Landing Gear Failure

[fourbchbms]

For the second time in 4 years we have had a landing gear failure. The first time they replaced the leg. When it fails it slips down lower than the other side. We are wondering is there some sort of maintenance we are missing? Aside from having our front cap redone, we have had very few issues. We have a 2018 30.5 CKTS Eagle HT Fifth Wheel. It's just the two of us and we have only been able to camp about 5 times on average per season. We are weekend warriors. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Lake Huron]

In 6/20 our 2017 Northpoint 375 had the front right leg fail. Good thing the truck wasnt under it at that exact time and DW wasnt any closer. Truck bed would have been flattened and DW would have taken a nasty beating it came down so fast and hard. That didnt keep us from going for the weekend, just had to make a couple adjustments during the trip. Once we got back home LCI was about useless on the help call I made to them. Next call went to etrailer and 2 days later I had a new leg. Within an hour it was in and functioning perfectly. IF, key word there, it happens again I'm gonna improve their design so it dont happen again. Itll cost me a few shekels but I dont care.
To your question(s), there really is no maintenance to be done with these. We are about the same as you guys,... weekend warriors mostly but we get one week long trip in a year and go about 5-7 times a year.
My $.02 is they are using cheap material and not enough material (under engineered). Lubrication of the screw and threads may give it a little more life but it's a matter of when, not if, its gonna fail.
All I can say it it was an eye opened for me when it happened and now I've implemented more safety precautions when they are in use.
Stay safe!!

[Rock]

I will not go under mine without wood blocks or Jack stands under the front. I also put a class 5 bolt thru the first drop leg pin hole. Several on this site have had the pins shear.

[norty1]

Always check that the pin goes thru both holes in the leg. Often they get gummed up and the spring does not push the pin thru both holes. When that happens the pin is severely weakened.

May not be a contributing factor in this failure but still something that needs to be checked often.

[Rock]

You are exactly right. I did that one time the pin was just barely thru. But adding that bolt gives me piece of mind if the Jack screw fails. I put the drop down as far as it will go to level. That way if the Jack screw fails it will only drop several inches. And the bolt gives the pin a back up if that does happen. Every year I use that long special tube and grease all six jacks shafts.

[norty1]

When we bought our first fifth wheel the "snap bolts" were a after market addition. Now they are oe on just about all rigs.

They do need attention like most every other moving part on a rv.

[Rock]

norty1
What do u mean by snap bolts?

[norty1]

aka as Snap bolts

https://www.amazon.com/Lippert-30828...%2C190&sr=8-59

[fourbchbms]

What safety precautions? I live right by etrailer. I may just order a leg and keep it on hand. We also go one week out of the year and about 5 to 7 weekends. We just feel like that shouldn't be a weak point in the trailer. Luckily we were still on the truck. We were trying to put the legs down to unhitch and it made really loud noise and started slipping and then fell a couple notches. Scared the h*ll out of us, especially when it fell. I would love to know what you are doing for safety and also if you happen to "re-engineer", what that would look like! Thanks!

[Lake Huron]

My safety precautions are everyone and everything is clear of it when the landing gear is in use, I also make sure it's at the right height before I back the truck under it so I dont have to adjust and have it fail and smash my bed and damage the trailer too.
As far as reengineering it a little I'm thinking of making the top block that has the threads in it thicker and longer so the threads are longer and maybe a stronger material. My $.02 is there aren't enough threads in that block to handle the weight. More length, more thread, better distribution of the load.
A problem I haven't worked out yet is how to attach that thread block to the leg post. Welding it in from the inside is pretty impossible because of the length of the leg tube. Still working on that...

[Urbsbrb5]

Originally Posted by fourbchbms

For the second time in 4 years we have had a landing gear failure. The first time they replaced the leg. When it fails it slips down lower than the other side. We are wondering is there some sort of maintenance we are missing? Aside from having our front cap redone, we have had very few issues. We have a 2018 30.5 CKTS Eagle HT Fifth Wheel. It's just the two of us and we have only been able to camp about 5 times on average per season. We are weekend warriors. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

fourbchbums - Hi, We just had our camper in 2016 Pinnacle and our right front jack was giving us trouble too, it has failed on numerous occasions. What the shop told us was that they needed to replace the large interior winding screw that operates the leg. Ours slipped last year so many times that we had to self level every time we camped. Thought I would throw that out there.

[klassic]

Originally Posted by Lake Huron

My safety precautions are everyone and everything is clear of it when the landing gear is in use, I also make sure it's at the right height before I back the truck under it so I dont have to adjust and have it fail and smash my bed and damage the trailer too.
As far as reengineering it a little I'm thinking of making the top block that has the threads in it thicker and longer so the threads are longer and maybe a stronger material. My $.02 is there aren't enough threads in that block to handle the weight. More length, more thread, better distribution of the load.
A problem I haven't worked out yet is how to attach that thread block to the leg post. Welding it in from the inside is pretty impossible because of the length of the leg tube. Still working on that...

I like your thinking, but still, there would be no way for the grease to stay on the threads. The more times the rod goes through the block the more the grease scrapes off. If the grease would stay on a screw jacks like that, there would be no problem.
And yes, you will have trouble with the welding part. Lol.
Keep thinking though.
Lippert thought about it and the solution was to use hydraulic jacks going forward.

[tazz46]

I had 1 landing gear failure while trying to lift the trailer when loading onto truck.
Luckily a neighbor at the park had a 20 ton jack!
Dealership didn’t even want to talk to me, I have a 10 year extended warranty. Dropped it off at the dealership on the way home. Told them they had 4 weeks to fix it, as I had another trip planned in a month.
They baulked and I pushed that I bought it there, have an extended warranty and I get priority service! They service manager was called out and I explained it all to him. He promised it would be ready on time.
Called them 2 weeks later and was told they hadn’t even looked at it!! I went there and demanded to see the general manager. Explained it all to him, he called in the service manager and told him to get it in the shop ASAP.
It was fixed 2 days before our next trip.
I was told to not max out the travel length on the legs, as it can eventually strip the gears. Same with retracting to far.

[Lake Huron]

Sounds like you have a REAL crappy dealer.
As far as over retracting, once I'm coupled up I use the retract all function and let the system retract them. If the dealer wants to say the failed jack(s) is due to over retracting, not my fault. Lol!

[mlitt55]

Might just as well jump into this also. 2019 27.5 RLTS Eagle HT. Ours failed this past fall 2021, took 4 weeks to get replacement, we ended up ordering via Amazon. Replaced both legs. Jayco & CW were useless. Supposedly under warranty, but they still haven't responded to our claims or reimbursed us. Screw on one side stripped and very stressed worn, did my grease work several times... looked like cheap metal on the gears where they were worn, wasn't for lack of grease. Not impressed. Hearing these other failures is making me wonder that maybe Jayco isn't the company it used to be.

[chas111]

My driver side leg failed last weekend. Still under Jayplus warranty. I have an appointment next Monday to have it replaced. I’m very thankful for a local dealer that takes care of its long time customers.

[MtnGoat]

Just a thought. Is Jayco now installing under rated Landing gear legs?

[Lake Huron]

IMO, they ALL are, especially in the bigger units. They may not be under rated but they are definitely maxed out or close to it. Same with axles, suspension springs and components, frame building,, etc