'97 Forest River 26' Sandpiper Broken Landing Gear

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Willie B

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Joined
Sep 19, 2011
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5
...I have a 1997 Forest River Sandpiper.,..  ...The left front landing gear has become inoperable...  ...I believe the problem is in the gearing inside the square tubing that leads down to the footpad...  ...I can find no mfg ID on the system other than Von Weise on the motor...  ...Any help I can get on diagnosing and fixing this problem will be greatly appreciated???...
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                      Thanks Bill
 
Look on the top of one of the legs.  There should be a metal cap.  Pry it off and on the underside there should be a tag goiving a part number.  If it is something like VMC- you have a Venture Mfg landing gear assy.  You can double check that by looking on the reduction gear.  That is the large plastic box the electric motor is bolted to.  That box will also have the manufacturers name on it.  After just doing a lot of work on my landing gear I would suspect your problems are not the legs, but rather the gear box or motor.  You should be able to manually raise and lower your landing gear with the supplied hand crank.  It is also possible you simply jammed one of the legs.  Which the motor cannot overcome.
 
...Thanks...  ...Here is a pic of my assy...  ...Maybe this will add some clarity to the ID???...  ...The tin cap on the top of the square housing looks un/pryable???...  ...And the box the motor is attached to is thick steel  not plastic???...

...Apparently my pic is to large and I don't know how to shrink it???...
 
As a last resort you should be able to replace the entire landing gear assy.  I just bought a new gear reduction box and added a dual motor setup for $350 dollars.  So based on that for less than $600 dollars you should be able to get a complete single motor landing gear assy.  But before you spend any money I would disconnect the landing gear and try to manually move the stuck leg.  If it is really stuck, take it out and get it on the work bench where you can work on it easier.  Mine are held in place by two bolts and actually come out rather easily.
 
Can you operate it manually (asked before)?  Depending on your particular unit, look at the drive rod that joints the two sides together and drives both at once. You may have a shear pin connecting the left and right pieces together and it  has sheared.
 
...Manual operation only operates the unbroken side...  ...In speaking with Forest River in Rialto Ca,...they tell me the landing gear was manufactured by Steelco,...long out of business...  ...It sounds like the problem is in the left leg gearing???...  ...I am still unclear as to how to remove the leg???...  ...Any one???...
 
Disconnect the tie rod and set it aside.  Looking in the front compartment you should see two "U" shaped clamps that are tied together by a 3/8-16 bolt.  Take the bolts out and gently pry the saddles apart,  The leg will lift right out.  Be sure to support the front of the trailer using a couple of hydraulic jacks and also be sure to remove to foot pad.  Since your systems manufacturer is out of business I would suggest that you simply get some measurements and give Venture Mfg a call and replace the whole thing.
 
....Thanks...  ...I now see how that part of the assy. comes out...  ...If in fact the mfg. is out of business does this mean chances of finding f replacement parts are slim to none???...  ...I am e-mailing Lippert pics of the assy for ID,...as Metro RV in Burbank says the unit may have been mfg. by them...

...Later...  ...I've gotten it apart...  ...It has some broken teeth on the drive gear  inside of the leg tube...  ...Now to ID it and find gears???...  ...I have pics I can E-mail...
 
Not necessarily.  Good chance they are standard miter gears  Look locally for a browning gear dealer and take them to them to see if you can find a pair similar.  You might have to bore them out and replacing them as a pair will ensure they work as a pair.  In fact it might be best to replace both sides with the same gears.
 
...I believe I have the parts source solved...  ...There is a gentleman in Apple Valley Ca who is having the gears for my particular landing gear reproduced by the original gear source...  ...My landing gear was manufactured by RMD in Indiana...  ...They have been out of business for a number of years...

  The gentlemans name is Dale and worked for RMD for many years...  ...With over 600,000 units out there he saw the need and has taken it upon himself to have much of RMD's landing gear reproduced...  ...This guy is very knowledgeable and more than liberal in sharing his knowledge...  ...Feel free to check out his website      www.myrvplace.com    or call  760-488-2630 for info...  ...Pass it on...  ...And thanks for your direction Donn...
 
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