Check out all the products that we use to upgrade & live Full Time in our RV on our NEW Amazon Page! www.amazon.com/shop/eddieatlarge (Please Note: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases when you visit our Amazon Home Page)
Hi Eddie - Well that was an important lesson. As soon as I put the Lippert legs in place it all fitted a treat. This was on a Keystone Cougar Sprinter 2021 - Thanks for for help
Yup, this happened to my follow-leg back in September 2022. Now our lead leg is giving out. I ordered a beefier model sold by e-trailer (8000 lb pair vs the OEM Lippert 5500 lb pair) so as not to overstress the legs. This video makes it appear MUCH easier to replace than I thought it would be. Thanks!
Hey Zach, will be curious to know how your new 8K leg(s) work out for you. That sounds like that might be a better option. Odd though as we have a 10K camper, so, the 5.5K jacks should way more than sufficient. I'm thinking it may be a quality issue from Lippert.
@@EddieAtLarge The new legs are working far more reliably. I started having torque issues less than 6 months on the old legs, causing the electric motor's safety clutch to click regularly. Then the safety clutch wouldn't stop clicking once the first leg went out. I think the failure of the first leg led to the failure of the second since it wasn't really holding its portion of the weight. The new legs are going strong. On top of that, the PAIR of 8k lbs. legs from e-trailer cost less than one leg from Lippert.
@@zachy-koon Great to hear! That makes perfect sense about the bad leg wearing out the good one. Curious what brand and model legs you bought with the 8k capacity? Would definitely look into buying those next time as it seems like our Lippert replacements still struggle a bit.
Hey Zach, sounds like u bought the Reese 500708 Fifth Wheel Landing Gear, 8,000 lbs. These are independent units. They look like a great alternative to the single motor stock units. Would really like to hear more about yor experiance if these are what you used. Thanks, Chris
Just an FYI for those of you who have a motor with a slipping clutch and decide to use a heavier duty motor. If you purchase the motor and it comes with a switch, there's a chance the switch is for the wrong side (most likely reversed for that side). We replaced the motor (left side looking at front) and noted that the switch was actually FOR the same side. The RV switch currently is on the right side by the generator. So, after installing the motor and keeping the OLD switch, we noted the direction of travel for the legs was reversed. A simple swap of wires from the motor fixed the problem. The new motor was blowing fuses though, so we replaced the leg, like this vid showed and it fixed the problem (thanks a load for good vids), though the leg didn't look that bad in the gear cavity. Looks can be deceiving, as the gears shifted a bit before attempting to turn the jack shaft and we have a standby motor.
Thanks Don! Yep, you're probably looking at $500 just for labor at the dealer not to mention the inconvenience of taking it in and waiting for a month for them to fix it. 🙄 Hope this video helps some folks out!
Good deal! My landing legs are like that. It's a 2016 Open Range and we've taken several long hauls cross country for a couple of months at a time and many many local outings with minimal jack problems. But we do not full time. Just a troublesome breaking bolt that connects the end of the cross bar. I upgraded the bolt to heavier stainless steel and carry spares. I think it's time to inspect the gears and maybe find spare parts for the jack.
Hi Barry! I’ve been told that bolt at the end of the crossbar is called a shear pin that is meant to snap if too much torque is applied to avoid damaging the motor and gearbox. If you’re snapping those on a regular basis, I would recommend at a minimum changing those jack leg gears as it sounds like they are binding up on you. I put links in the description for the gear packages on Amazon for the LCI (Lippert) Legs if that’s what you have in your rig?
Thanks for the video, I'm off to replace the front landing gear system in my 2010 Brookstone 345SA. I figure 13 years in I should just do the whole system.
Found your video very helpful - got all the way through to actually fitting the new leg. The distance I have for the supports is the same as in your video 15.5ins. When I put the leg in position the top support fits but the bottom one is some 1/16" out so it is not properly fitting and I cannot get the second lower screw to fit. I guess it comes down to welding tolerances - looks like I need to file the excess to get a proper fit. Thoughts ?
I just measured the bump outs on my leg outside outside and it measures exactly 15 1/2 inches. I then measured the welded brackets and they measure 15 3/8 inches outside outside. I knew there was some wiggle room there for when I installed the leg, which ends up being 1/8 inch. I would say that you will need to return the leg as you should have that extra 1/8 inch of room to play with. I’m thinking it would not be a good idea to try to file it down and force it to fit. Did you order this from Amazon? Is it the Lippert brand leg?
Thanks, glad you found our video helpful! Our leg began making a clicking noise and we noticed that it took much longer to raise the camper. You could also hear the motor struggling. Depending on the age of your rig and the amount of use it gets, you may want to consider replacing both legs (or gear assemblies) at the same time. If one has gone bad, the other may not be far behind in also needing replacement.
NICE WORK. THANKS FOR THE LESSON. I'M HAVING TO REPLACE THE LEAD GEAR BOX ON MINE. I'VE WONDERED THOUGH. I'M THINKING NEW JACKS THAT HAVE INDEPENDENT ELECTRIC MOTORS ON EACH AND POWERED BY THE SAME POWER SOURCE THAT RAN THE OLD LEAD GEAR MOTOR. ANY THOUGHTS?
I haven’t looked into this much, but, have thought that it would be nice to have, especially for leveling side to side. Sometimes it’s hard to get perfectly level due to uneven ground conditions. Plus, the independent motors should make it easier to raise the rig.
Thanks so much for this video. Our follow leg failed today. Luckily we were unhitching when it happened and it only fell an inch. It was terrifying though. Currently stuck in a hitched position now. Hoping we can have the new leg overnighted to us tomorrow during business hours. If we are hitched do you think we could swap the follow leg without having to use the bottle jacks or do we need to lift the trailer higher than the hitched position do you think? It was a complete failure.
Hi there! Sorry to hear about your troubles. Yes, it can be replaced while hitched as long as you can open the front hatch to gain access to the leg, motor, etc,…. No need to raise the trailer higher. I actually had to do this the very first time that we had the issue. It’s a tight squeeze to work in, but, it is possible. Feel free to to let me know if you have any other questions!
Yeah our gear box went out. It kept breaking the pin, holding the extension arm to the passenger side. I was replacing the pin with grade 8 bolt. An I was breaking them every time we hitched up or unhooked from the vehicle. It’s making me mad. But I’m still under warranty, so they are setting up a time for me to bring it in for repair.
Glad to hear it’s being taken care of for you. I bought an extra gear box and motor to have on hand just in case they ever go out while we’re out on the road.
I would always start with the jack. Had both left and right go bad on us in 4 years of full time travel. Thought the same that the motor may have been bad, so, bought an extra to carry with us in case it ever does. There’s also a gear box that attaches to the motor. Bought an extra one of those as well.
There’s a saying we use in the RV world. “If you aren’t able to make repairs on your RV, you better have a thick wallet”. I’ve made tons of repairs on our rig over the years, a lot I haven’t shown on RUclips. Not only is it extremely expensive to take back to the dealer, it’s also very inconvenient. Sometimes they’ll want to keep your RV in the shop for weeks or even months. Our friends have a Grand Design Momentum that has had all kinds of problems. Last one was a frame issue where they had to completely dismantle it to make the repair. So, it really doesn’t matter how much money you spend (theirs was over $100k), all RVs will end up needing repairs. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to make all the repairs and do all the maintenance on my own.
Check out all the products that we use to upgrade & live Full Time in our RV on our NEW Amazon Page! www.amazon.com/shop/eddieatlarge
(Please Note: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases when you visit our Amazon Home Page)
Thank you for clarifying the difference between the Lead and Follow leg.
Eddie, you really know how to create a usable video. Thank you, this helped me when replacing my follow leg. Very much appreciated!
Great to hear Jason! Glad to know it was helpful for you. 😊
Hi Eddie - Well that was an important lesson. As soon as I put the Lippert legs in place it all fitted a treat. This was on a Keystone Cougar Sprinter 2021 - Thanks for for help
Awesome! Glad it all worked out. Safe travels!!
Yup, this happened to my follow-leg back in September 2022. Now our lead leg is giving out. I ordered a beefier model sold by e-trailer (8000 lb pair vs the OEM Lippert 5500 lb pair) so as not to overstress the legs. This video makes it appear MUCH easier to replace than I thought it would be. Thanks!
Hey Zach, will be curious to know how your new 8K leg(s) work out for you. That sounds like that might be a better option. Odd though as we have a 10K camper, so, the 5.5K jacks should way more than sufficient. I'm thinking it may be a quality issue from Lippert.
@@EddieAtLarge The new legs are working far more reliably. I started having torque issues less than 6 months on the old legs, causing the electric motor's safety clutch to click regularly. Then the safety clutch wouldn't stop clicking once the first leg went out. I think the failure of the first leg led to the failure of the second since it wasn't really holding its portion of the weight.
The new legs are going strong. On top of that, the PAIR of 8k lbs. legs from e-trailer cost less than one leg from Lippert.
@@zachy-koon Great to hear! That makes perfect sense about the bad leg wearing out the good one. Curious what brand and model legs you bought with the 8k capacity? Would definitely look into buying those next time as it seems like our Lippert replacements still struggle a bit.
Hey Zach, sounds like u bought the Reese 500708 Fifth Wheel Landing Gear, 8,000 lbs. These are independent units. They look like a great alternative to the single motor stock units. Would really like to hear more about yor experiance if these are what you used. Thanks, Chris
Sounds exactly like what my landing gear is doing now. Thanks for the video!
You’re most welcome! Glad it was helpful. 👍🏻
Great job. Good idea on getting the worm gears for next time. I also plan for worse case scenario.
This just happened to our 2019 Cougar. Thank you for making this video!!!
You’re very welcome! Best of luck with your repair. 🤞🏻
Just an FYI for those of you who have a motor with a slipping clutch and decide to use a heavier duty motor. If you purchase the motor and it comes with a switch, there's a chance the switch is for the wrong side (most likely reversed for that side). We replaced the motor (left side looking at front) and noted that the switch was actually FOR the same side. The RV switch currently is on the right side by the generator. So, after installing the motor and keeping the OLD switch, we noted the direction of travel for the legs was reversed. A simple swap of wires from the motor fixed the problem. The new motor was blowing fuses though, so we replaced the leg, like this vid showed and it fixed the problem (thanks a load for good vids), though the leg didn't look that bad in the gear cavity. Looks can be deceiving, as the gears shifted a bit before attempting to turn the jack shaft and we have a standby motor.
Great advice, thanks for sharing!
Great no nonsense video! Thanks!
Great video. Save a lot of money doing it yourself. Thanks Don
Thanks Don! Yep, you're probably looking at $500 just for labor at the dealer not to mention the inconvenience of taking it in and waiting for a month for them to fix it. 🙄 Hope this video helps some folks out!
Yes I ordered it from Amazon - it was meant to be compatible with Lippert - I will return as you suggest and get a new one
OK. If it is only compatible with Lippert and not actually the Lippert brand, I would recommend ordering the one that is the Lippert brand.
Good deal! My landing legs are like that. It's a 2016 Open Range and we've taken several long hauls cross country for a couple of months at a time and many many local outings with minimal jack problems. But we do not full time. Just a troublesome breaking bolt that connects the end of the cross bar. I upgraded the bolt to heavier stainless steel and carry spares. I think it's time to inspect the gears and maybe find spare parts for the jack.
Hi Barry! I’ve been told that bolt at the end of the crossbar is called a shear pin that is meant to snap if too much torque is applied to avoid damaging the motor and gearbox. If you’re snapping those on a regular basis, I would recommend at a minimum changing those jack leg gears as it sounds like they are binding up on you. I put links in the description for the gear packages on Amazon for the LCI (Lippert) Legs if that’s what you have in your rig?
Thanks for the video, I'm off to replace the front landing gear system in my 2010 Brookstone 345SA. I figure 13 years in I should just do the whole system.
You’re most welcome! 13 years is pretty good. Not too hard to replace the entire system. May be a good idea to avoid problems down the road. 👍🏻
Very helpful thank you.
Found your video very helpful - got all the way through to actually fitting the new leg. The distance I have for the supports is the same as in your video 15.5ins. When I put the leg in position the top support fits but the bottom one is some 1/16" out so it is not properly fitting and I cannot get the second lower screw to fit. I guess it comes down to welding tolerances - looks like I need to file the excess to get a proper fit. Thoughts ?
I just measured the bump outs on my leg outside outside and it measures exactly 15 1/2 inches. I then measured the welded brackets and they measure 15 3/8 inches outside outside. I knew there was some wiggle room there for when I installed the leg, which ends up being 1/8 inch. I would say that you will need to return the leg as you should have that extra 1/8 inch of room to play with. I’m thinking it would not be a good idea to try to file it down and force it to fit. Did you order this from Amazon? Is it the Lippert brand leg?
Perfect! Just what i needed to know - thanks for a great time lapsed video too.
Fantastic video - thank you for creating it. How can I figure out which leg needs fixing/replacing?
Thanks, glad you found our video helpful! Our leg began making a clicking noise and we noticed that it took much longer to raise the camper. You could also hear the motor struggling. Depending on the age of your rig and the amount of use it gets, you may want to consider replacing both legs (or gear assemblies) at the same time. If one has gone bad, the other may not be far behind in also needing replacement.
Yes, the same is happening with mine. I suspect that's good advice. Thanks again.@@EddieAtLarge
NICE WORK. THANKS FOR THE LESSON. I'M HAVING TO REPLACE THE LEAD GEAR BOX ON MINE. I'VE WONDERED THOUGH. I'M THINKING NEW JACKS THAT HAVE INDEPENDENT ELECTRIC MOTORS ON EACH AND POWERED BY THE SAME POWER SOURCE THAT RAN THE OLD LEAD GEAR MOTOR. ANY THOUGHTS?
I haven’t looked into this much, but, have thought that it would be nice to have, especially for leveling side to side. Sometimes it’s hard to get perfectly level due to uneven ground conditions. Plus, the independent motors should make it easier to raise the rig.
Was there supports on 2 sides of the legs? Because in the video, when you installed the new leg the support was on the bolt side.
There are supports on both sides of the leg
Thanks so much for this video. Our follow leg failed today. Luckily we were unhitching when it happened and it only fell an inch. It was terrifying though. Currently stuck in a hitched position now. Hoping we can have the new leg overnighted to us tomorrow during business hours. If we are hitched do you think we could swap the follow leg without having to use the bottle jacks or do we need to lift the trailer higher than the hitched position do you think? It was a complete failure.
Hi there! Sorry to hear about your troubles. Yes, it can be replaced while hitched as long as you can open the front hatch to gain access to the leg, motor, etc,…. No need to raise the trailer higher. I actually had to do this the very first time that we had the issue. It’s a tight squeeze to work in, but, it is possible. Feel free to to let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks for the excellent video. Good to know!
@ben31tube THANK YOU SO MUCH!! We really appreciate your Super Thanks donation and are glad you enjoyed!
Yeah our gear box went out. It kept breaking the pin, holding the extension arm to the passenger side. I was replacing the pin with grade 8 bolt. An I was breaking them every time we hitched up or unhooked from the vehicle. It’s making me mad. But I’m still under warranty, so they are setting up a time for me to bring it in for repair.
Glad to hear it’s being taken care of for you. I bought an extra gear box and motor to have on hand just in case they ever go out while we’re out on the road.
Nice! Thank you !
that was helpful thank you
Great to hear & thanks for letting us know!
How do you know if the issue is a jack or the landing gear motor?
I would always start with the jack. Had both left and right go bad on us in 4 years of full time travel. Thought the same that the motor may have been bad, so, bought an extra to carry with us in case it ever does. There’s also a gear box that attaches to the motor. Bought an extra one of those as well.
Can you just install a rebuild kit in the lead and follow leg?
Yes, you should be able to do that. They sell them on Amazon.
Mine is doing the exact samething
Hope our video helps you out!
@@EddieAtLarge definitely did. Middle jacks were easy to figure out but those front ones looked a lot more complicated.
Wow, wild you can buy an all new camper for 35+ thousand dollars and yet still catastrophic things fail
There’s a saying we use in the RV world. “If you aren’t able to make repairs on your RV, you better have a thick wallet”. I’ve made tons of repairs on our rig over the years, a lot I haven’t shown on RUclips. Not only is it extremely expensive to take back to the dealer, it’s also very inconvenient. Sometimes they’ll want to keep your RV in the shop for weeks or even months. Our friends have a Grand Design Momentum that has had all kinds of problems. Last one was a frame issue where they had to completely dismantle it to make the repair. So, it really doesn’t matter how much money you spend (theirs was over $100k), all RVs will end up needing repairs. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to make all the repairs and do all the maintenance on my own.
Those old gears looked really bad!