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Landing gear question

bobbyg123
Explorer
Explorer
So after 10+ years of travel trailer ownership, I took delivery of our first 5th wheel on Saturday.

The hitching/unhitching process went pretty smoothly, but I have a question on the landing gear. My F350 isn't lifted, but it has bigger wheels and a fairly tall profile.

During the PDI, the guys at the dealership advised me not to overextend the landing gear past 10-12 holes when unhitching, but that's impossible with my configuration. I'm stacking 5 lynx blocks on each side, and I still have to extend the landing gear pretty far.

It's not a big deal, but it does raise some stability concerns. I'd rather not have the rig balancing like a jenga game if there's another solution. Any thoughts?
2018 Jayco Eagle HT 29.5BHDS
2017 Ford F-350 CC 6.2L
16 REPLIES 16

Bob_Shaw
Explorer
Explorer
Just a note, the drop legs are 31" long and I wouldn't extend them to the last hole, which on mine, is 4" from the end of the leg. If I remember, there are 16 or 17 holes above the foot, depending on what type of foot you have. With that set-up, you're going to have to be careful about how level of a campsite you get. If you get a downhill campsite, you're not going to be able to drop the front enough to get the trailer level, and it's no fun to have to put jacks under the frame and have to reset the frot jacks so you can lower it more, trust me, been there done that. You'll also have to watch the clearance between the trailer and the back of you r truck bed. If you have a sharp downhill, your trailer may contact the truck bed. I had that happen and my truck isn't even lifted. If you have a Ground Control 3.0 Auto-Levelling system, you'll get a fault code if it is out of range.

Learjet
Explorer
Explorer
My legs came with a red line for max extend with the motor....I had to mark a line for the max retract.
2017 Ram Big Horn, DRW Long Box, 4x4, Cummins, Aisin, 3.73
2022 Jayco Pinnacle 32RLTS, Onan 5500, Disc Brakes, 17.5" tires
B&W Ram Companion

bpounds
Nomad
Nomad
laknox wrote:

Since you have autolevel...


Don't know if you meant me, or the OP, but I'm a simple man. No auto-level for me. If the OP has it, he didn't mention it. Maybe that just gives you 6 EOT's to worry about.

Just thought I would add this though - fuses and shear pins aren't the only thing easily damaged. I just replaced this gear box this weekend. The new one is AL, so hopefully it won't just move the damage to another part, like bevel gears for example.



2006 F250 Diesel
2011 Keystone Cougar 278RKSWE Fiver

laknox
Nomad
Nomad
bpounds wrote:
Loaded or not, you risk blowing the fuse at end of travel. So be quick to get off the button. Be prepared with spare fuses. I've blown a few. Then finally replaced it with an auto-reset breaker that fit the existing socket. But you still need to get off that button quick when finding end of travel. Sneak up on it, don't just slam it. Use your hand crank if desired.

I've never reached full extend, even without using blocks. But I've hit end of retract by not paying attention, even though I marked it with paint.


Since you have autolevel, a full retract shouldn't be an issue with "running into the stops" damaging anything. My LCI system fully retracts the jacks "to the stops" automatically and without damage. I've not tried extending them fully to see if the autolevel system will stop them. As for extending, using the manual crank when you get near the end, is probably an excellent idea.

Lyle
2022 GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali Crew Cab 4x4 Duramax
B&W OEM Companion & Gooseneck Kit
2017 KZ Durango 1500 D277RLT
1936 John Deere Model A
International Flying Farmers 64 Year Member

bpounds
Nomad
Nomad
Loaded or not, you risk blowing the fuse at end of travel. So be quick to get off the button. Be prepared with spare fuses. I've blown a few. Then finally replaced it with an auto-reset breaker that fit the existing socket. But you still need to get off that button quick when finding end of travel. Sneak up on it, don't just slam it. Use your hand crank if desired.

I've never reached full extend, even without using blocks. But I've hit end of retract by not paying attention, even though I marked it with paint.
2006 F250 Diesel
2011 Keystone Cougar 278RKSWE Fiver

Old-Biscuit
Explorer
Explorer
dryfly wrote:
Old-Biscuit wrote:
With 5vr still hitched

Raise the Inner tubes up fully
Extend the Outer tubes until you hear then click/clack
Retract then 1" and paint a RED Line -----that is the MAX extension you want to do so you do not damage drive nut/shaft/gears



Are you saying that fully extending the outer legs (without any load on them) until they make a noise, will not damage the gears?



YES .....
W/O a LOAD on them they will chatter...stop when they do
THen RETRACT at least 1" and MARK the outer tube.
THen you can Lift under load to that mark W/O reaching full extend and cause damage
Is it time for your medication or mine?


2007 DODGE 3500 QC SRW 5.9L CTD In-Bed 'quiet gen'
2007 HitchHiker II 32.5 UKTG 2000W Xantex Inverter
US NAVY------USS Decatur DDG31

mtofell1
Explorer
Explorer
dryfly wrote:
Old-Biscuit wrote:
With 5vr still hitched

Raise the Inner tubes up fully
Extend the Outer tubes until you hear then click/clack
Retract then 1" and paint a RED Line -----that is the MAX extension you want to do so you do not damage drive nut/shaft/gears



Are you saying that fully extending the outer legs (without any load on them) until they make a noise, will not damage the gears?


In my experience, over-running to the point of making noise has caused the fuse to blow and/or the bolt on the crossbar to shear. I suppose you have to find out the limit so you can mark it when totally extended but be ready to repair something if/when you do.

dryfly
Explorer
Explorer
Old-Biscuit wrote:
With 5vr still hitched

Raise the Inner tubes up fully
Extend the Outer tubes until you hear then click/clack
Retract then 1" and paint a RED Line -----that is the MAX extension you want to do so you do not damage drive nut/shaft/gears



Are you saying that fully extending the outer legs (without any load on them) until they make a noise, will not damage the gears?

bobbyg123
Explorer
Explorer
Ok guys, thanks for the feedback.

To clarify, it sounds you're suggesting that I fully retract and pin the manual locking section of the gear, and then lower the powered landing gear with the motor. Is that right?

During the PDI, I seem to recall the dealer saying to raise the motorized landing gear to the "dust line" when I was hitching up, so I guess I forgot to power them down a ways when I was unhitching.
2018 Jayco Eagle HT 29.5BHDS
2017 Ford F-350 CC 6.2L

mtofell1
Explorer
Explorer
Maybe you can learn from my mistake on this one - when overextending, I sheared off a bolt in the square tube that runs horizontally through the storage area and transfers power to the passenger side jack (I'm assuming a common setup with one motor on the driver's side). Anyway, the bolt is a planned failure point so you don't break more expensive things. I now carry spare bolts to prevent being stranded somewhere if it ever happens again. Where is also a fuse that can blow when you overextend. Be sure you carry some spares of that as well.

garyp4951
Explorer III
Explorer III

RoyF
Explorer
Explorer
You definitely can damage the gears by overextending. I had to replace the gears on one leg because of it.

cougar28
Explorer
Explorer
Well my link didnโ€™t work. Just look up Andersen block. Looks like a bucket give you 8โ€ to start off with and very stable.
2002 F-250 SD CC 7.3PSD Auto. XLT Short Bed 4X4 Off-Rd.Pkg.Highland Green,Westin Sportsman Grille Guard (Black) RBW Li'l Rocker Slider ,Prodigy Control Towing Jayco Eagle HT 30.5 MLOK,Handy 5er tailgate

cougar28
Explorer
Explorer
Get you a couple of theses. They work great.
https://andersenhitches.com/Products/3608m--trailer-jack-block.aspx
2002 F-250 SD CC 7.3PSD Auto. XLT Short Bed 4X4 Off-Rd.Pkg.Highland Green,Westin Sportsman Grille Guard (Black) RBW Li'l Rocker Slider ,Prodigy Control Towing Jayco Eagle HT 30.5 MLOK,Handy 5er tailgate