Front jacks blowing 30 amp fuse

We left the campground today, but while raising the front jacks I noticed that as they were just about all the way up they stopped. They would not work any more. The rig is loaded on the truck so we got home o.k., but I can't get the rig off the truck. I am calling the dealer tomorrow so hopefully they can take it right away. Any suggestions of how to get the rig off the truck in an emergency? How about why it would trip a 30 amp fuse. It re-trips immediately when you hit the switch.

I have the same problem with my 2010 Sundance. the only time mine seems to blow the fuse is when I plug it in to the truck. You can always use the manual crank to put the jacks down or pick them up what ever it calls for. Let me know what they tell you I would really like to know. Mine has done this since the day I brought it home.

I guess the first thing I would look for are any wires pulled out of the switch ar possibly wires got hung up on the shaft and/or shorted out somewhere. The general rule of thumb when raising or lowering the jacks is, do not take them to their limits. I don't think there is any limit switch built in and strain on the motor will occur causing the breaker to trip. As for manual use, there should be a slotted shaft on the off door side of the rig protruding from the landing gear housing. You should also have a hand crank that should have come with the trailer. Once you get the gear moving, you might solve the problem in the event that the gear got bound up somehow. Good Luck and I hope I have helped.

If you look in search for front jacks you will see problems. NEVER raise the jacks fully up you are lucky just a blown fuse. after a 400$ fix the dealer said always leave the jacks down about 6 " mine used to blow fuses then it stripped the gears out. marked a 6" red paint mark on the jacks. Hope that is the cure.

Take the stupid fuse out and install a 30amp circuit breaker. They will install in the fuse holder. They are not hard to find. Just take the fuse with you to any parts store. Yes to what Jack said, you never need to run them all the way up. I leave mine down about 10 " and never had a problem. my 3cts (inflation) Bob

Bob&Patty said:

Take the stupid fuse out and install a 30amp circuit breaker. They will install in the fuse holder. They are not hard to find. Just take the fuse with you to any parts store. Yes to what Jack said, you never need to run them all the way up. I leave mine down about 10 " and never had a problem. my 3cts (inflation) Bob

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Been there done that. Blown the fuses a couple of times.

Learned my lesson. Painted the legs.
Dan
.06 worth. CDN Peso exchange and all.

Great advice .... going out and marking those legs up right now.

Fran in Forest Hill, Md

Dan, if the FED keeps printing money here, pretty soon there will be $10.00 surcharge just to have a thought.

I will try in the morning to unplug the trailer from the truck and see if it changes anything. I will also try and jack them down by hand to see if that works also. We have a tornado warning now so I think I will stay in tonight. Thanks for the advice. John

I also had fuse problems (when extending only), I called lippert direct and learned that if the 12v system was not fully charged or getting a full 12v it will blow fuses. I clibed in and tightened every connection and have not had any problems since.

Having said that, I have to go and find my sharpie marker and mark my legs so I do not pull them to far up.

I had same problem on my 2010 29SBRL Eagle Ridge. I was told over phone to check and see if the receptacle where the fuse had blown was in fact a 30 amp. I don't remember the actual size marked but it was larger so I changed it and have not had that problem since. My rig is not here so I can't just go and look. Also, about not going all the way up or down was explained to me by my dealer. As a matter of fact he marked top and bottom for me and I use religiously.

O.K., your advice worked. I manually cranked the jacks down a few inches and replaced the fuse. It now works. A couple of questions though.
1. Has anyone ever seen one of these setups collapse and drop?
2. I have never owned a camper with power jacks, but these seem a little cheesy to depend on. Is there an upgrade to a heavier duty front jack system?

John,

Glad the tips worked for you. Good to learn how the manual part of the front jacks work. It's also a good idea to take a look at how they are connected together... by way of the square shaft that runs across between the jacks. Each end has a short bolt with a nut locking the square shaft to the jack. There have been times the nut can work off the bolt. With the nut off... the bolt can make a clicking noise as it bumps each spin around... and of course... Murphy's Law applies... the bolt with out the nut on will fall out and stop one side from lowering. Moral is to maybe take a look inside and tighten them... even a little "Thread Lock" is a good idea to put on the threads.

To answer...

1. No, never seen one collapse but I'm betting if you do a search on the forum
you'll run across a post of someone who has dealt with that question.

2. Yes there are other types of Jack systems. Some are just the same electrical
motor and gear drive... others have Hydraulic cylinders that lift the RV. There
are even a 4 or 6 point Hydraulic lift system that can bring the RV completely
off the ground. Just like a Motor Home would use.

One post I remember reading attached a motor on each Jack. Not that it makes much difference... it could lead to twice the problems... should one motor go out... not sure how the manual lift would work in that case... as there would be no connecting shaft between each side.

Talk to your dealer if your sure you'd want to consider an up-grade. I'm sure he's got lots of $$ Ideas $$.

Good Luck !

jmaguire said:

O.K., your advice worked. I manually cranked the jacks down a few inches and replaced the fuse. It now works. A couple of questions though.
1. Has anyone ever seen one of these setups collapse and drop?

As a matter of fact - mine did. However, the other jack held up the weight of the trailer (I wouldn't always depend on that though). I was able to get a sufficient amount of bracing material (wood blocks and plastic levelers) under the jack to support that side. Dealer had to replace the jack on that side - broken gear teeth on leg.

2. I have never owned a camper with power jacks, but these seem a little cheesy to depend on. Is there an upgrade to a heavier duty front jack system?

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Don't know about this (I assume the hydraulic systems are a little more "heavy duty")

On my 3950 i had been blowing fuses and put an amp guage on it and found the motor was drawing to much and blowing the fuse. I talked to factory and they said the motor was to small and they sent out a new larger but slower motor, dealer installed it and haven't had a problem since.

mark the legs.. The electric jacks work pretty good and are easy to diagnose and repair yourself if needed. Hydraulic jacks are much more expensive, although faster