We are having problems getting our Big Country 5th wheel to raise high enough. The electrical motor seems to not have enough power or is drawing too much power. I have greased the jacks. We have 4 six volt fully charged batteries. Each time we unhook from the trailer, we have to help the motor more manually. Any ideas would be appreciated!
Big Country 2009 landing gear problem
- Thread starter lewnae
- Start date
Thank you for your response. Could you tell me how to grease the internal jack screw?
GOTTOYS
Well-known member
Mine is doing the same thing. My problem goes beyond greasing. I have purchased new front jacks but not knowing there are two different lengths of course I bought the shorter most common ones. At this time I only have about 6 inches of movement up or down. My project for tomorrow is to remove the jacks, take them apart and switch the gears, bearings, shafts and thrust washer from the new ones into the old housings. As near as i can tell they should all fit. Heartland in their infinate wisdom did not provide any zerk fittings for greasing nor did they mention anything about the need to do this. But then it wouldn't have mattered anyway as the street side jack is in a sealed compartment with no access. I had to remove the sheet metal wall in front of the propane tank to gain access. I cut it out and left a one inch flange all the way around to attach a new panel to with sheet metal screws. I'll let you know how the repair goes...Don
Gary521
Well-known member
The front jacks have an outer leg and an inner leg. Putting a jerk on the outer tube will not do anything either. To grease the thing properly, you need to get grease on the jack screw which is in the center of the leg. To do this, you will drill a hole in the outer leg maybe 10" from the top. The hole will be about 1/4" . Lift the landing legs all the way before you drill so that the inner is down and you will not be drilling thru two legs. Once the hole is drilled, get a grease needle from any hardware store. This will snap on the end of any grease gun. Insert the needle thru the hole and put grease right on the jack screw. ( putting a glob of grease on the drilling site will keep the shavings from falling inside ). I have discussed this procedure with the manufacturer (Venture ) and they thought it to be a good idea.
mlpeloquin
Well-known member
I think the glob of grease will grab a lot of the metal chips, but some will still be on the inside. The only way to make sure that some of the chips will not fall inside is to take apart the jack. This way the metal burr left inside can be removed as well. Then you can tap and plug the hole so that contaminants will not get in. You could also use Gorilla tape to seal the opening, but you would have to clean around the opening to remove the grease around it. This would allow the cleaning solvent or detergent along with the cloth/paper towel to get in. A small amount, but not wise in the long run. Better to drill and tap and seal with a screw.
Gary521
Well-known member
When I drilled mine, I took it off the trailer and took it apart just for that reason. However, the grease thing on the trailer would work OK if you did not want to remove it IMO. I know of some that have done it that way. The first time I did this, I found that the jack screw was stripped from wear on the trapped nut. This nut strips all the lube off the jack screw.
GOTTOYS
Well-known member
My street side jack was seized up and would barely turn. Upon inspection there was a lot of slop inside and the gears were very worn. I replaced the whole jack. Very easy to do. The jack on the curb side was okay as I could gain access to it and grease it once in awhile. It now works as it should. Don..
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