This is going to be long but there is a lesson to be learned at the end.
Recently after picking up my camper from the dealer after having some warranty repairs done I was lowering the landing gear on my 5er to disconnect when the gearbox (IT’S PLASTIC ) broke loose and jammed the drive mechanism. This left me in a really bad predicament. The landing gear could not be retracted and there was still too much weight on the truck to disconnect. A call to my dealer offered some suggestions none of which worked. I couldn’t do anything with the weight of the unit on the Landing Gear. Fortunately I have AirLift shocks on my truck and was able to add some air and get the legs off the ground. My RV service manager suggested using the manual crank…..that didn’t work. Next removed the motor and drive shaft and manually retracted driver’s side LG leg. The passenger side (the one with the gearbox attached) would not move. I had to completely remove the passenger side leg so that I could return the camper to the dealer.
Good part of this story is, extended warranty covered the repair cost and all is well.
Lesson learned; it is important that when lowering the landing gear that both legs contact the ground at as near the same time as possible. If all or most of the weight of the camper is on one leg a failure such as I experienced is not only possible but likely to occur sooner or later.
I’ve always been mindful of this and it happened to me anyway, hopefully it won't happen to anyone else here on this forum. I’m just glad I was at home and only a couple of miles from my dealer when it happened.
Thanks for posting this. I too do my best to ensure the legs contact the ground/block at the same time. One of my legs has an adjustable foot just to make this easier. So far so good.