Jack motor issues

Question

Took the Everest to our local dealer to check out after 8 months on the road. One issue we had was that when lifting the front of the trailer (with weight on) the motor would only run for a minute or so and then quit. Made nasty straining noises as well. After it sat for a few minutes it would be willing to run again but for less time than the first try. Very time consuming to get to hitching height when you're on a downward sloping site and you had to really lower the front to get level.

When the tech checked out the motor (Vertue) he found that under the weight of the trailer it drew 34 amps and eventually 40. Without any weight on it the legs go up and down with no issue at all. He's looking at lubrication of the gearbox being an issue before replacing the motor. Anyone have any thoughts?

brewurown · Answer

Is your battery fully charged.  I had similar symptoms with a weak battery.

the_bear_ii · Answer

My first thought was lubrication...sounds like something might be binding up.  Make sure the legs are lubricated and not bent as well.  When fully extended use some drylube around the top of leg where it enters the outer tube.

mainerbob · Answer

Fully charged and plugged in to electric and truck.  Makes no difference.  As I said, the legs work fine without a load on them.  We did have to replace one leg due to binding.

brad_nsw · Answer

Pull the foot off the leg and see if any shaving fall out. Mine had been binding for a long time, same symptoms as yours. About a month ago, I was raising it off blocks under the frame and the whole drivers side dropped 4 inches.

When I took the foot off, a bunch of shavings from the worm gear came out. Evidently something (bolt/washer/nut??) was stuck in there, eating away at the gear every time I used it. Ended up putting in a new leg and it works like a champ.

If the lubrication doesn't work and no shavings, probably needs a new motor.

mainerbob · Answer

Final answer:  The motor was removed and tested and worked fine so the conclusion was that the motor/gearbox were undersized for the weight of the rig and they are being replaced as I write.  I hope that's it but I do trust the tech and the shop it is at.

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Jack motor issues

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