How to remove landing gear and lube?

[cj11302000]

I've seen a lot of talk about landing gear problems and I've posted about them before. Before I buy a new motor or convert to two motors...I'd like to properly lube and inspect the insides of the landing gear. Does anyone have detailed directions or photos on how to do this? I'm not nuts about taking them off the trailer, but will do it if I need to. I have a 2009 Sundance 2997BHS that appears to have the Lippert/Venture landing gear with single motor. There is a black plastic cap on the tops covering the gears. If you look at my previous posts, you will see that I've been having issues with the motor working hard. I can hand crank the gear, but it's pretty difficult...not impossible. Anyway, if anyone has photos or detailed directions or a link with info...that would be great! Thanks!

 

[caissiel]

To remove the landing gear
1. The trailer has to be on the truck, supporting the front of the trailer.
2. Raise the gears up to the top to shorten the jacks.
3. Remove the connecting square rod from the jacks.
4. Remove the drive and motor from the jack, its held with a screw through the D shape shaft.
5. Remove the 2 supporting screws that squeeze the clamps on the jacks, each side are the same.
6. Raise the loose jack and remove and lay on supporting stands. Observe the stoppers holding the jacks from sliding when supporting the trailer.
7. Remove the top plate and inspect the Pinion and screw gear. On mine the shaft was able to move sideway and caused the pinion to climb on the gear.
The pinion is on the drive shaft and the gear is on the jack screw. If they are not aligned properly when pressure applied the gears will work against each other.
Mine was wearing the gears because they were also dry and jaming as soon as I turned the drive shaft on the up direction, it was ok on the down direction.
It was even jaming on the bench with no weight applied to the screw.
8. Installation would hen be oposite of removal, Watch for the stopers on the landing gear jacks and frame to support the weight of the trailer.

 

[JohnDar]

Curious, what is that unpainted metal at the top of your drive jack? I just removed mine today and replaced them with the Ground Control jacks, and there wasn't any metal like that on them.

And I did not connect to the truck. I have several cribbing pads made of 4x4 topped with 5/4 planking. I raised the rig up with the old jacks, stacked three under the frame on both sides, near the front, and set the trailer down on them until the feet cleared the ground. Also chocked all four tires. That trailer wasn't going anywhere. Ground was too soft for my 6 ton jack stands.

 

[navyAZ1]

To remove the landing gear
1. The trailer has to be on the truck, supporting the front of the trailer.
2. Raise the gears up to the top to shorten the jacks.
3. Remove the connecting square rod from the jacks.
4. Remove the drive and motor from the jack, its held with a screw through the D shape shaft.
5. Remove the 2 supporting screws that squeeze the clamps on the jacks, each side are the same.
6. Raise the loose jack and remove and lay on supporting stands. Observe the stoppers holding the jacks from sliding when supporting the trailer.
7. Remove the top plate and inspect the Pinion and screw gear. On mine the shaft was able to move sideway and caused the pinion to climb on the gear.
The pinion is on the drive shaft and the gear is on the jack screw. If they are not aligned properly when pressure applied the gears will work against each other.
Mine was wearing the gears because they were also dry and jaming as soon as I turned the drive shaft on the up direction, it was ok on the down direction.
It was even jaming on the bench with no weight applied to the screw.
8. Installation would hen be oposite of removal, Watch for the stopers on the landing gear jacks and frame to support the weight of the trailer.

Great instructions and photos but I would add that you disassemble the pinion gears and allow the inner leg to slide out this will expose the worm screw. This is the main area mine needed to be lubed it was sooooo dry I could bearly turn it by hand. I lubed it with some spray litium grease and all worked well again. And yes you need to lube the pinion gears on top, mine the original grease was hard and had no lubricating properties to it at all. After doing all of this it was suggested to drill a couple of holes in the outter leg casing and then from time to time extend the landing gear so you can lube the worm screw thru those holes. Evidently my motor gear box had been damaged by all the use during the time the parts were so dry from grease. So the other day I went to raise the coach to hook up to the truck all the teeth on the shaft coming out of the motor in the gear reduction box stripped off and now I stuck with doing it all with the hand crank. What luck I have an appointment with Lippert to get the hydraulic landing gear installed, so I'm not spending nearly $200 for a new motor but will use the hand crank to hook up to the truck when we are ready to head to Goshen and leave it hooked up until I arrive at the Lippert facility the Tuesday prior to the Rally and "Git-R-Done". IMO the Venture single motor landing gear is way to light a system for our heavy coach. Good Luck with your's.

 

[caissiel]

The unpainted metal on the top of the jack is the new plate I put on at a campground in Florida to keep the traveling centering plate. It was moving back and forth causing the Gear to move off the center and causing the pinion to climb on the gear.

I looked at a SOB trailer last week and the jack holding clamp appear to be exactly in line with the same plate, so my fix is not so far from the right thing to do. I feel my unit has the jack clamps too low to line up with the Centering Plate of the jack.

The SOB trailer I looked at has a single motor on a 2700Lbs pin weight.

 

[ultrafarmer]

Mine does not look to easy with the gen. up front, cant get to the left side at all.