Landing gear trouble, again

[wyleyrabbit]

Hi everyone,

Well, we just got back from a weekend at a local campground. The weather was chilly, temperature just above freezing, and we had a light dusting of snow. Went through almost a tank of propane. Had a pretty great weekend though.

This morning, when trying to get the trailer hooked up to the truck, my gearbox broke on the front landing gear. Argh! This happened to me a couple of years ago, so fortunately this time we were prepared. After (quietly) swearing a few times (I didn't want the kids learning any new words), I dug out the pair of 12-ton bottle jacks, and jacked up the front of the trailer enough to hook up. Getting the landing gear raised enough was tough, because we had to hand-crank them up. When we took the trailer to the farm for storage, we used the bottle jacks again to get the trailer off of the truck.

I really wish these gearboxes were made of metal. Why, why, WHY are they made out of plastic?!?

Last time, I think a replacement gear box was $50 plus shipping. Does anyone remember where we need to order these things from? I seem to have not made notes about this anywhere. I also can't find the receipt from last time, which is unusual for me.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[cookie]

Look right here, Venture Mfg.

Peace
Dave

 

[caissiel]

Your problem is the jacks gears are not meshing or worn out by now and climbing and jaming.
I bought a spare made of aluminum after I broke mine. But I fixed jacks and drive box anchor and still using original. I have a write up on the repairs. Search for landing gear problems in this forum. Mine might be in BC area.

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[wyleyrabbit]

Thank you both. I have now ordered a replacement gearbox. The manufacturer, Venture Manufacturing, refers to this as a "gear reduction box" and it's part number "940-41". The new ones are no longer made out of plastic and are now made of aluminum. I paid $55 plus shipping and I should have it hopefully by the end of this week.

 

[DonnyB007]

Nice Christmas present for you

Getting your gearbox fixed up right with metal
As a bonus too!

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

Before my LG breaks down I want to upgrade to dual motors. Where be the best place to purchase.

But if I had the dough I would get the ground control.


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[wyleyrabbit]

Before my LG breaks down I want to upgrade to dual motors. Where be the best place to purchase.

Hmmm. Dual motors. I'm thinking that Venture Manufacturing might be exactly the place. I dealt with Sue and Patty, and they were both great, and very friendly. Sue's product knowledge seemed a bit better (she may be one rung up the ladder).

Sue asked me how long and how heavy our trailer is, and she said we're "borderline" to having a second motor. Your rig is much bigger than ours, I think you might really benefit!

Chris

 

[caissiel]

Make sure you can Jack with the crank with little effort and if to hard a second motor will just ruin the jacks. Mine work great since my mod with one motor.

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[Gary521]

The gearbox is not the problem. The problem is the inner jack screw and the lack of lubrication on the screw. After a while, it wears the screw with the trapped nut on the inner leg. Sooner or later, the screw starts to bind. I drilled a couple of holes in the outer leg to get lubrication to the screw. A second motor helps a lot but does not solve the underlying problem. Go to Venture's website to see a drawing of the assembly.