Hydraulic landing gear noise - clang, bang, click

DougS

Doug S
I have had a clanging sound from my landing gear, mostly the curb side of the RV. I believe some have described this as the "Lippert Alarm Clock". I have traced the noise to the pod/foot. I have sprayed or soaked the pod in the past and the sound has stopped for the last two trips. At home it started again.

I unscrewed the 3/4 " bolt and found torn O-Rings. There are two O-Rings on each leg, one O-Ring on each side of the pod/foot. It seems these two O-Rings act as a cushion to prevent metal to metal contact and allows for a slight change of angle for uneven terrain.

Next was to find a replacement O-Rings. Since I did not want to wait for warranty O-Rings, I tried to find O-Rings locally, none exist. The size seems to be 3/4" by 3/16" thick. I could find 1/8" thick, but they are not thick enough. I was able to make my own O-Rings for a temporary fix. When I am able to locate this size O-Ring or Lippert comes up with a part number, I plan on buying a couple of dozen and change them out each year.

I believe these O-Rings may become damaged when leg is expended and it turns slightly. Since the landing gear on my unit were used 60-70 times this past summer, they might have turned a bit each time used. I did use Silicone paste during reassemble which I hope cuts down friction if the pod/leg is turned.

Picture is of the worst O-Ring, only about 25% of the thickness was left.
 

Attachments

  • Landmark Picture 5.jpg
    Landmark Picture 5.jpg
    79.7 KB · Views: 97

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi DougS,

Thanks for posting your fix to the noise that seems to be getting popular. If you have a Tractor Supply in your area, they would be a good place to check for O'rings.

I am moving the thread to a better area also.

Jim M
 

caissiel

Senior Member
To me its an other 1/2 design fix to make sure the foot will not deform when they are not perfectly flat to the cylinder ends. These O-Ring are way to small for the pressure of the weight of over 2000Lbs and surely will be ruined under pressure and twisting.

There should be much bigger flexible ring that should be used rubber might not be the answer unless a greater area of contact as a 1/8" rubber washer or UHMW (hard plastic) fabricated washer of some kind. I believe that the nut could also get loose if it is not fastened with locktite of some kind and left loose to allow the plate to move. The manufacturer should do efforts to supply proper fastening product for this.

I would suggest a shoulder bolt be used and that way the foot plate be drilled to suit and then it will be free to float properly on the end of the rod
 
Last edited:

DougS

Doug S
Jim,
I tried the Tractor Suppy, NAPA, Lowes, locale RV parts store, other auto parts, and a place that makes hydraulic hoses. I was able to make O-Rings from a large O-Ring from ACE. Seems the 3/16" thickness is unusual for that size.
 

DougS

Doug S
Question....are the o-rings used to seal the hydraulic fluid?

No they seem to be a sort of shock absorber or better yet a fexable joint. The bolt is 3/4" and it passes through a larger hole in the pod/foot which gives it the ability to move a couple of degrees for different terrains. I'm not an engineer, but that's how I see it.
I think the biggest enemy to this set up is the turning of the pod/foot, either from use or turning it by hand when it is off the ground.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
No they seem to be a sort of shock absorber or better yet a fexable joint. The bolt is 3/4" and it passes through a larger hole in the pod/foot which gives it the ability to move a couple of degrees for different terrains. I'm not an engineer, but that's how I see it.
I think the biggest enemy to this set up is the turning of the pod/foot, either from use or turning it by hand when it is off the ground.
OK thats not the place where an Oring should be used. You might try buying a piece of red heavy duty reinforced heater hose at your local auto parts store, slice it up to differiant thickness and see what works out best.
 

DougS

Doug S
I thought of many different things like cut hoses, I even thought of heavy duty hose washers which are real close to the size. Bottom line, I think what ever is put it there, it needs round edges so the plate slides between them. If the plate is not able to slide between the two softer surfaces, it will probably slice them. The weight of 2,500 lbs. is a lot.

I decided not to re-invent the wheel. Replacement of O-Rings yearly only takes 5 minutes and less then $1 per leg. Getting the proper O-Rings is the hard part.
 

dglatta

Active Member
Okay, so how do we get Lippert to send us replacement O rings? My Landmark is loud enough to wake the neighbors in the campground at times. Is Lippert aware of the number of problem leveling system out there? Any suggestions on the proper way to proceed on getting Lippert/Heartland involved? Does Lippert read the forum? Does Heartland have any pull with Lippert anymore?
 

DougS

Doug S
I have read three similar problems, mine being one. You can either bring it to your dealer, or do what I did, unscrew the bolt and look at the O-Ring. I took a picture at Lipperts direction and emailed them the above picture with my case number. I would think @ approx. $.60 per O-ring retail, O-Rings should be in the mail.

As a temporary fix, I bought a larger O-Ring, 3/16" thick, cut the O-Ring to fit the 3/4" bolt, and Super Glued the ends together. I was told to do this by a manager of a hardware store, it worked to my surprise. I would not trust this fix for fluid, but for sound, I think it will work and has been working the last two days. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
I would call Lippert and explain the situation to them. See how they can help you resolve the problem. If you are going to the Rally in Goshen you could stop by Lippert and get several of them as Lippert is just down the street from where the Rally is being held.
 

Willym

Well-known member
Per Doug's photo, the O ring appears to be located between the bolt/washer and the base of the foot. Hence it does not all of the load of the trailer front when the leg is extended. The purpose of the ring seems to be to just take up the slack between the bolt and the base of the leg so that the leg can flex on uneven ground. One side of the leg might become squished a bit when the leg flexes. One of my pads got quite loose on a trip last summer, so I torqued up the bolt, and likely squashed the O ring BYAR. This may be why my legs (or rather the trailer's!) bang now.
 
Top