Lippert replies to my request

[missourijan]

There have been a couple of discussions lately about the front jacks traveling down after being raised. We have this problem and as suggested, I contacted Lippert. Their response was "take it in to a dealer and have problem diagnosed" I responded that I was disappointed in that response since we live in the unit and don't have the ability to leave it at a dealer for weeks on end waiting for parts. I don't have a response yet. Does anyone have a contact at Lippert that may have a better solution??

[CherriandBob]

We contacted Lippert and described the problem. They sent new cylinders. Bob started putting them on, but with the temps in the 95-100 range he hasn't got the job completed yet. The inside seals failed. Glad Bob can do the work as we didn't want to drive 240 miles one way then wait or make a second trip to bring the unit home.

[mcfarlak]

The seals have also failed in my 07 Elite Suite. Lippert sent the jacks but have yet to have them installed. My jacks have rusted through the chrome plating, and I think that is the cause for the leak down. We have an appointment to have them installed before we leave for Naples for the winter in Oct.

[Motor31]

You are inside of 5 years on the unit so you should be in warranty. They will want you to go to a dealer for the repair for their liability issues. The other option is for them to send a tech to your location, either a repair company or one of their own techs if you are close enough to them. They have ALWAYS treated me right and I can't say enough good about their response.

Internal leakdowns are common as those are really CHEAP foreign built rams and Lippert does NOT rebuild them, they just replace them. It's not hard to do as long as you have the ability to really crank the unit up in the air (front jacks) or can dig a really deep hole under them and safely hold the unit up.

[missourijan]

Well, I have made progress. I got them to assign me a work order #. They have requested that I send them a picture of the jack and measure the jack. No instructions on WHAT I am to measure, an unlevel site could have a different measurement. I need to find a dealer or a mobile rv tech that is familiar with these hydraulics. We are close to Reno now and will be in Ventura County, CA for the winter, so that may be interesting. So Motor 31, how does that work to hold the unit up while replacing the ram???

[wingnut60]

The problem is you have to have enought height on the front of the trailer to allow the entire jack column to be lowered below the bottom of the trailer and be moved sideways. Just jacking the front up is usually not high enough--a hole needs to be dug directly below each jack after the trailer is supported by other means--usually jack stands placed under the frames--that way the entire jack assembly can be lowered from out under the trailer frame. I haven't actually had to do this, but have seen some pics of others and you need a lot of space between the trailer and the ground--thus the hole.
Joe

[CherriandBob]

Lippert doesn't rebuild the cylinders---guess that is their story and they are sticking to it, but looks like it could be a rebuild, don't know. The ones we received have been repainted for some reason.
We have an advantage of having the room to be able to lift the unit securely and room to get the work done without digging a hole.

[Motor31]

Welp here is how I did it. I have an advantage in that I have a big truck with air bags. I could use the truck to lift the trailer in increments by inflating the air bags then chocking the trailer pin, deflate and add more lumber to the equation. In my case the jacks would not lift the rig but would hold it long enough to set the wood to make another lift. We left the truck in place as a safety stop should the situation go south on us. The tires were blocked and brakes set.

This is a blog a buddy of mine has and there are 3 pix of the "system" the Lippert tech (they sent him to Northern Washington state from Portland OR.) and I used to get the job done. Jacking the rig up is the only really hard part.

http://tinkytravels.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html

As far as measurement is concerned you might be able to get the lengths (stored and extended) from the DRV factory on your unit. That will tell Lippert what size ram to send.

FWIW we only replaced the bad ram and all others are still functioning fine to date. Knock on wood and cross fingers.

Well, I have made progress. I got them to assign me a work order #. They have requested that I send them a picture of the jack and measure the jack. No instructions on WHAT I am to measure, an unlevel site could have a different measurement. I need to find a dealer or a mobile rv tech that is familiar with these hydraulics. We are close to Reno now and will be in Ventura County, CA for the winter, so that may be interesting. So Motor 31, how does that work to hold the unit up while replacing the ram???

[Suite Sweets]

On our front landing jacks, the weld failed that holds the disc that is inside the sleeve, and which hold the sleeve up. The sleeve fell down onto the pavement and got bent. It must have given the piston (or ram) a shock, which damaged the seals. I say that because when the front jacks were raised, they would slowly settle back down.
Our rig is over 5 years old and we were not original purchasers. As well, we live in our RV and I didn't want to be hanging around the repair shop, awaiting parts. I took the two rams to a hydraulic repair place at about 4 PM. Next day, they called me a 1PM and had both of them rebuilt. $90 each.

[wingnut60]

Suite Sweets,
FYI, this original post was in 2010--but you info is still current, and OEM jacks are still causing problems. You did not say how you got the rams out? Is this different from pulling the entire jack assembly out?
Thanks,
Joe

[Cummins12V98]

I am guessing your rams are NOT this type?

https://i.imgur.com/88sSltJl.jpg

[Suite Sweets]

Wingnut, yes, I knew the original post was old. But I thought the info about being able to rebuild them, the time it could take, and the cost, would be germane to somebody. The RV repair place lifted the pin with a fork lift and removed whatever they removed, from below. I did not watch them.

[Suite Sweets]

Cummins - Yes, they are that type. The bolt seen just above the plate goes into a cast disc. The disc has a nut welded to the top. That weld failed, allowing the disc to drop and the disc was holding the sleeve up. When the sleeve dropped it bent - I think giving a shock to the seals which caused (or allowed) the pistons to drop. The rebuild took care of the problem. The dealership had told me replacement cylinders were not available from Lippert and the parts for the new system would be $1400. I had them inspect the weld on the nut on the other side, and maybe that's something to check annually

[wingnut60]

Indeed, good and still timely info--thanks. Luckily my '05 made it til 2017 for the tradein.

[Cummins12V98]

The reason I was asking if your rams sere the same is you said "YOU" removed them.

I was under the impression you had to be over a pit to drop the rams down???

Anxious to hear your reply!

[Suite Sweets]

Cummins - for the life of me, I can't find where I said "I" removed them. I find where I said I took them to the hydraulic shop. But I'm tired, and not going to re-read those posts a 3rd time. So, I'll stand corrected. I didn't remove them, but had them removed. The place that did it, used a forklift with a pin receiver mounted to the forks to raise the front of the DRV high enough to get out from below, whatever they were taking out -the sleeve and hydraulic cylinder. I'd front of the DRV was raised, I'd say, about 4-1/2 feet

[Dapperdan]

Wow, they must've had your trailer practically standing on it's end! BUT the fact remains your front jacks came out, were rebuilt and re-installed. Glad to hear it's working for ya.

Dan

[ddubya]

Suite Sweets,
FYI, this original post was in 2010--but you info is still current, and OEM jacks are still causing problems. You did not say how you got the rams out? Is this different from pulling the entire jack assembly out?
Thanks,
Joe

I just had my landing gear jacks rebuilt last week. No issues at all with the rebuild and less than half the cost to buy new ones.
I was able to take them off and reinstall in about two hours. A good 1/2 inch air wrench helps with the bolts.

I used 3 ton jack stands under the front of the frame for support and had plenty of room to remove the jacks.

[Cummins12V98]

" I took the two rams to a hydraulic repair place at about 4 PM."

That is why I "ASSUMED" that YOU removed them. I saw nothing about having someone remove them, that's what got me curious.

Oh well! I will be doing the same in a couple months. My friend has a pit and also a big forklift so one way or another those suckers are going to get rebuilt with QUALITY parts!

[Cummins12V98]

I just had my landing gear jacks rebuilt last week. No issues at all with the rebuild and less than half the cost to buy new ones.
I was able to take them off and reinstall in about two hours. A good 1/2 inch air wrench helps with the bolts.

I used 3 ton jack stands under the front of the frame for support and had plenty of room to remove the jacks.

OK I will ask you, do you have the same rams that I posed a pic of? If so how much room did you have under RV to get them out?

[Cummins12V98]

There is a bit of lateral slop in that type of ram with that outer sleeve. My Machinist friend will look into some way to eliminate that slop.

[clev]

I suppose that I'm one of the lucky ones' with no ram problems. With the bedroom slide extended, I can walk under the lip/flange with about 1/2 inch clearance for my head. After 2-3 months, my head drags a little. I don't think that's enough leakage to worry about.

[Cummins12V98]

^^^^^ It's because you have the newer ram.

https://i.imgur.com/DbEQUA8l.jpg

[clev]

Good afternoon, cummins. I didn't know about it being one of the 'new' ones. I've read complaints from owners of 17's and 18's, so I thought most were having leakage problems.

[Cummins12V98]

Pic was June 2016 at the factory.

[Ultratravler]

I have a 2017 with the new jacks. At night, when trying to sleep, the jacks will pop or snap every so often. Is this noise the jacks leaking and dropping a little? Thanks.

Dave

[Suite Sweets]

There is lots on the internet about this 'popping'. Google landing jacks popping and you'll learn all about it. Essentially, there are 3 different hydraulic additives you can purchase for about $25 a quart. You take out a quart of existing oil and put in the additive. Improvement on our popping jacks was virtually immediate. Over 3 years, we have not needed to add any more additive. We purchased from Caterpillar. I'd provide you the product name, but it didn't come up almost immediately on my quick search.

[Ultratravler]

Suite Sweets, I have added 2 qts. of the Cat stuff already, but the front jacks still Pop. Should I add more or is there a better solution? Thanks for the reply.

Dave

[wingnut60]

ddubya,
Don't happen to have a pic of the trailer with the nose up and jacks coming out?
Thanks,
Joe

[Suite Sweets]

Ultra - Reading in other forums, someone said they called Lippert at the same point as you are, and Lippert told him to "learn to live with it". What is happening is stiction, and this link (which I was too tired to find last night) mentions specifically one quart, but also says "follow the instructions" (who does that ?) Good luck with it.
https://www.lci1.com/images/support/lipsheet/0295.pdf
Incidentally, I did change out 1/2 of my hydraulic fluid for the Type A that is recommended. Had to purchase it from Amazon - it is synthetic whale oil. The one quart of Cat stuff I added did the job for us. I never heard a 'pop' again. I don't know if the Type A made a difference for me or not. But I kind of doubt many people make the effort to find synthetic whale oil.