Forum Discussion

TRIPLE8's avatar
TRIPLE8
Explorer
Oct 24, 2018

Gear box replacement on landing gear

I have ordered and need to replace the gear box on the landing gear. question is do I need to remove the weight from the landing gear or can it be done with the full weight on the legs? Landing gear is Lippert electric with a single motor. Thank you
  • After I replaced my Plastic Gearbox with the AL one, only a little more than a year later the main leg "failed".
    So I got dual motor individual powered Legs. Eliminated the Jackshaft running across the basement.
    Not too expensive and WAY better operation IMHO.
  • You shouldn’t have to support your trailer if you’re just replacing gearbox. It’s the same thing if you were using an old type jackscrew to jack up your car it’s not going to unwind itself loose.
    But why don’t you just hook up the truck to camper for piece of mind?
  • Thanks for the replies. I am replacing because the stock one was plastic and the tabs that hold it in place broke. Replacement is aluminum. I will support with truck as a precaution.
  • When mine went out I had to hand crank the trailer up to get it back on the truck....No big deal, just a little elbow grease.
    Replacing the gearbox was very easy and straight forward. I put the trailer on the truck for support and replaced it.
    Hopefully it doesn't go out again but considering the weight of my 5'er that's probably wishful thinking. If and when it happens again I will replace the landing gear with a dual motor system.
  • Me Again wrote:
    If the gear box is having issues, then one or both of the legs is most likely causing it. Neighbor here in the park just had one leg and the gear box replaced. I tried to get him to do it correctly and replace both legs with new ones that have individual drives. So sometime down the road his second leg is going to fail also.

    The two leg, one drive setup is noted to fail "down the road" at some point.

    YEMV

    Chris
    An excellent point. Depending on the weight the single motor/gearbox will have issues handling the trailer. It's more of a problem with heavy toyhaulers and larger 5th wheels. It's an insufficiently robust design for heavy trailers. Mine went south while on the road, but I was able to get by until I could get home to fix it. It is not something you want to try and fix while away from home.
  • Me Again wrote:
    If the gear box is having issues, then one or both of the legs is most likely causing it. Neighbor here in the park just had one leg and the gear box replaced. I tried to get him to do it correctly and replace both legs with new ones that have individual drives. So sometime down the road his second leg is going to fail also.

    The two leg, one drive setup is noted to fail "down the road" at some point.

    YEMV

    Chris


    Baaaa Hummm Buggg I have only seen one landing gear problem on the road - and I will never see 75 again. :h
  • If the gear box is having issues, then one or both of the legs is most likely causing it. Neighbor here in the park just had one leg and the gear box replaced. I tried to get him to do it correctly and replace both legs with new ones that have individual drives. So sometime down the road his second leg is going to fail also.

    The two leg, one drive setup is noted to fail "down the road" at some point.

    YEMV

    Chris
  • Due to the design of the legs it isn't strictly necessary to support the front of the trailer, but it's a very good idea just for safety's sake. Better safe than sorry.