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Old 07-31-2017, 06:11 PM   #1
AussieCanadian
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Failed Drivers Side Landing Gear on Hideout Fifth Wheel

Hi all,

Hoping someone can please assist? We have had our Hideout fifth (our first fifth after upgrading from a TT) for around a year, and have have had what I believe is our first real issue...

When arriving at the campground today (we are over 500 miles from home) and unhitching - everything went fine until we were levelling the unit front to back, and we heard a very loud grinding sound from the drivers side landing gear (the sound started close to the bottom of its run - around 3 inches from fully retracted). The landing gear motor still turns, but drivers side still grinds loudly...

What I've noticed so far - the assembly (where it attaches to the frame) is noticeably loose. This doesn't seem normal to me - I've tried to tighten all loose bolts but nothing has helped - any other suggestions?

Is it possible that that gear on that side landing gear has stripped? The gear on that side (while it does still raise) sounds awful and also seems to be raising and lowering slower than the passenger side...

At this stage I'm going to try and book into a local RV dealer (provided I can raise the landing gear enough to hitch up!). I've attached a couple of photos as not sure if the model of this landing gear... assume they're fairly standard on Keystone units though??

Thanks for any help or suggestions!
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Old 07-31-2017, 06:30 PM   #2
JRTJH
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It looks like the motor is on the side you're saying is making noise??? If so, that is the "lead leg" and the gear set inside the assembly is probably stripped or missing one or two teeth on a gear. That would account for the noise and the reduced movement. As for the other side raising faster???? That can't happen, the "lead leg" drives the follow leg, so it can only turn with the motor/gear/transfer linkage/bar which are all mechanically linked.

I'd suppose that you will need a rebuild/repair kit for the gears. You can read about one such set at this link: https://accessories.lazydays.com/lan...yABEgJpUfD_BwE

Keep in mind that this may or may not be the specific gear set you need, that would depend on which model/part number/series/brand of landing gear you have, but basically all the electric landing gear use the same technology, so it's just a matter of finding the correct gear rebuild set.

Good Luck !!!

ADDED: I almost forgot to mention that the gearbox is supposed to "wobble" on top of the landing gear, it is not a "solidly attached mechanism".....
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Old 07-31-2017, 07:03 PM   #3
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Thank you for your help!

I didn't realize that the gearbox was supposed to "wobble" - but that's good to know. At least I know that's normal.

It seems odd to me that the noise only started to occur close to the "bottom" IE being fully retracted. When I say "fully retracted" - that means that the legs are still hanging approx 3 inches from the bottom of the frame. I made this a habit after I blew a fuse earlier on in my ownership after retracting the legs too far

Provided I can still raise the trailer and hitch up... can I do anymore damage by still using the landing gear?? We have a few more stops on our vacation and would dearly love to not have this ruin it. I guess I'll know when I try and hitch up whether or not the noise is restricted to only when it's near "fully retracted"
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Old 07-31-2017, 07:12 PM   #4
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You probably won't do any "more damage" since the entire gearing assembly is included in the rebuild kit. So you'll be replacing "all the innerds" when you rebuild it. That said, you may find that you get to a point where it "self destructs" and simply won't go up or down any more. When that happens, you may find yourself "stranded with no way to hitch up"....

So if I were you and I wanted to salvage the vacation, I'd make sure I had a jack/blocks that I could use to put under the front of the trailer to jack it up so I could "emergency hitch" should it all suddenly "give up the ghost"......

With a means to keep hitching, I wouldn't stop my vacation, as inconvenient as it might be, I'd keep on truckin'.......
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Old 07-31-2017, 08:31 PM   #5
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Thanks again.

Forgot to confirm your question originally, sorry. Yes - it's the "lead" side which has appeared to have failed which is also the side where the motor and gearbox are located.

Good advice about a jack and blocks... since I have levelled and setup for 4 nights, I have some time to go shopping. The trailer is also under warranty, so provided I can make it through the vacation and home, this should be covered under warranty.

Thanks! Brad (AussieCanadian)
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Old 08-01-2017, 05:58 AM   #6
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Just a thought - Have you ever greased the landing gear? There are two grease fittings on each leg. They can be difficult to see if they have never been used as they are painted over. If the gears are damaged, it may be too late - but a liitle grease can't hurt.
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Old 08-01-2017, 06:03 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmith948 View Post
Just a thought - Have you ever greased the landing gear? There are two grease fittings on each leg. They can be difficult to see if they have never been used as they are painted over. If the gears are damaged, it may be too late - but a liitle grease can't hurt.
I've never greased the landing gear before, no. I'll put it down to newbie fifth wheel ownership, but I wasn't sure I needed to (my unit is only a year old also).

Are the grease "nipples" accessible from inside the front storage area? You mention they're hard to see due to being painted, so will assume they're black like everything else. Will look closer this morning to find out, then add a grease gun to my shopping list (together with a jack and blocks)
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Old 08-02-2017, 09:40 AM   #8
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I just went through a failure on my Hideout landing gear but luckily it was just the bolts on the square tube that transfers power to the passenger side. Now that I know how to fix it I carry spare bolts and it's a 10 minute fix. The bolts are actually a planned failure point to prevent damage elsewhere. I mention this just in case you ever have that problem.

Also, while doing research I found the entire landing gear system can be replaced for a couple hundred dollars (for the parts) so don't worry about causing too much money worth of damage. The main thing is just getting through whatever vacation you're on when it fails.

The loose gearbox thing had me perplexed for a couple hours as well until I was able to confirm on a message board like this that it is supposed to be that way.

Also, there are two zerk fittings on each jack near the top. They are a bit hard to find but with a good light you should see them.

In the end, I'm almost glad mine failed since it forced me to learn my way through the system. Also, I was lucky and it happened at home in my driveway at the end of a trip. Something I learned is that the parts are fragile and generally cheap.... kind of like the rest of these trailers.
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Old 08-02-2017, 08:06 PM   #9
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Thanks for those tips and the response! Really great to hear from another Hideout fifth owner. I too over retracted my gear early on but thankfully all I did was blew a fuse. Will definitely keep a watch and look for the bolts you mention though.

I hear what you say about these Hideouts, they are built on the cheap, but then again this is our 2nd keystone trailer and our first was the "mid tier quality" Passport TT (the Hideout is rated "entry or standard") yet we had far more issues with our supposed better "quality" Passport in its first year than our Hideout!

As for the landing gear - I have gone and purchased a couple of 5,000lb jacks for the front as a backup to make sure we can get home from vacation. As you and others have rightly mentioned - that is the first priority 😀
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Old 08-05-2017, 07:54 AM   #10
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Thought I would post a quick update on this thread for others whom may have similar issues.

Since I first posted, we managed to use the landing gear to hitch up and unhitch at the next stop of our vacation. Here is what I noticed:

* The sound is more like a heavy "groan" than clunking. It sounds like the metal frame itself groaning loudly.

* It appears to only persist with the gear under load. Once the pin weight was on the truck, the landing gear operated perfectly in both extract and retract operation. This got me thinking that the issue maybe a motor which is under-powered or low battery.

* Upon arriving and unhitching - the noise didn't present itself even after the landing gear had full weight on it. Admittedly, I didn't need to extend or retract the gear as far as this new site is very level, however the fact that we had driven 6 hours which allows for battery charge time may also support a conclusion that the motor or battery may be suspects to the root cause.

Regardless, I have put in a warranty claim to the selling dealer and captured a video of the events. Hopefully (if the cause is a bad motor) that this is covered by keystones warranty. Perhaps thought, I should be looking to upgrade to stronger motor??

Thanks for all the help so far!
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Old 08-05-2017, 08:24 AM   #11
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Did you lube the zerk fittings, if you have them? Judging by my gear, I suspect the gear isn't lubed much from the factory.

Connect trailer to truck and raise gear.

10-15 pumps in the top zerk (with NLGI #2 grease).

Lower the gear seven revolutions of the motor.

10-15 pumps in the lower zerk.

Cycle gear up and down a few times.

Disconnect truck and run gear up and down to check for improvement.
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Old 08-05-2017, 02:50 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert185 View Post
Did you lube the zerk fittings, if you have them? Judging by my gear, I suspect the gear isn't lubed much from the factory.

Connect trailer to truck and raise gear.

10-15 pumps in the top zerk (with NLGI #2 grease).

Lower the gear seven revolutions of the motor.

10-15 pumps in the lower zerk.

Cycle gear up and down a few times.

Disconnect truck and run gear up and down to check for improvement.
Thanks for the tip.

I did raise and lower the legs themselves (while hitched) and sprayed with multi purpose lube, but at the risk of sounding like a completely newbie, I really have no idea what the "zerk" gear is or how to tell if my unit has this?

Could you please clarify for me?

Thank you!
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Old 08-05-2017, 03:47 PM   #13
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The grease fittings are located at the top of the gear facing the front. Accessed through your front baggage compartment. They are small 'nipple looking' fittings with a small check ball in the center. They are sometimes hard to see because they are painted over black like the gear struts. This is how grease is applied to the drive gears.
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