Front leg will not work

[Bob_Vaughn]

When we went to unhitch our 5th wheel yesterday after getting it off the truck the front legs blew a fuze. I replaced the fuze but now it appears that one of the legs does not work. There is one motor and a shaft between the two legs. I am worried that tomorrow when I try to put it back on the truck the one leg that is working will not be able to lift the 5th wheel back on the truck. We still have a 2-3 day drive home from where we are....Has any body else experienced this? I have 2 bottle jacks and a few 4 x 6 's I am hoping I can get back under it.....

[Second_Chance]

Bob Vaughn wrote:
My frame is by Lippert so I assume that the mechanism is made by them also

Then definitely what Old-Biscuit said. Our chassis is Lippert with Lippert 2.0 landing gear. The bolt that connects the drive shaft to the motor side sheared. A quick trip to Lowe's (we also travel with a Toyota) for a replacement bolt fixed the problem. They usually shear because the two sides are out of sync. When I put ours back together, I made sure the slave side was 1/2 turn short of full-stop in the up position when the drive side ratchet was clicking "all the way up." That way, the motor won't try to force the slave side before the drive side stops.

Rob

[Bob_Vaughn]

My frame is by Lippert so I assume that the mechanism is made by them also

[Old-Biscuit]

Cross drive tube.......
Does it rotate when motor runs?

YES..then check if bolt has broken that attaches tube to slave drive shaft.
1/4 x 20 bolt is easy fix

No,,,,,then check if bolt has broken that attaches tube to main drive shaft


Bolts OK.
Then need to pop top (sheet metal cover on slave unit) and check if shear pin has snapped on bevel gear (one that is on drive shaft)

[stickdog]

The bottle jack should do it. Our drive shaft to the slave leg broke in Alaska two years ago and I used a bottle jack to raise and lower from Hyder Ak to Chicago area. As long as the drive leg works you should have no problem and if you dropped the inner leg so once raised you can slide it back up.

Don't try to use just the drive leg you'll get too much twist, just raise her a 1/2 inch at a time with the drive leg, then jack her up on the slave leg. Just the opposite bringing her down.

[corvettekent]

The motor is strong enough it lift it with one leg. If you are luck you sheared the pin on the cross shaft that is easy to fix.

[Bob_Vaughn]

fj12ryder wrote:
I assume that you've checked to make sure the cross shaft is still connected to the motor shaft. Is there any noise, like a clicking or snapping? If no noise at all it could be the bevel gear has sheared its drive pin. And of course then you'll have to figure out why. Haven't these legs given you issues in the past, or am I confusing you with someone else.

If you can get the inner leg up enough, you should be able to put the jack under the pad and use it to lift the trailer along with the other leg. That should be enough to get you back on the truck. Then just find level sites and don't unhook the truck. 🙂

I think something may have sheared off and no this is the first time I have had a problem with my front legs.....It looks like the shaft turns and nothing is moving on the one side.....

[fj12ryder]

I assume that you've checked to make sure the cross shaft is still connected to the motor shaft. Is there any noise, like a clicking or snapping? If no noise at all it could be the bevel gear has sheared its drive pin. And of course then you'll have to figure out why. Haven't these legs given you issues in the past, or am I confusing you with someone else.

If you can get the inner leg up enough, you should be able to put the jack under the pad and use it to lift the trailer along with the other leg. That should be enough to get you back on the truck. Then just find level sites and don't unhook the truck. 🙂