Bighorn landing gear problem

[wyleyrabbit]

Hi everyone,

It's been a loooong time since I last posted anything here. Life gets in the way.

Our old Bighorn is beginning to show some age. The front landing gear is fine when lowering the trailer, but it won't raise the trailer anymore. I don't know if the motor is beginning to fail, if something has come loose or somehow got bent, or how to troubleshoot this.

If a new motor will do the trick, then great. Is there an upgrade that I should consider at the same time?

If likely the existing motor is fine, then what else could it be?

Currently using bottle jacks to raise the frame enough to hook up to the truck which is slow and a hassle.

Thanks.

 

[carl.swoyer]

I took my motor off the pump. Brought it to an alternator shop and had new brushes installed.
150 bucks. Probably 5 or 6 years ago

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[wyleyrabbit]

I took my motor off the pump. Brought it to an alternator shop and had new brushes installed.
150 bucks. Probably 5 or 6 years ago

Sent from my SM-A526U using Tapatalk

What were the symptoms of the motor before you had the new brushes installed?

 

[carl.swoyer]

Intermittent up and down.

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[wdk450]

There is a DIY dual motor upgrade out there on the internet somewhere:

How to Convert a Venture’s Single Motor Landing Gear to a Dual-Powered Landing Gear

Fifth wheels and gooseneck trailers are one of the popular types of Recreational Vehicles (RVs) in use today. These vehicles are equipped with various types of accessories that contribute to their functioning.

www.linkedin.com

RV and 5th Wheel Landing Gear Manufacturer - Venture Mfg. Co.

RV 5th wheel landing gear contains all the accessories as well as mounting options. Venture is well known manufacturer of RV landing gears and it’s accessories and you can also customized it as per the requirements.

www.venturemfgco.com

How good are your batteries? How many do you have (I have 3 group 24's). Do you have your rig connected to shorepower every time you can when you run the landing gear motors (extra 60 amps of current from the converter)?

Here's an EBay search on 5th wheel landing gear stuff. Amazing the price variations for the same parts:

5th wheel landing gear motor for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for 5th wheel landing gear motor at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

Have you thought about disassembling your legs and greasing the threaded lead screws that do the lifting? There are old threads on this forum about this.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

How good are your batteries? How many do you have (I have 3 group 24's). Do you have your rig connected to shorepower every time you can when you run the landing gear motors (extra 60 amps of current from the converter)?

Batteries are good. We have a pair of 6V golf cart batteries that are only perhaps a couple of years old. They're kept up by the pair of solar panels on the roof.

Have you thought about disassembling your legs and greasing the threaded lead screws that do the lifting? There are old threads on this forum about this.

I haven't. My understanding is, according to conversations I've had with the folks at Lippert is that the landing gear legs should have lifetime grease and all one needs to do to maintain this is to periodically extend and retract them fully.

You raise an interesting point. I wonder if perhaps the cables that go to the motor may have some corrosion on the connectors. I'm going to try removing them and give them a good cleaning.

Thank you for the ebay listings. You're right, prices are all over the place. Sadly, in my experience as soon as something has "RV" or "Marine" in the product description the price goes up by multiples.

 

[Bogie]

When you try to raise the RV, does the motor make noise like it's running? Or is it must silent? Also, are you blowing fuses when you try to raise it?

On edit....If you raise the RV with the bottle jacks, can you then extend the legs once the weight it off them?

 

[wyleyrabbit]

When you try to raise the RV, does the motor make noise like it's running? Or is it must silent? Also, are you blowing fuses when you try to raise it?

Yep, it makes a noise like it's really struggling. No fuse issues.

 

[Bogie]

Yep, it makes a noise like it's really struggling. No fuse issues.

Have you tried lifting it then extending the legs manually to see if there is excessive resistance? Might help point to if it's the legs or the motor.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Have you tried lifting it then extending the legs manually to see if there is excessive resistance? Might help point to if it's the legs or the motor.

I haven't. I'll give that a try. My challenge is right now the unit is in the storage field, so aside from solar charging my batteries I have no way of charging the batteries (no electrical there).

 

[Roller4tan]

Due to the age of the unit, the grease may be contaminated with dirt and condensation. Injecting new grease could help. The last fifer I had with motorized landing gear had zerk fittings on top of the leg mechanisms.

 

[Gary521]

I have written posts about the electric landing gear ( assuming you have electric ). The legs are not Lippert. Yes the legs are supposed to have to not lube the jack screw. However, that is not the case. You will have to disassemble the legs to get to the jam nut that the jack screw turns on. Just putting lube in the top will not do the trick. When I had this type of leg, I drilled holes in the outer leg to lube the jack screw. This jam nut wears and binds on the jack screw. In some cases it has gone too far and must be replaced.

 

[cookie]

Here is a link to some lubrication ideas. Link
Actually here is a link to a bunch of ideas. Link

Peace
Dave

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Yesterday, I cleaned and tightened all of the battery connections, I removed and redid the marrettes connecting the trailer wiring to the motor leads. Definitely making good contact. Batteries were at 100% when I took the video.

I've taken some video that illustrates the problem:

I'm thinking it's the motor. Looks like there may be a few manufacturers of these things.
Part# on the motor: 1-065-041012-01
Lippert part#: LC141893 (likely)
Stromberg Carlson part#: LG-196308 (maybe?)
Venture part#: M-9000HT (331653) (maybe?)

I'm in Canada. Any recommendations on the cheapest place to get a new motor that will be plug-n-play?

 

[carl.swoyer]

Remove the motor and replace the brushes at an alternator shop.
Way cheaper than a new one.

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[wyleyrabbit]

Remove the motor and replace the brushes at an alternator shop.
Way cheaper than a new one.

Are you sure? New motor looks to be about $200. You paid $150 for brushes and the rebuild.

 

[carl.swoyer]

My motor was near 1100.00 dollars

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[Bogie]

My motor was near 1100.00 dollars

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Was yours a hydraulic pump? I believe his is a gear driven motor.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Bogie, mine is most definitely gear-driven at least for the landing gear. My slides are hydraulic though, but that motor is fine.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Remove the motor and replace the brushes at an alternator shop.

I'm intrigued about this option. Do you know how many brushes there are? And what size? I'm a handy guy, I wonder if I could buy the right size of brushes and DIY this.