big trouble

mountain1

Active Member
I have myself in a pickle. I bumped my 5th wheeler off the wooden pads I use and fortunately it did not crush my brand new truck. It was close but no damage. Now it sits a 1/4 inch from my house and I am not sure I can jack it high enough to get the truck under it. I have little faith in Heartland factory advice since one of their reps told me to just use a 50 amp fuse instead of a 30 in my electric jacks. That is why I was hooking up was to take it into a repair shop for the jacks so I will crank and crank but think it is going to be to low. any bump now will put the camper right into the house. I have blown 22 fuses in 24 months but I will get that fixed. I am trying to figure out how I can get it high enough to pull it forward. I will make longer wooden pads for the jacks to rest on next time.
I do not recommend the Heartland line to anyone any more because the factory responses to questions have been wrong more than right. Those on this list are better information for some one new to this game.

Any help would be appreciated.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Well mountain1, you ask for advice from the factory and then do not take it? I think going to a higher amp fuse for the jacks is pretty much standard. Sounds like your over extending or retracting to far to blow the fuse that much and the jacks still work. You may need to get a couple of hydraulic bottle jacks and put under frame near the legs to get the unit back up high enough.

Also how thick are the pads you use under the front legs if the jacks will not extend enough to get it back on the truck?

I would be interested to know where the factory responses have been wrong more than right also.
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
I would suggest you pay for the services of a licensed and insured rigger at this point (look under millwright and riggers in the phone book on-line). You don't need any more grief. Having a none-wheeled (landing gear) multi ton load 1/4" from your house may be too risky to try and move yourself. This is my opinion and it is what I would do if I were in your situation.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Mountain1, dont you use chocks in front of and behind the wheels? Sounds like you might be extending or retracting the legs tooo far and blowing the fuses as Jim mentioned. Maybe I can offer some advise to you. Unless your TV is very tall, you would never have extend them all the way. In fact you never have to raise the pinbox any higher than to take the weight off the hitch. I did what you have now, once, because I removed the rear chocks before I hitched up. Wont do that again. But I had enough leg left to bring it back up and get re-hitched and put the blocks behind the rear tires so I didnt push it any farther. I use 2 4"X8" blocks under the landing gear. When I am ready to unhook, I put the blocks in place, pull the pins on the adjustable legs, then raise the coach and unhook . I have never ran out of leg adjustment. One quick note, before you attemp to hook up, back the TV close to your coach, hook up the power cord, hold the manuel brake all the way over and hold it. Then hook up. After you think the pin is locked, hold the brake again and try to pull away. DONT RAISE THE LANDING GEAR 1st.

If you have ever read any of the posts about the fuse blowing (there must 100 of them) then you would know what the factory told you is the fix. Some people have replaced the fuse with a 50 amp circuit breaker. Thats even better.

For now chock the wheels, chain it to a tree or what ever it takes so it wont roll back anymore. This is something you might try. Get some thin sheet metal, put some light grease on it, get a chain, hook it to your hitch in the TV and around the pin, soap the crap out of the concrete, and try to pull the coach forward a little and up on the metal. VERY GENTLY!!!!!!!!!!! You might also try letting some air out of your tires and see if you can get under the pinbox again. JUST CHOCK THE HECK OUT OF IT 1st.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
A 40 amp fuse should get you out of trouble. If not its real easy to move the unit with a 4 lb hammer and a block of wood.
 

newbie

Northern Virginia
With out any of us being there to see your predicament it is hard to say what the best thing to to prevent damage to your house and 5th wheel. Both of the above mentioned ideas of a rigger and letting the air out of the tires are good ones.

I think I would go Bob's route of putting a greased 2x8 under each leg (use a bottle jack to get it into place) and ever so gently pull it forward several inches until you gain enough clearance. Bear in mid that with a greased board under the gear she could slide in any direction at any time and could kill you. If your not 100% comfortable DON"T DO IT! A professional rigger might be $500 but compared to the property damage you could incur not to mention harm to yourself or others you have to make your own decision based on your experience level in sticky situations like this.

In my line of work I have done a lot of rigging over the years and have seen some simple things like this go wrong quickly. You wouldn't want to become the internet poster child for 5th wheel rigging gone horribly wrong!

Be safe,
John
 

porthole

Retired
Without seeing it, my idea would be to put a stack of 2*8's behind the hitch the width of the bed. Build it high enough to reach your pin then set the trailer down. Raise the jacks, re-block and hitch it up again.

Wheels chocked well, front and back, might even consider pulling the pin on the brakes, just don't leave it out too long.

And when you pull away, have someone watching so that you don't swing the rear of the trailer into the house.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Duane, I like that idea of the lumber. Some 4X4's stacked in a staggered pattern would do it. Fill the bed up to the top of the bedrails. Chock the heck out of it...pull the brake pin or hook up the trailer cord to the TV and hold the brake control manuel knob on all the way.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
I have never ran out of reach to hook up my truck. I use only 2 x 6 lumber under my legs because if the jack slides of the blocking it will never hit the TV. The 2" allows for soft soil that can cause the support sicking in the softer soil. If there is no support under the plate it will bend under the load of the front weight. I know because it happened to this trailer last summer, and the previous trailer also.

If you also use lots of fuses your electric motor must be overloading caused by lack of lubrication on the screws at the jacks. It has never happened to me to blow a fuse in the last 15 years of using a heavy loaded front jack. The electric jacks can lift a weight of about 8000 Lbs. The front weight at the jacks can't be much over 3500 Lbs.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Call a roll back wrecker in. They can use the winch to keep it from rolling back and use the bed to lift on the pin to get the legs off the ground and then ease it forward with the winch to get it away from the house.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Lots of suggestions but whatever you do, do it slowly. If you do not do it yourself a heavy duty wrecker may by your cheapest option although they usually charge about $200 an hour. But, if you have Good Sam ERS you could possibly call them and it would be covered, even though you are at your own home.
 

mountain1

Active Member
Jimtoo, I went to two different RV dealers/service places and they both refused to install a 50 amp fuse. i then on the advice of Heartland's rep. called the manufacture of the unit that raises the the leg. Their rep told me under no uncertain terms should I move up to a 50 amp fuse as they felt the potential for fire was far to great. I have never had the opportunity to extend them to far. I make one move up or down the fuse blows and I am back to cranking. I am not an electrician so I was not about to start cutting wires to put in place a larger inline fuse.

Admittedly I am not the least bit mechanically inclined so I have to rely on what should be the knowledgeable ones.

Reference my big trouble I did have my wheel chock in place. I had purchased the kind that loks between two wheels, but good old me I hit to hard and moved it.

What else have I not gotten good advice. I have two swithces when I called Heartland I received four different guesses none of them correct. Twice I called and left messages and also e-mailed and never received any word back. I truly do not remeber what that was about. Maybe expectations are to high. I never go home from work until I have returned every message received for the day. However, I never received a return call or return e-mail.
 

noobee

Well-known member
Well mountain1, you ask for advice from the factory and then do not take it? I think going to a higher amp fuse for the jacks is pretty much standard. Sounds like your over extending or retracting to far to blow the fuse that much and the jacks still work. You may need to get a couple of hydraulic bottle jacks and put under frame near the legs to get the unit back up high enough.

Also how thick are the pads you use under the front legs if the jacks will not extend enough to get it back on the truck?

I would be interested to know where the factory responses have been wrong more than right also.

If it is 'standard' to go with a higher rated fuse, why isn't the higher rated one installed from the get go?

Not trying to steal the posting... but I found the comment quite curious!

CS
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Lippert even has a repair sheet showing the 80A fuse to replace it with on their website. A HI-AMP Buss 80A fuse, waterproof, P/N 184080F. If you've blown 22 fuses in the last 24 months, you should have had the rig back to the dealer after the second one.

If you don't understand how block your tires and to erect 4x4 cribbing and how to use 4x4 wedges to support a load, I strongly suggest you don't even attempt it.
 
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mountain1

Active Member
JohnDar I did take it in 45 mile trip they said fixed we moved them up and down and they worked. Of course we moved them up and down with no weight drive home 45 miles later get ready to unhook and no jacks. May be bad excuse but just seemed easier to hand crank than drive back 45 miles. My friend had his in the local dealer for 4 weeks just to have some minor work. Don't know how it is where you are but the RV repair shops around here are not loved.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Fortunately, my dealer is only 30 miles away from home and has always been good on service. What did the repair order say they did to "fix" the problem? Just replace the fuse, or actually trace the circuit for a possible short or defective motor?

BTW, my comment about cribbing was not meant to be a slam. We use it for vehicle stabilization and structural collapse (amongst other tools and supports) and if not done correctly, it can be very dangerous.
 
I don't know if you have thought about it or not, but have you tried adjusting your 5th wheel hitch to the highest setting on the main support frame so it will reach the king pin? If that works, you can manually crank the legs up and then after you get your landing gear motor fixed, you can set it back down. That might help you get it away from the house at a minimum.

Good luck and I hope you get it away from the house safely.
 
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