slarsen
Indiana
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One of the two front 'legs' won't extend, while the other one does. I have no idea how the mechanism works. Is there, for example, a shear pin or something? Can anyone direct me to a site where there is info on how to repair this problem?
I tried a search, but couldn't find anything. Perhaps I don't know the correct terms.
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bpounds
Whittier CA
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Yes, there is a shear pin, and it just looks like a regular bolt. Find the shaft that goes across between the jack legs, at the top of the legs. On mine it is a square tube. On each end of the shaft there is a bolt. One of them is probably broken. Hopefully it is one of those, because the alternative is a break in the bevel gear shafts, which will be much more involved to fix.
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Kybiggray
Central City Ky
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Happened to me once. There was a pin on the shaft that came out allowing the leg closest to the motor come down. The other just stayed up. Look in your front compartment while someone tries to lower the legs and see if the shaft is turning. Hope this helps.
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slarsen
Indiana
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OK, I'll check it out. Something is moving, I can hear the mechanism moving, and one leg will go up and down. Just not the one on the 'passenger' side.
Since it is home and not an emergency (parking place behind a fence) I'm going to wait until early in the day. It's hot out right now.
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bpounds
Whittier CA
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slarsen wrote:OK, I'll check it out. Something is moving, I can hear the mechanism moving, and one leg will go up and down. Just not the one on the 'passenger' side.
Since it is home and not an emergency (parking place behind a fence) I'm going to wait until early in the day. It's hot out right now.
That sounds right to me. You didn't say what trailer you have, but on mine the motor is on the driver side, and a square shaft runs over to the passenger side. I'll bet if you watch it while pushing the button you will see one end or the other is slipping.
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azjeffh
Chandler, AZ
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Last year I disconnected the trailer and pulled the truck away. While walking back to the trailer I noticed 1 of my landing legs was 8 inches off the ground. I immediately got the wife out and proceeded to lower the trailer.
As many other's mentioned, my 1/4 inch bolt sheared right at the nut and fell out. A piece of duct tape held the bolt in place (taped over the screw head) as a temporary fix until I got to the hardware store.
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slarsen
Indiana
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Thanks so much for your help. I went to the trailer a few minutes ago, and immediately spotted the empty hole. Quick check, and I saw the bolt on the other side. Another quick check, and I found two of the three pieces of the bolt. It broke twice!
So here's what I think is my final question: is this a standard hardware bolt, or something special? Obviously this was a rather brittle bolt; no smearing or stretching of metal, just a clean snapped off end. Well, two snapped off ends; the one with the nut is still missing.
What do you think?
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1Wheeldrive
The Rockies
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I had the same problem on a previous trailer. In my case, the bolt didn't break, the nut came off and the bolt fell out. I replaced it with a cap screw and a stop nut (interference fit) to prevent the nut from backing off again. Problem solved. It shouldn't take any special hardware, if the nut backed off, that would allow some shock loads to be applied to the bolt, maybe that is why it sheared off.
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jims1
NC
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You really should use a shear pin.
They are specifically made to "shear" if the leg becomes jammed either extending or retracting.
A $2 pin is alot easier to replace than a $500 motor or gear set.
Most bolts are not rated for shear strength.
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jims1
NC
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You really should use a shear pin.
They are specifically made to "shear" if the leg becomes jammed either extending or retracting.
A $2 pin is alot easier to replace than a $500 motor or gear set.
Most bolts are not rated for shear strength.
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