Modifying 5th Wheel landing legs

I would try putting two of the suggestions together here.

Eye bolt.

And use the awning rod or make something similar from rod stock from ACE if you have an electric awning.

I use an old fireplace poker. I took the end off and bent the rod 90° about 1.5" from the end.

It works great just put it in a bottom hole and pull up.

dpgllg wrote:
I am looking for a way to make the process of raising and lowering my landing legs easier on me. I am disabled and have extreme difficulty bending or getting down on the ground to deal with the landing legs. I have the pull pins to drop them but you always seem to need to raise them a bit to get them to lock into the hole. When raising I need to get down and lift them up until they lock.

I know expensive rigs have fully automatic systems but I don't have that kind of money available.

All suggestions to assist are greatly appreciated

Thanks !

Dave

Simpley drill a 1/4 inch hole in the landing leg foot plate and install an eye bolt and then you can lift the leg with your awning rod. If you have 2 rods you can use one to pull the release pin and the other to lift the leg.

donn0128 wrote:
I think your creating work for yourself. Lower the legs a bit. A bit depends on terrain and whether your going to need to raise or drop the nose. Pull the snaps pins. Continue lowering the legs. Eventually the pins will snap into the next available hole. From there continue lowering the legs until you get enough strain to release the hitch. Release and pull out. Once clear raise or lower the legs to make the trailer level.

OP Here,

You learn something new everyday!

I was shown by the dealer when I purchased the 5th wheel in 2006 that you pull out the pins adjust the legs so pins can be reinserted and then proceed to lower legs. Being my first RV I didn't question him as at the time I was able to handle raising and lowering of the legs. I have since replaced the removable pins with the pin locks and just proceeded to continue with the same process. Thinking about it now it does really make sense.

I will be adding the eye bolts in the bottom hole to help with the lifting of the legs.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Dave

I bought a pair of these... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aw-wcpxtc8
since I had my left shoulder joint replaced, my reaching capability isn't what it was when I was much younger. These bring the lifting effort out to the edge of the trailer so no more reaching. I'm not sure if he is still making them. I bought mine about 4 years ago.

I thought about welding a rod onto the foot at an angle so I could grab it and lift up without bending.

What about bungie cords fastened to the jack foot and the other end to an eyelet near the top of the leg? Pull the pin with an awning rod and hopefully the bungie will retract the extension?

NMDriver wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
I think your creating work for yourself. Lower the legs a bit. A bit depends on terrain and whether your going to need to raise or drop the nose. Pull the snaps pins. Continue lowering the legs. Eventually the pins will snap into the next available hole. From there continue lowering the legs until you get enough strain to release the hitch. Release and pull out. Once clear raise or lower the legs to make the trailer level.

X2

X3, but you'd be surprised at how non-obvious this is to some (me included). I've only just started doing this after watching some techs a couple of times.