Landing gear is the two front legs that hold a fifth wheel up once the hitch is released, and on most trailers it is a purely mechanical screw jack pair. A 12 volt drive motor bolts to a reduction gearbox on the lead leg, and a cross shaft carries that same rotation across to the follow leg. That is the entire system. There is no level sensor, no control board and no hydraulic pump anywhere in it. Auto leveling systems such as Lippert Level-Up, HWH and BAL sit behind their own controllers on a separate circuit, which is why a dark touchpad tells you nothing about landing gear that refuses to run. Lippert's install manual feeds the landing gear switch straight from the battery through a 30 amp fuse, and rates the universal electric unit at 6,000 pounds. Owners who assume the two systems share wiring usually chase the wrong box first.
The cross shaft is a telescoping two piece rod, listed by Lippert as cross shaft kit 156842 with an inner and an outer half, and it is the only thing making the follow leg move when the gearbox turns. It is retained with quarter inch hardware: cross shaft nut 135829 and bolts 136375 and 157754, all 1/4-20. Lippert's install manual insists both legs be mounted at exactly the same height with their connecting rods directly across from each other, because any misalignment loads that shaft in bending every time the legs run. When a retaining bolt shears or the shaft ends round out, the lead leg keeps driving and the follow leg stops dead. The owner sees one side dropping and the other frozen, and the trailer starts racking diagonally. Stop at that point. Another thirty seconds of switch time puts the whole pin weight onto one leg.
The reduction gearbox is a small bevel gearset that turns motor speed into the torque needed to lift several thousand pounds, and it is the most common failure point on electric landing gear. Water finds the housing, the grease thins and washes out, and the gear teeth round over under load. The symptom is unmistakable: the motor runs, the trailer does not move. Lippert now lists the aluminum gear box 276602, which supersedes both the older Venture standard gear box 143780 and the universal fit gear box 179015, so a replacement housing today is not the same part that came off. Splitting motor from gearbox takes about five minutes. Fit the manual crank handle 119226 onto the override shaft and turn it. If the leg walks, the gearset is sound and the fault is motor, switch or supply. If the shaft spins freely with no leg movement, the gears are gone.
Sand, shell fill and soft marl sites are exactly where a bare footpad punches in on one side. The moment a leg leans, it is no longer taking load along its axis, and Lippert's own manual states the gear is designed for vertical operation and that excessive side loads may cause damage. Load distribution pads under footpad 119225 are the whole fix, and they cost less than one leg. Running the screw to full stroke every time makes it worse, because full extension leaves the least overlap between inner and outer tube, which is precisely when a side load has the most leverage on the bearing surfaces. Gaining height with the drop leg and snapper pin 225598 instead keeps that overlap. Lippert also sets the frame bracket nut at 10 to 18 ft-lbs and warns the bolt is not a stop, with bracket flanges no closer than 2 3/8 inches.
Inside each leg is an acme screw and a nut riding on it, and on a coastal Florida rig that screw spends its life in salt-laden air with a wet footpad under it. Corrosion on the thread raises the torque the gearbox has to deliver, which is how a marginal gearset finally strips. The same air attacks the motor case and the manual override shaft where it passes through the frame rail, and a rusted override shaft is the reason a crank handle will not seat on the night the motor dies. Find that shaft now, confirm the coupler fits and store the handle where it can be reached without crawling. Retract the legs completely before travel as Lippert instructs, since a retracted screw sits inside the tube rather than exposed to road spray and coastal humidity.
Callers describe this as a stuck trailer, not a broken part, so the check runs from supply outward. First is battery voltage under load and the 30 amp fuse, because a landing gear motor is the heaviest single draw on a parked trailer. Second is the switch and harness, either the ignition proof unit 145236 or the Tuson harness 141892, read at the motor rather than at the switch. Third is the manual crank test that separates a dead motor from a stripped gearbox. Fourth is the cross shaft and its 1/4-20 hardware. Last is leg geometry and footpad condition. Left alone, a rounded override shaft turns a crank job into a cut and weld job.
Lippert's owner manual is blunt about this: the landing gear must not be used to support the trailer for service work, and the trailer has to be supported per the manufacturer's recommendation before anyone gets underneath it. The mechanism matters. A screw jack holds its load through thread friction and gearbox reduction, so the same worn gearset or sheared 1/4-20 bolt that stops a leg from moving can also stop it from holding, and it releases all at once rather than sagging first. Ram's towing guide puts king pin weight between 15 and 25 percent of gross trailer weight, so a 15,000 pound fifth wheel is resting roughly 2,250 to 3,750 pounds on two legs. Rated jack stands under the frame, every time. Lippert also warns never to lift the trailer far enough for the wheels to leave the ground.
We are fully mobile and come to you anywhere in Florida - campgrounds, storage lots, driveways and RV parks.
Call 888-759-1438Anchoring or tying a fifth wheel down is a separate job from landing gear service, and the two get confused because both hold the front of the trailer. Landing gear is a support, never an anchor, and it is not rated to resist uplift. Tell us what the trailer is sitting on and we can scope it properly.
That is a cross shaft failure until proven otherwise. Both legs are turned by one gearbox through cross shaft kit 156842, so when a 1/4-20 retaining bolt shears or the shaft ends round out, the lead leg keeps driving and the follow leg stops. Release the switch immediately. Running it further racks the trailer diagonally and puts the full pin weight on a single leg, which is how a straight leg becomes a bent one.
Almost always the reduction gearbox. Fit manual crank handle 119226 onto the override shaft and turn it by hand. If the leg moves, the gearset below the crank is intact and the problem is upstream in the motor, switch or wiring. If the shaft turns freely and nothing happens, the gears are stripped. Lippert's current replacement is the aluminum gear box 276602, which supersedes the older 143780 and 179015 housings.
It is a hex shaft on the reduction gearbox that passes out through the frame rail, usually on the back side of the lead leg, and Lippert's install manual requires it be reachable from outside the frame. Crank handle 119226 couples onto it. Turn counterclockwise to extend and clockwise to retract. Find yours and test the fit on a dry afternoon, because a corroded shaft that will not accept the handle is a bad discovery at a dark campground.
Sitting still is fine; sitting on soft ground is not. Sand and shell settle unevenly, the footpad punches in on one side and the leg picks up a side load that Lippert specifically warns against. Put load distribution pads under footpad 119225, check the legs are plumb after the first heavy rain, and use the drop leg with snapper pin 225598 rather than running the screw to full stroke for storage height.
A bent inner tube is replaced, not straightened. The screw and nut inside run in a tube with tight clearance, so any bow binds the mechanism and puts the extra load straight back into the gearbox. Lippert lists lead and follow legs separately, including repair kits 146059 and 146060, so one damaged leg does not mean a full system. Diagnosis on site confirms whether the frame bracket 113511 took damage too.
Every figure on this page comes from a manufacturer document or a standards body, not from another repair site. Here is where each one comes from.
| Item | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Service call | $299 | Includes the trip out to your RV and the first hour on site |
| Work past the first hour | Quoted after diagnosis | We tell you what it will take before we carry on |
| Parts | Quoted per job | Special-order parts may need a deposit before we order them |
| Written estimate | No charge | You approve the estimate before any work starts |
The service call covers the trip out to your RV and the first hour on site. Anything beyond that depends on what we find, and we quote it and get your approval before carrying on.
The price ranges on this page come from our own recent jobs across Florida, not from an industry average. What you pay depends on the rig, the parts it needs and what we find on site, so we give you a written estimate before any work begins and you approve it first.