Big Country - Front leg does not go up or down

[Bob Vaughn]

The front leg on the driver side does not go up or down. The passenger side does and I can see that the shaft is turning. I wonder if there is a shear pin that maybe broke. Is it something I can get in the basement and R & R or am I going to have to take it to the shop to get fixed. I am glad I had my 4ton bottle jack so we could get the camper on and off the truck. Also is there an IPB for the jacks any where?

 

[Bones]

The front leg on the driver side does not go up or down. The passenger side does and I can see that the shaft is turning. I wonder if there is a shear pin that maybe broke. Is it something I can get in the basement and R & R or am I going to have to take it to the shop to get fixed. I am glad I had my 4ton bottle jack so we could get the camper on and off the truck. Also is there an IPB for the jacks any where?

I think your on the right track looking to see if a shear pin came apart. After investigating that you might want to make sure the screw isn't binding somewhere.

 

[boatto5er]

Bob, I had the same thing happen to our previous Sundance a few years ago. I was able to remove the bad leg and disassemble it. Turns out a gear inside the leg had broken. At that time, Venture Mfg made the Electric jacks. I called them and they shipped me a leg repair kit with gears, roll pin, and a couple of other items at a very reasonable cost. You may have to find out if they are still in business from Heartland Customer Service, or maybe an Internet search.

 

[Bob Vaughn]

Are these legs bolted or welded to the frame?

 

[boatto5er]

Mine were bolted in and had an indent on them that fit into a slot like area of the frame.


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[Gary521]

Generally, the door side ( passenger side ) leg has the gear box and motor and the other side leg is driven by a cross shaft. These type of landing gear fail due to lack of lubrication to the inners. There is a bolt that acts as a shear pin on the cross shaft but if it has failed, it is for a reason. (It could have just fallen out too I guess)

 

[JohnDar]

When I removed the front jacks from my rig (made by Venture), the shaft had a small bolt and nut connecting it to the drivers side jack. The jacks were held in by braces welded to the frame that supported the jack under protusions from the jack column. Long bolts ran between the supports to clamp them to the jack. Installing Ground Control jacks used the same supports.

 

[gasman]

Bob, we had this problem on our last BC. There is a cross-linkage running through the top of the front bay. Toward the door side, there is a 1/4" x 20 bolt through the linkage that sheared. I simply replaced the bolt and all was well.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

The front leg on the driver side does not go up or down. The passenger side does and I can see that the shaft is turning. I wonder if there is a shear pin that maybe broke. Is it something I can get in the basement and R & R or am I going to have to take it to the shop to get fixed. I am glad I had my 4ton bottle jack so we could get the camper on and off the truck. Also is there an IPB for the jacks any where?

Have you looked up in the front compartment yet ? you'll see the cross bar going from one leg to the other, push the button while watching to see if that cross bar rotates with the motor or not.

 

[Bob Vaughn]

Bob, we had this problem on our last BC. There is a cross-linkage running through the top of the front bay. Toward the door side, there is a 1/4" x 20 bolt through the linkage that sheared. I simply replaced the bolt and all was well.

Did you have to make the hole in the sheet metal larger to get your fingers in there to put that bolt thru the shaft and the nut on the other side?

 

[carl.swoyer]

Try a grade 8 bolt. They are stronger.

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[Bones]

Try a grade 8 bolt. They are stronger.

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You want the pin to shear. if it doesn't shear you run the risk of damaging other components in the system.

 

[gasman]

Did you have to make the hole in the sheet metal larger to get your fingers in there to put that bolt thru the shaft and the nut on the other side?

The linkage is very accessible at the top front of the front bay. It is a 3/4" square tube that has a 5/8" round rod inserted in each end with a 1/4-20 bolt connecting them.

 

[Bob Vaughn]

I just heard from the dealer there was a catastrophic gear failure in the leg so they had to order a new one. Looks like it will be another couple of weeks till we get our home on wheels back.....

 

[Bob Vaughn]

I just heard from the dealer there was a catastrophic gear failure in the leg so they had to order a new one. Looks like it will be another couple of weeks till we get our home on wheels back.....

After having my BC for a week the dealer ordered a new front leg and Heartland said it would be a week to 10 days for it to be shipped. Then how ever many days it takes to get from Indiana to Florida. Then waiting for the dealer to get it installed....Hurry up and wait has been the slogan of my life.....

 

[jimtoo]

Wonder why they just could not put a gear kit in the leg? They make a kit to replace the gears when they break.

 

[Bob Vaughn]

Wonder why they just could not put a gear kit in the leg? They make a kit to replace the gears when they break.

I wondered that myself but the warranty company may have required that they replace the whole thing......it is all a mystery .....

 

[Bob Vaughn]

I finally got my Big Country back from the dealer and all seems to work....I cannot see how they replaced the leg but it works and that is all that matters....