Forum Discussion

obie311's avatar
obie311
Explorer II
Nov 04, 2019

dissecting a Lippert Ground Control 3.0 landing leg

I have the electric Lippert GC 3.0 front landing leg that failed on me in Arizona this spring. I have boxed up the motor for a spare as I believe it is OK. I will test it later.

I'd like to do an autopsy on the leg to see what failed and also to see if there's any salvageable parts inside. The only possible disassembly point I see is on the top. There's a cotter key retaining a pin that can be driven out on the motor coupling socket. After that I haven't a clue. I've looked for an exploded drawing of the leg to visualize what's inside but no luck with that.

Has any of the esteemed members here taken one apart?
  • There is a nut in the top of the leg that usually strips out due to lack of lubrication. Once you remove the cotter pin you can remove the inner sleeve and unthread the acme screw from said nut. They are really simple to disassemble once you remove them from the unit. They should have installed a grease fitting on these because the grease gets wiped off the threaded rod with use and then its left to run dry.
  • there are some pictures posted on jayco owners forum under 5th wheels and heading 3.0 ready to fail . saw it today
  • This might help GC 3.0 manual:

    https://support.lci1.com/ground-control-3.0-support-ground-control-3.0-onecontrol-touch-panel
  • Hoppy220 wrote:
    There is a nut in the top of the leg that usually strips out due to lack of lubrication.


    Is this something I'm supposed to be lubricating? If so, how?
  • There is no way to get to it to lube it without complete disassembly. I run landing gear all the way out and spray gear lube through an opening in the outer housing hoping to get enough on the rod to help it out. It's just a bad design on liperts part.
  • Hoppy220 wrote:
    There is no way to get to it to lube it without complete disassembly. I run landing gear all the way out and spray gear lube through an opening in the outer housing hoping to get enough on the rod to help it out. It's just a bad design on liperts part.


    Unfortunately, it's not only LCI that has this issue. Most landing legs don't seem to have any way to lube them. Personally, if I were to do so, I'd use a "dry" lube, one that won't attract, or keep, dirt.

    Lyle
  • I e got a schematic for the leg, but I won't be able to get to it for a couple of weeks. Just be aware, Lippert does not sell parts for the Ground Control 3.0 legs. I bent my drop legs and had to have the Venture style drop legs machined to get them to fit.
  • I know my post is years later, but I took it apart.  I'm hoping someone knows where I can buy the clevis pin that goes on top that has the cotter pin, that's all that's wrong with mine. 

    My control panel failed last summer and I used a drill to lift and drop the gear manually, so I assume I used a little more torque than I should have when I raised it all the way up. I have the GC 3.0 system and it's my D/S rear gear that snapped. 

    According to Lippert, they don't offer a service kit for this, which is ridiculous if you ask me.  They want me to spend $450 for a new one.  Surely I can source the cotter pin that goes through, even from a different manufacturer?  I would be very grateful if anyone else has figured this out.  I'm not sure on the exact length as it snapped, but I would say it's about 1-1/8" (total length) and 5/16" wide.

    • bid_time's avatar
      bid_time
      Nomad II

      Unless I’m misunderstanding your post, i searched for 5/16” Clevis pins on Amazon and got over 12 pages of results. (Your results may vary)

      • An0maly's avatar
        An0maly
        Explorer

        I was able to find one locally for a few bucks, put back together and voila!  Beats $450!  Have a good weekend!