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Old 10-26-2021, 12:07 PM   #1
Janine
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Hydraulic jacks

Long story short. Our middle drivers side hydraulic jack got caught by going over rr tracks and bent it slightly. The foot was damaged more. The jack still works up and down. Should we replace the whole jack, or just the foot? The jack itself might be able to be pulled back into a straight position. We are hauling a 2020 40' 3813MS. And if it can't be fixed, who do you recommend to do the work. Naturally, we are in the middle of going from point A to B and would want this done ASAP.
 
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Old 10-26-2021, 01:43 PM   #2
Andy Smith
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I had a neighbor with a similar situation, and they took it to an RV shop in SC (don't recall which) who fixed it in a few hours. In their case, the bracket the jack attaches to was significantly bent, and then straightened out and welded with a patch. I think in your case it would depend on whether the ram is damaged, because it may not seal very well. Got any pictures of the jack?
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Old 10-26-2021, 03:48 PM   #3
DadsHemi
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The foot can be replaced, if the Jack body has moved where it bolted the bolts can be loosened and straighten the Jack body. If the bracket is bent you should see if the welds are broke and go from there. Have any pics you could post ?
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Old 10-26-2021, 04:01 PM   #4
Mikendebbie
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I agree with DadsHemi.
I hooked one of my rear curb-side jacks on a "higher than normal" concrete curb while I was turning in to a Cracker Barrel 3 years ago...when I had to swerve sharper than intended to miss the jerk in a little red truck that came into my wide-swing-out path going lickety split.

As you can see from the pic below - the jack itself was not damaged.
The steel brackets at the frame and the foot pad were bent.
I removed the jack (removed from the brackets and used bungee cords to hold it up) and I started hammering/beating the bracket back close to plumb with a short handle sledge hammer.
I also hammered the pad back to "pretty flat"...not flat enough for DW however (she reminds me that she does not like the slightly bent pad on a fairly regular basis!).

Now - 3 years later...the thing still works properly...no leaks...no problems.

I have since raised all four of my rear jacks by one hole to get a bit more clearance.
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Old 10-26-2021, 05:09 PM   #5
Andy Smith
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Those jacks were a bear to get unbolted yeah? I just replaced one of mine last weekend due to a leak and even with the impact driver it still took a lot of hammering.
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Old 10-26-2021, 05:11 PM   #6
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That's what the four foot length of pipe is for, to put on the breaker bar for extra leverage.
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Old 10-26-2021, 05:17 PM   #7
Andy Smith
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No room to maneuver a cheater bar under the jacks but yeah that could have helped if we were higher up.
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Old 10-26-2021, 05:37 PM   #8
Mikendebbie
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I don’t remember having trouble getting the bolts loose. I bought a battery powered (20V) impact gun (my first impact gun) and wondered why I had not bought one years ago when I was young…being broke and having 3 kids was always the first reason why.

Some of the bolts on other jacks were difficult to get at…but somehow I managed. I am amazed at how many tasks I manage to complete on the RV thanks to this forum and YouTube.
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Old 10-26-2021, 07:48 PM   #9
Carl n Susan
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I can't remember if it is the bolt or the nut end, but one of them is serrated to enhance the grip. You do not want to try and turn that end. It will fight you all the way. Attack the non-serrated end with a 20V impact gun (they are wonderful!) and it will come apart easily. We have done a bunch and learned the hard way.
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Old 10-27-2021, 07:31 AM   #10
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It was the nut end on mine. It took one of us with an impact driver and the other bracing the nut with a box wrench. Must have just had a super tight one. Lippert replaced my jack for free outside of warranty due to a leak, which was great but said labor or mechanics are on us, so we just took care of it. We're rebuilding the old one anyway.
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Old 10-27-2021, 09:26 AM   #11
432bartman
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This might be a good time to raise your mid and rear jacks up one bolt hole. I did mine, just because they do sit too low for driveway approaches. Very simple to do and I did my back 4 in under 30 minutes. Nothing was affected either with the auto leveling system.
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Old 10-27-2021, 01:01 PM   #12
Andy Smith
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Hey Bartman (or anyone who's done this), anybody know why are they factory mounted so low to begin with? I was camping on a site last year where the rear of the site was substantially lower, so having the jacks further down was a benefit. Here I'm at a nose-low spot, and they look dangerously close to the ground as is. I'm considering raising them, but I'm only allowed to have so many projects going on at once that involve raising/lowering or cutting power to our home, according to the wife. If it were just sitting in my driveway and didn't have to tell her to brace for liftoff, I'd probably be all over that.
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Old 10-27-2021, 02:55 PM   #13
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I raised all of mine. The rear I raised 3 bolt holes and the front I raised all the way up. One of our favorite sites is very sloped backing in and the rear and front jacks would drag. I built pressure treated pads using 2x4 and 4x4 blocks that are 12x12 inches. We also have the RV Snap Pads installed. In addition to the blocks above which add about 6.5" height, I usually carry several 2x12x12 blocks and 1/2 plastic pads for areas where I don't need as much clearance.
The less stroke of the ram from the jack the better for stability.
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Old 10-27-2021, 07:55 PM   #14
Janine
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Pics?
How?
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Old 10-27-2021, 08:36 PM   #15
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One of the first things I done on my 2020 3813 was raise the jacks, way to low for places I go.
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Old 10-28-2021, 08:38 AM   #16
bshgto
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cOol it

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Smith View Post
No room to maneuver a cheater bar under the jacks but yeah that could have helped if we were higher up.
cheap HF 4" angle grinder w/cut off wheel and a HF Earthquake impact will remove anything that is giving me a hard time. Grade 8-5 Bolts are cheap. No special tools required. Grinder came in handy after I left the e-bike cable lock keys at home 550 miles away. After I saw a traveling companion destroy one of his legs and bracket going over a high speed bump I raised all mine up.
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Old 10-31-2021, 01:34 PM   #17
David Van Denover
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Jacks

I had the same problem after running over a curb. Bent the two rear jacks on one side really bad. I took it to a semi-trailer repair shop and they straightened both back straight in about ten minutes. They even hammered the pads back flat. One jack was leaking and they tightened up the packing seal gland and stopped the leak. I raise all the rear jacks two bolt holes (it took about 45 minutes) I then bought Andersen Blocks and use them on the four rear jacks. They work great and no more worries about hitting them again.
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Old 11-01-2021, 11:53 AM   #18
Ike59
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Hydraulic Jack.

Same here caught the middle right jack on curb turn into a business. Bent inward. The bracket was bent that’s all. No cracks on the welds. Got out my tow strap and pulled it straight ( very carefully). When we returned home I raised all 4 jacks in the back up a bolt hole. No problems.
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Old 11-01-2021, 03:35 PM   #19
Trout30
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Bent my 2 rear rams backing up while hitching up. Found out hitch jaws were not functioning (opening) properly which caused me to push trailer and jack rams into the grass spot we were sitting on which was slightly slanted. After repairing the jaws and completing hook up I saw the rams were not going up so I had my wife pull truck slowly forward bending the rams back to position while I watched and gave her the signal to stop at the point jack rams were looking pretty straight. To my surprise after bending them back they then retracted slower than normal all the way up and allowed us to return home. I then ordered 2 new complete jacks from Lippert and replaced them myself. Not to hard to do just the bolt loosing part...I had no impact tools. Lesson learned: if you can't hitch up after a couple attempts at backing up to the pin get out and look at jaws instead of keep hitting the hitch pin harder and harder...LOL.
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Old 11-03-2021, 08:29 AM   #20
Janine
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After 8 hrs at a diesel repair shop, our jack is fixed and working. Was told the mount was bent and they had to cut it off and do alot of welding. Had to do a lot of pounding to straighten the foot back to. DH is saying hes gonna raise the other jacks before we hit the road again.
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