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Brad_NSW's avatar
Brad_NSW
Explorer
May 21, 2014

Landing gear, worm gear stripped and dropped 5er (lucky)

Left Front landing gear was binding/acting up. Bought a rebuild kit for the top gears ($45). Put Left side on a block, replaced the gears. As I was running it through a test, it was binding even worse.

On the way back down, the trailer dropped 3 inches onto the block! WOW, surprised the heck out of me.

Now 11AM, call a parts shop for a new leg, They said I had an hour before they closed. Got there 5 mins before closing and got a replacement leg.

Pulled the old one off and when I took the foot pad off, 100s of shavings from the worm gear fell out. Evidently the worm gear was damaged and finally stripped itself, causing the trailer to drop. Good thing I was doing the repair and had a block 3" under the frame.

Well, 2 hours later, new leg on and it lifts silky smooth again. All's well that ends well.

5 Replies

  • Vulcaneer's avatar
    Vulcaneer
    Explorer
    May 22, 2014
    That is the reason I carry a 6T bottle jack. And have needed it for the same reason a couple of times.
  • Brad_NSW's avatar
    Brad_NSW
    Explorer
    May 22, 2014
    Our jack in the truck is able to lift the 5th wheel. Used it before when the same jack acted up. Mobile repairman "supposedly replaced it" with a new one two years ago. Maybe he put in a used one or the same one???

    Anyway, I'm liking how smoothly they work now. They always seemed to be working too hard in the past.

    Heading out for a 1500 mile trip in July so now I'm confident in the rig again.
  • TucsonJim's avatar
    TucsonJim
    Explorer II
    May 21, 2014
    I had one side fail several years ago, and I couldn't lift the FW with the landing gear to get hitched back up. I was at least 80 miles from the nearest parts dealer, and it was Sunday, so they were closed. I was able to gather some flat logs that somebody left near the camp. I put a hydraulic jack on top of the logs and was able to jack up the FW enough to hitch. With the weight off the leg, I was able to remove it.

    Now, I always make sure I have a couple of wooden blocks and a hydraulic jack "just in case".
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    May 21, 2014
    Brad NSW wrote:
    Left Front landing gear was binding/acting up. .......
    On the way back down, the trailer dropped 3 inches onto the block! WOW, surprised the heck out of me.

    .......... All's well that ends well.


    Good planing on the blocking, I have always said plan for the worst and hope for the best!!!
  • Bird_chaser's avatar
    Bird_chaser
    Explorer
    May 21, 2014
    I had the same exact problem with my right leg. This is the follower on my 5er. We were out on a two week trip and 1000 miles from home. I was only able to retract the landing gear about half way and was very careful when raising and lowering. Took the leg apart and found the jack screw pretty much stripped and the swedged nut frozen onto the jack screw. Lucky my RV is still under warranty, the factory just sent me a new one. Installed now all is fine.

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