Fifth wheel landing gear motor

[Duzfire1]

I have a 2015 337 reflection. Lately every time I lift my fifth wheel to put on my truck as it gets up high enough to put on my truck the motor will slow down and then the fuse will blow. Is my motor going out? I have never had problems before.


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[Hoopy Frood]

If you've never lubed the screws and/or bevel gears then that could be part of the problem. Try spraying some lithium grease up inside the legs so you get some on the screws, and you could pop the caps off the tops of the legs and see how the bevel gears look. Some people have drilled holes in the leg so they can spray grease into the legs and lube the screws that way.

Of course this is assuming you have electric legs.

[Second Chance]

Our 2016 337 (pre-auto-leveling) had Zerk fittings on the front landing gear struts up inside the front bay at the top. I used to periodically pump some grease into them (required a flex hose on the grease gun).

Rob

[Duzfire1]

If you've never lubed the screws and/or bevel gears then that could be part of the problem. Try spraying some lithium grease up inside the legs so you get some on the screws, and you could pop the caps off the tops of the legs and see how the bevel gears look. Some people have drilled holes in the leg so they can spray grease into the legs and lube the screws that way.

Of course this is assuming you have electric legs.

Thank you I have tried that also


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[Hoopy Frood]

Since you've tried lubing it, and it slows down as it gets close to the top of it's movement, I would try raising the trailer in steps. If it works better that way, you'll be pretty sure that it's the motor getting hot and slowing down. But if it gets to a point in raising the trailer where it slows down even when it's been sitting for a few minutes to cool down then you might have to consider there's a serious drag at that point in the leg movement and is a problem. If you have access to an amp meter you can really narrow down the issue.

[Wicked ace]

Here is the original owners manual / parts and schematic from Venture MFG. I found it last year when the bevel gear went out on mine. This applies to Stromberg- Carlson and Lippert as well as they all use it.

[Duzfire1]

Since you've tried lubing it, and it slows down as it gets close to the top of it's movement, I would try raising the trailer in steps. If it works better that way, you'll be pretty sure that it's the motor getting hot and slowing down. But if it gets to a point in raising the trailer where it slows down even when it's been sitting for a few minutes to cool down then you might have to consider there's a serious drag at that point in the leg movement and is a problem. If you have access to an amp meter you can really narrow down the issue.

I put my volt meter to the motor. When I tried to pick up the motor the volt meter read at 8 volt on The meter. I even installed a new switch to raise and extend the fifth wheel.


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[Wicked ace]

If you are expecting battery voltage, 12.7vdc, you wont see it with the motor in operation. You are reading the load of the windings of the motor. OHM's law states I x R = E or current x the resistance of the motor winding = voltage.
The fuse is going open when it slows at the end of it's stroke so you know you are drawing excessive current. you need to find the reason it is slowing down to find the reason the fuse fails. If you prop up the frame you can disconnect the cross bar and run each leg individually by hand to find if there is mechanical resistance or binding. I would look first at the bevel gears at the top as they are the weak point. It is possible but I doubt the motor is going bad because you state it runs fine until the end of it's stroke.
If you find one leg, in my case it was the follower, is tight and/or binding they sell a rebuild kit for it but it is dear. I found a new leg wasn't much more especially since I needn't fuss with small parts, grease, etc. Shop around to, curiously I found Walmart was the best price.

[Hoopy Frood]

Yeah, 8 volts won't be enough to do much for sure. But you also need to check the amps, as you may be pulling high amps which would pull that battery down really quick. And very high amps can indicate an issue either with the leg mechanism, or a motor problem, or other issues. Voltage alone won't give you enough information. Also what voltage is the battery showing when it is not trying to operate the motor?

[Duzfire1]

Yeah, 8 volts won't be enough to do much for sure. But you also need to check the amps, as you may be pulling high amps which would pull that battery down really quick. And very high amps can indicate an issue either with the leg mechanism, or a motor problem, or other issues. Voltage alone won't give you enough information. Also what voltage is the battery showing when it is not trying to operate the motor?

Thanks for your info, my battery show 12.9 volts I will have to check out the rest of the system for any mechanical issues.


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