Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-17-2014, 09:32 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Nick M's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 142
5er landing gear questions

I have a 2010 Brookstone 360RL that is giving me problems. It doesn't want to lift the hitch pin high enough to engage my hitch. As I raise the camper, the motor begins slowing down (on shore power) and finally the gearbox begins chattering and it refuses to go any higher. I can attach the manual crank and with another person holding the extend switch I can raise it manually.

1. What locks the landing gear at any height?
2. Can I remove the motor and gearbox without fear of the legs retracting?
3. How can I identify the manufacturer of the landing gear, motor and gearbox?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Nick
WB4SQI
__________________
Nick, Sharon and Finnigan
Nick M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2014, 09:40 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
QCCowboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Illinois
Posts: 880
Not sure if this will help or not, but we don't lower the camper onto the hitch. Simply get the hitch high enough and the back the truck into it. The truck will squat and the hitch engages.
__________________
Jack of all trades - Master of none
2012 F350 CC DRW - 6.7L PSD
2014 Sabre 36QBOK
QCCowboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2014, 09:44 PM   #3
Mod free 5er
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 24,702
Sounds more like your battery(s) are gone. Before you mess with the motor, try putting a GOOD full charged battery on it. Don't rely on the converter or the batteries in the unit.
__________________
OldCoot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2014, 09:46 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
BamaBob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Whereever our Berkshire is Parked!
Posts: 7,082
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldCoot View Post
Sounds more like your battery(s) are gone. Before you mess with the motor, try putting a GOOD full charged battery on it. Don't rely on the converter or the batteries in the unit.
X2!
__________________
Bob & Anne-Marie [BamaBob & 6 Actual]
| 2017 Berkshire XLT 43A with Ultrasteer Tag | Blue Ox Avail + KarGard II |
| SMI AF-1 Air Brake | 2016 Jeep Cherokee Overland TOAD | Pedego Bikes |
Nights Camped: 2013 - 242014 - 422015 - 56Jul 2016 - Fulltime
BamaBob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 05:54 AM   #5
Site Team - Lou
 
Herk7769's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Eastern PA
Posts: 23,268
Are you at "end of travel"? This has happened to me before when I was parked on a slope.

The truck loaded allowed me to drop the adjustable part of the legs to the ground and disconnect, but I was very near the full extension of the motor driven part of the landing gear by the time I had enough weight off to disconnect.

When I went to hook up, I could not get enough altitude to back the truck into the hitch.

I had to use wooden blocks to support the frame so I could get more of the adjustable part down.

I extended the landing gear as far up as I could; blocked the frame on both sides and retracted the landing gear a foot or so; then dropped the legs again until they hit the ground. I re-pinned them; extended the landing gear to lift the frame off the supports and connected normally.

Now, when I am on a slope, I always plan ahead on how much "leg" to drop so I have full use of the motor driven part when I need to connect.
__________________
Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk7769 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 05:56 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 157
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldCoot View Post
Sounds more like your battery(s) are gone. Before you mess with the motor, try putting a GOOD full charged battery on it. Don't rely on the converter or the batteries in the unit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob View Post
X2!

Pretty sure he said he was on shore power. Batteries should not be an issue at that point.

At least they are not on my W&P.
036.6turbo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 06:21 AM   #7
Phat Phrog Stunt Team
 
TURBS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Iowa
Posts: 34,507
Quote:
Originally Posted by Herk7769 View Post
Are you at "end of travel"? This has happened to me before when I was parked on a slope.

The truck loaded allowed me to drop the adjustable part of the legs to the ground and disconnect, but I was very near the full extension of the motor driven part of the landing gear by the time I had enough weight off to disconnect.

When I went to hook up, I could not get enough altitude to back the truck into the hitch.

I had to use wooden blocks to support the frame so I could get more of the adjustable part down.

I extended the landing gear as far up as I could; blocked the frame on both sides and retracted the landing gear a foot or so; then dropped the legs again until they hit the ground. I re-pinned them; extended the landing gear to lift the frame off the supports and connected normally.

Now, when I am on a slope, I always plan ahead on how much "leg" to drop so I have full use of the motor driven part when I need to connect.
I concur!
TURBS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 06:28 AM   #8
Mod free 5er
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 24,702
Quote:
Originally Posted by 036.6turbo View Post
Pretty sure he said he was on shore power. Batteries should not be an issue at that point.

At least they are not on my W&P.
The if the battery(s) are bad/dead, the landing jack motor will not receive enough power to work to full power off the converter alone. Disconnect your batteries and try it.
__________________
OldCoot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 07:02 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
camper1999's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 825
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldCoot View Post
The if the battery(s) are bad/dead, the landing jack motor will not receive enough power to work to full power off the converter alone. Disconnect your batteries and try it.
X2 if the battery is dead land gear and slideouts will not work properly even if plugged in.
__________________
2012 Cedar Creek Silverback 29RE
2011 GMC 2500HD Diesel
camper1999 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 07:40 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Witch Doctor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Clarksville Va.
Posts: 10,422
I always extend my legs down about 4" or so depending on the spot, then drop the legs. My driveway slopes down so I learned that I need that 4" to level the unit off. If I just pull the pin there is noway to drop the unit front end to make it level. So I really now just do it all the time.
__________________
Coachmen M/H
Concord
2018 / 300 DSC

Witch Doctor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 07:42 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
PhoneDude 8289's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,183
X3 OldCoot and camper1999
__________________
Joe & Beverly
2014 Ram 2500 CTD, CC, SB
2014 8289WS lifted
PhoneDude 8289 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 07:59 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 157
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldCoot View Post
The if the battery(s) are bad/dead, the landing jack motor will not receive enough power to work to full power off the converter alone. Disconnect your batteries and try it.
Hmm. I have done that. Mine works fine with no battery in it? I bought mine as a repo unit, battery was stone dead when I went to pick it up. First few times I had to get it on and off of my truck, was on shore power. Seemed to work fine?
036.6turbo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 08:02 AM   #13
Mod free 5er
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 24,702
Quote:
Originally Posted by 036.6turbo View Post
Hmm. I have done that. Mine works fine with no battery in it? I bought mine as a repo unit, battery was stone dead when I went to pick it up. First few times I had to get it on and off of my truck, was on shore power. Seemed to work fine?
You're lucky. Mine won't.
__________________
OldCoot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 08:09 AM   #14
nosaint3
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Mostly Louisiana,Illinois,Michigan
Posts: 57
The similar problem I had with my old carri-lite was a bent leg. I used a hydraulic jack to lift the camper to take pressure off legs and motor to get it on the truck. When I changed it out with a new one it worked fine. I'm just assuming that you have a fifth wheel.
nosaint3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 09:34 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
Nick M's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 142
Great replies but......

Thanks to all for your comments.

The battery is brand new and I am connected to shore power. I got the same results when connected to the truck power with engine running. Using only the battery there is not enough current available to get the motor to lift the camper.

Low power would not address the chattering gearbox, more like a chipped tooth.

Weighed the rig last week, camper is 14460, about 600 pounds under max. However I'm getting a pin weight of 3288, 700 over Coachmen specs. I find this unbelievable based on the little we carry forward of the axles but the landing gear issues would tend to indicate this is correct maybe?

Dry weight is specified at 12,100 and I estimated we have no more than 1000 in cargo, pretty much the same stuff we had in our Sundance 2800RL and it weighed in at 10200 loaded.

I have never been to end of travel when raising the camper, there has really been no need to get that high to engage the hitch. The legs are marked in red for end of travel on retraction.

Still need to know if I can remove the motor and gearbox without hooking up to the truck.
__________________
Nick, Sharon and Finnigan
Nick M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 10:01 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
Witch Doctor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Clarksville Va.
Posts: 10,422
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick M View Post
Thanks to all for your comments.

The battery is brand new and I am connected to shore power. I got the same results when connected to the truck power with engine running. Using only the battery there is not enough current available to get the motor to lift the camper.

Low power would not address the chattering gearbox, more like a chipped tooth.

Weighed the rig last week, camper is 14460, about 600 pounds under max. However I'm getting a pin weight of 3288, 700 over Coachmen specs. I find this unbelievable based on the little we carry forward of the axles but the landing gear issues would tend to indicate this is correct maybe?

Dry weight is specified at 12,100 and I estimated we have no more than 1000 in cargo, pretty much the same stuff we had in our Sundance 2800RL and it weighed in at 10200 loaded.

I have never been to end of travel when raising the camper, there has really been no need to get that high to engage the hitch. The legs are marked in red for end of travel on retraction.

Still need to know if I can remove the motor and gearbox without hooking up to the truck.
I know that when they changed my motor and gear housing last year at the rally they put a jack under the ends, So to me I would say no, unless you put jack stands as they did. Hope that helps.
__________________
Coachmen M/H
Concord
2018 / 300 DSC

Witch Doctor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 10:05 AM   #17
Mod free 5er
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Concord, NC
Posts: 24,702
Don't believe you would need to block the frame, but I would put a pair of Vise Grips on each jack shaft to keep it from turning just to be safe before you take the motor off.
__________________
OldCoot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 10:13 AM   #18
Phat Phrog Stunt Team
 
TURBS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Iowa
Posts: 34,507
Wow! That a lot of pin weight!
TURBS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 09:40 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
wingedone's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Charlotte, MI
Posts: 226
Quote:
Originally Posted by f1100turbo View Post
Wow! That a lot of pin weight!
But not unusual. My Brookstone clocks in at 3,340 lbs. And I am also 1,000 lbs under GVWR for the trailer.
__________________
2011 Brookstone 354TS
2013 F350 SC 6.7 DRW
Swivelwheel 58DW
wingedone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2014, 09:43 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
wingedone's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Charlotte, MI
Posts: 226
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick M View Post
Using only the battery there is not enough current available to get the motor to lift the camper.
At all?

Or move it past a certain point?
__________________
2011 Brookstone 354TS
2013 F350 SC 6.7 DRW
Swivelwheel 58DW
wingedone is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
5er

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:18 PM.