I managed to have the power on to the water heater when the tank was empty...the few minutes the power was on was all that it took to burn out the heating element. Had a guy at the campground who did rv work replace the element for around $100. We also have the grease fittings filrupmark mentioned...before each trip a couple of pumps from the grease gun has kept the landing jacks moving smooth. Of note, since the grease zerks are on the forward part of the jack leg, a flex nozzle is required.