Rieco Titan Ground Control System

santafedave

Santafedave
Just had my Rieco Titan GCS installed by the Hitch House in Stockton, Ca. Check out my youtube video of the system on my 2008 3795 Heartland Cyclone. My youtube account is "DGsantafedave" Awesome system and you don't have to have all of the hydralics installed with the Rieco Titan.
 

santafedave

Santafedave
Back when the internet first started I was trying to come up with a name and I looked out my window (I lived by the train tracks in Fairfield, Ca) and saw a Burlington Northern/Santa Fe train slow down behind my house and bingo there was my yahoo account name. D.
 

mountain1

Active Member
Cool! my grandfather was an engineer on the Santa Fe. Rode from down state to Chicago a few times on his train.
May I ask what they charged to install the Rieco Titan? We are going to get a demonstration at the rally this weekend. I have been looking at it but it is pricey and I don't want to try and install it.
 

santafedave

Santafedave
The Hitch House in Stockton CA charged me 80.00 an hour and it took 10 hours to install. The owner said it took longer but he quoted me at 8-10 hours so that what he charged me. If you have a genset they have to remove it to get to the drivers side leveler. They also had to reset the spare tire carrier aft of the fuel tank to get the rear levelers as close to the last axle as possible. The good thing is there are no hydrolic lines that need to be installed. D.
 

slmayor

Founding California Northern Chapter Leader
A regular install (with no genny or fuel tank) should take 5-6 hours. They are not a difficult install for someone with a little mechanical knowledge. DH wound up installing ours because my tech at work was out on an injury. He did it over 2 days, about 7-8 hours total. He also fixed other stuff while he was at it, including replacing some of the rusty screws that hold the underbelly on. He's also really, really picky when installing anything electrical, so took his time running the harnesses. Biggest issue is that you will need GOOD drill bits.
 
I am wondering how hard to remove genset to get to drivers side leg. Maybe easier to cut galvanised sheeting behind propane tank and then just bolt in new acsess panel there. seems like it would make maintnenance easier for that jackleg in the future. I would love some input on this as next weekend I plan on installing this system. Thanks
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
I am wondering how hard to remove genset to get to drivers side leg. Maybe easier to cut galvanised sheeting behind propane tank and then just bolt in new acsess panel there. seems like it would make maintnenance easier for that jackleg in the future. I would love some input on this as next weekend I plan on installing this system. Thanks

Once installed, there is no maintenance on the jackleg, other than spraying the extension with silicone occasionally. The motor is attached to the top with three allen screws. Positioning the motor so that you can get an allen wrench on them is something to watch.

You do need some room to put the jack leg in place and bolt it in. Getting the old jack out will require the same clearance. I don't think going in through the propane cabinet will give you enough. It might be easier to unbolt your generator and slide it over (guessing, I don't have one in my rig) in order to make the swap.

Without having a generator to deal with, the front legs are the easy part. The rears take some work drilling the frame for the mounts, actually getting at the bolts inside the frame area, and routing the cabling. Not overly hard, just takes time.

If you do get them, beware of the torque spec they give for the rear jack bolts. The instructions quote 75 ft-lbs (an earlier version had 100 ft-lbs). That is way in excess of what the ASTM 307A bolts they supply will take. They are rated more like 20 ft-lbs. After snapping several, before realizing the problem, I replaced all of them with Grade 8 bolts and torqued to 42 ft-lbs.

Another potential problem area is getting the foot pads into the front legs. There was a problem with their supplier leaving excess weld inside on the seam and not grinding it off. Unless you file it out, you will not get the pads to install, so check the fit and ease of install before mounting the legs. I spoke with Sonny at R-T and he said they thought they had isolated all of the problem legs, but I got "lucky." I also discussed the bolt torque problem with him. I don't know what came of that.

Once up and running, though, it appears to be an excellent upgrade.
 
Johndar,
Thanks for your reply, The genset is surrounded by a soundproofing cabinet also would have to be removed as well as completely removing genset and batteries to get to that leg. I am hoping to raise trailer high enough to drop and install leg thru bottom of landing belly area. I will be looking over this area tommorrow to figure out the best plan.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Johndar,
Thanks for your reply, The genset is surrounded by a soundproofing cabinet also would have to be removed as well as completely removing genset and batteries to get to that leg. I am hoping to raise trailer high enough to drop and install leg thru bottom of landing belly area. I will be looking over this area tommorrow to figure out the best plan.

If you already have the Ground Control parts, take a look at the outer shell of the front leg. That's about how high you'll need to raise the front end to get it in (depending on how much you can angle it in the space you have). Or look at your existing leg, they're about the same. If you do get it in that way, will you be able to easily access the top of it? You'll have to in order to mount the motor and wire it up. No way you'll get it in with the motor already mounted.

You're going to have the same difficulty getting the old jack out. Good luck.
 

trvlrerik

Well-known member
Just an idea, could dig two holes and lower the legs into the holes while hooked up to your TV ? I have been pondering this project and just looked at my generator, it does not look very fun to remove, and darn near impossible to work around.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Just an idea, could dig two holes and lower the legs into the holes while hooked up to your TV ? I have been pondering this project and just looked at my generator, it does not look very fun to remove, and darn near impossible to work around.

That would be one way to do it, if you're working at home. If you smack somebody with a rice bowl on the head while digging the hole, you've gone too far! Some folks put jack stands under the frame while working on it. I used 4x4 cribbing blocks about 16" or so back from the jack positions (had to clear the Ultra-Fab stabilizer mounts). No worries about the rig falling off. But then, I was doing it in the storage yard on dirt.
 

circusbear

Active Member
Hey guys,
John really helped me out when I installed the system on my Big Country. My experiance went like this. Like John, I replaced the self tapping bolts with grade 8 bolts. I twisted two of the supplied bolts off with mine off with a small 3/8 socket. Good bits are a must, and a helper really will save some energy. I found that our front jack on the off door side(ods) had a plate welded on the inside of the generator compartment resulting in a tough job getting to the bolt that holds the cross bar that drives the jack. Patients and a couple of beers helped here. Afterwards I reached up from the bottom and undid the two brackets that hold the front jack. I had hooked my truck up to the trailer and took my tailgate off to give more room infront. The truck held the trailer high enough that i dropped the original jack down and out the bottom of where it mounts. I mounted the new motor on the new jack and there was enough room to put the new jack and motor up from the bottom and into the mounting brackets.
I mounted the control box in the basement, on the front wall on the ods. A small hole was drilled into the generator compartment to feed the wires for the front jacks. I mounted the on/off switch in the battery and hydralic compartment. This was a dry location and would serve as a door side plug in for the remote should the remote need to be plugged in. (if the batteries fail)
This was a fairly easy project that makes a huge diffrence in terms of set up ease and also makes the trailer rock solid. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a pm. Cheers- CB
 
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