Ever upgraded landing gear or motor?

[mekkerl]

I have a single motor electric landing gear.
I will be replacing the gear box within the week as I believe that is what is giving me issues.
To do this I need to partially remove the entire leg and also remove the current motor.
This got me to thinking that I should look at upgrading the motor to a more heavy duty one. (and in a perfect world, a faster one, but I'm not counting on that).

Does anyone have any recommendations on what to get?

[Njmurvin]

Wild Card wrote:

mekkerl wrote:
I really wish I didn't have to make any adjustments. But when I measured the distance between my two straddle brackets (what's holding my current vantage/lippert legs), the measurement is just about 15.5". Bulldog requires 17.5" for a straight fit.
I guess the dealer will make some good money if they can do that job!
Supposed to arrive Monday next week...long wait for it coming from Nevada to NY (ground)!

Something must be different than what I did...as 15.5" is what my tabs were and that's what Bulldog specd their spacing.

Ultra Fab was my gear of choice but they spec 17.5" spacing and I did not want to weld new tabs

I think you are measuring your spacing wrong...but either way welding new tabs is not a big deal. Just would be nice to know for sure before you get charged for welding when you didn't need it.

I have the same setup as mekkerl. My frame tabs have an inside spacing of 15 1/2 inches.

If you look at the install instructions for Bulldog, they suggest that you "capture" the welded tabs on the leg BETWEEN your frame brackets. Those tabs are 15 1/2 inches apart and 1" wide each. So, you need inside measurement of 17 1/2 inches between frame brackets to make that happen.

Ultra Fab's instructions, on the other hand, suggest you install their leg such that the welded tabs on the legs are below the frame bracket (not captured by them as do the Bulldog set). They actually give 2 options for installing: Their A-B measurement would require inside measurement between brackets of 11 1/2 inches. The A-C option would require an inside measurement of 17 1/8 inches between brackets.

Mine, like mekkerl's, have an inside measurement of 15 1/2 inches which fit neither of the aforementioned sets.

Other than removing and welding on new tabs with the appropriate spacing, the only other option for dual power for my existing brackets is to purchase the Stromberg Carlson dual power conversion kit which uses the 15 1/2 inch spacing. The kit basically replicates the lead leg of the existing setup by providing another lead leg, motor, transmission and switch to replace the non-motor-driven leg. That's probably the route I'll take when I eventually upgrade. I might also pop for two of the higher output motors available from Stromberg Carlson.

I'm curious (maybe someone knows) why capturing the welded tabs on the legs "between" the frame brackets is recommended by Bulldog instead of having both brackets sit above the tabs (as with Ultra Fab). There will always be a downward force on those tabs from the weight of the trailer whether you're raising or lowering the trailer (assuming the trailer is unhooked from the TV). Given that, I would prefer to have both welded tabs on the legs "under" my frame brackets supporting the trailer's weight should the brackets become loose and slip. The only case I can think of where the bracket under a tab would make sense is if the leg is somehow stuck in the ground while the weight of the trailer is on the TV and you're trying to retract the leg (i.e. pulling it out of the ground). Maybe there's a better case that justifies positioning one bracket under a tab. If so, I don't see it.

[fj12ryder]

Mine are set to slow speed, but honestly I can hardly hear the motors run, even under load. What you might check is to see if it's the motor or the screw. I'd remove the motor from the leg and then listen to it under operation. They come off very easily so it would be the work of only a couple minutes to check it out. Maybe the screw itself wasn't installed properly and is binding a bit. What do you think of the shop that installed it? Could they have made a mistake while installing the leg/motor and put it into a bind?

Whatever you discover, you should report it to Bulldog. I've not had any dealings with the company, but they make a quality product and I would hope their customer service is as good as their product.

Please report back on what you find, and how your dealings with the company went if you talk to them.

[mekkerl]

Ryder -- I finally had the BullDogs installed and I went to pick it up yesterday after work. I noticed one of the motors is much louder when not under load.
I've read several posts from people about how quiet these motors are.
Are the motors loud for you when not under load?
(I have mine set to high speed)

[Wild_Card]

mekkerl wrote:
I really wish I didn't have to make any adjustments. But when I measured the distance between my two straddle brackets (what's holding my current vantage/lippert legs), the measurement is just about 15.5". Bulldog requires 17.5" for a straight fit.
I guess the dealer will make some good money if they can do that job!
Supposed to arrive Monday next week...long wait for it coming from Nevada to NY (ground)!

Something must be different than what I did...as 15.5" is what my tabs were and that's what Bulldog specd their spacing.

Ultra Fab was my gear of choice but they spec 17.5" spacing and I did not want to weld new tabs

I think you are measuring your spacing wrong...but either way welding new tabs is not a big deal. Just would be nice to know for sure before you get charged for welding when you didn't need it.

[mekkerl]

I really wish I didn't have to make any adjustments. But when I measured the distance between my two straddle brackets (what's holding my current vantage/lippert legs), the measurement is just about 15.5". Bulldog requires 17.5" for a straight fit.
I guess the dealer will make some good money if they can do that job!
Supposed to arrive Monday next week...long wait for it coming from Nevada to NY (ground)!

[fj12ryder]

Very true, I didn't have to weld new tabs on mine either. They fit right in where the old legs came out. Pretty much a straight forward job.

[Wild_Card]

mekkerl wrote:
So the new motor came in on Friday and I installed it in the dealership parking lot Friday evening. Same issues still happen!
After much more research, I think I have determined it to be the clutch in the motor doing the clicking noise...which means the lead leg has issues inside it.
I went right home, and ordered the Bulldog set. I'll likely have to weld on new 'tabs' onto the legs so that they fit my brackets on the camper (there is absolutely no way to access the space to weld new onto the camper).
Once I get that figured out, I'll hand over to the dealership for a pricey installation.

I put. Bulldog dual motor system in mine last month. I did not have to weld new tabs. Ultra Fab landing gear you would have to weld the tabs.

Best thing I did. Mine was Lippert with a motor the size of a wiper motor on my truck. Always worried about it failing.

Not no more

[Jetstreamer]

fj12ryder wrote:

laknox wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
Here's a place with the Bulldog for $529, free shipping: TrailerJacks.com.

HOLY COW! 36 feet of travel on those! :B

Lyle

I never even noticed that. That is a huge amount, they must really telescope those legs inside each other. 🙂

I think that’s a little misleading. The 36” of travel is 18” of drop leg and 18” of lift..
So meaning that the motor will run it up and down 18” and you can adjust the drop leg manually another 18”.

[fj12ryder]

I just used some grease that I had on hand. Easy to disassemble, just unscrew the leg. Only takes a little bit of time, and I felt it was worth it.

[mekkerl]

Excellent idea ryder -- what grease did you use?
And is the disassembly and re-assembly pretty basic?
I'm thinking I'll do just that when they arrive and before I give them to the dealer to install.

[fj12ryder]

mekkerl wrote:
So the new motor came in on Friday and I installed it in the dealership parking lot Friday evening. Same issues still happen!
After much more research, I think I have determined it to be the clutch in the motor doing the clicking noise...which means the lead leg has issues inside it.
I went right home, and ordered the Bulldog set. I'll likely have to weld on new 'tabs' onto the legs so that they fit my brackets on the camper (there is absolutely no way to access the space to weld new onto the camper).
Once I get that figured out, I'll hand over to the dealership for a pricey installation.

FWIW, before I installed the Bulldog system I disassembled the legs and thoroughly greased the screw to insure (hopefully) trouble-free operation for years to come. So far so good.

[SawdustArtist]

After having trouble with ours in the cold (-10°F), we went with Big Foot 6-point Hydraulic jacks.

[Njmurvin]

mekkerl wrote:
So the new motor came in on Friday and I installed it in the dealership parking lot Friday evening. Same issues still happen!
After much more research, I think I have determined it to be the clutch in the motor doing the clicking noise...which means the lead leg has issues inside it.
I went right home, and ordered the Bulldog set. I'll likely have to weld on new 'tabs' onto the legs so that they fit my brackets on the camper (there is absolutely no way to access the space to weld new onto the camper).
Once I get that figured out, I'll hand over to the dealership for a pricey installation.

Have you tried hooking up to your truck and running the landing gear up and down unloaded? Can you detect any resistance? You can isolate the lead leg by pulling the shear bolt out of the follow leg side. That can help you confirm which side is binding. That's how I determined mine needed lubrication inside (on the worm gear). Mine was mostly binding on the follow leg. After drilling holes in the outer tube, I squirted white lithium grease directly onto the worm gears and ran them up and down several times (unloaded). I did this for both legs. It made a huge difference for me.

[mekkerl]

So the new motor came in on Friday and I installed it in the dealership parking lot Friday evening. Same issues still happen!
After much more research, I think I have determined it to be the clutch in the motor doing the clicking noise...which means the lead leg has issues inside it.
I went right home, and ordered the Bulldog set. I'll likely have to weld on new 'tabs' onto the legs so that they fit my brackets on the camper (there is absolutely no way to access the space to weld new onto the camper).
Once I get that figured out, I'll hand over to the dealership for a pricey installation.