landing gear at the same height from the ground before disconnecting to avoid additional stress. I was mostly concerned with the stress of the unit and frame. I’ve been doing this for a good while now; perhaps between this and the wheel chocks, maybe that’s why I haven’t had any repeated episodes of the landing gear not working.

Again good catch!

[Bill and Lisa]

quote:Originally posted by exav8tr

This was the problem that Bill & Lisa suffered at the Keystone service center while at the Fall Rally. The Montana guy brought their trailer out and set it down with a sideways load on it. When Bill tried to raise the gear to level the trailer to sleep in the fuse blew, several times as a matter of fact. When Keystone checked it out, they had bent the gear beyond repair and ended up replacing the whole works for them including motor, gears, legs, feet and everything else in between.

Glad you found the problem Bingo and didn't have to replace anything. Could get rather costly. I, too, wonder if this is why so many folks are having fuse problems with the landing gear. Something worth looking into......

Sad but true. When I first looked at the landing gear after blowing fuses I could visibly see the legs were not vertical. Using some 4x4s and bottle jacks I tried to relieve the strain hoping that would take the strain off and let the landing gear operate normally again. No such luck. It was a little exciting as when the strain came off my landing gear feet moved 3" forward and 2" to the side - enough that the rig jumped off of the bottle jack and send the 4x4s off in all directions. (and yes the wheels were chocked!)

[NCFischers]

When I hooked up the trailer this morning so I could teach TW how to drive it, I raised the landing gear and the fuse blew. This is the second time this has happened. I tried an experiment and lowered the gear a bit and retracted them while the rig was on the truck. As soon as they retracted all the way, the fuse blew again. Is this a common occurance? I have now lowered them a fraction of an inch before they fully retract and put some electrical tape around the left leg so I can stop the retraction before the pump starts to strain. This doesn't happen with the slides or rear stabilizers.

[bsmeaton]

Jim, I think that's pretty common. I've heard several folks have marked the legs to avoid that. I believe it's hard on the gear assembly as well.

[Exnavydiver]

Good catch, we had the same situation in Rock Island when we went to see the new grandson. There was a sustained 50mph wind hitting the rear of the rig as we setup. I chocked the tires but the wind was enough that it put a strain on the chocks that it rolled the rig forward about an inch or so and put a strain on the landing gear. I blew 3 fuses before I figured out the problem. I left the rig on the truck and raised the legs till the strain came off, then set them back on the ground and didn't blow another fuse.. Dave