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We've officially passed our 1 month mark of living in our 5th wheel. In a lot of ways we love it but it has had it's moments. Mike at 6'8" is adjusting to itty-bitty living space. I'm adjusting to itty-bitty kitchen. We've been through storms. At first the rain hitting the roof was annoying but now we enjoy the sound. We're really enjoying the quietness of the campground here in RI where we're parked for another 6 weeks but also know that quietness will change once the kids are out of school. Oh, my! Do I sound like an 'old fogie'? LOL
A big, big plus is we finally got the valve fixed in the pipe to the black water tank. YAY! No more having to hitch up and take the rig to the dump station. The campground's honey wagon will come to us. Ah, the little things in life! I made a huge sacrifice yesterday helping Mike hitch up to get over the dump station. I've been sick in bed since Sunday with a rotten cold/flu thing. But ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. :)
We're about 12 miles from both our son and daughter and their respective families. Close enough to get to them easily and vice versa but far enough away we have our privacy, too.
Still haven't figured out the problem with the power jacks. All the fuses look good. Now Mike's going to try and check all the wire connections. We don't think the motor is burnt out cause there was no smell when the thing quit working. Really hoping we can figure this out so we don't have to pay someone big bucks to fix it. But it sure is getting tiring cranking those jacks up and down by hand.
Hey there Guys, sound as though you are getting acclimated to the lifestyle.
I didn't notice what kind of unit you are living in. We also had problems with our front jacks on our Jayco. Sometimes it would work and sometimes not then quit altogether. I ran a hot wire direct from batteries to the motor, found out latter that our motor was protected with a second fuse that is in a seperate location that was bad.
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Ron & Sharon Taylor Molly (Maltese) Doesn't know she is a dog and we don't have the heart to tell her different. 2007 Dodge 3500 4x4, 6.7 Cummins, six speed auto tranny, exhaust brake, Edge Attitude. 2008 Jayco Designer 35 RLTS
Mike has looked everywhere he can imagine and can't find a bad fuse - although that's what makes the most sense. He found a fuse just above the motor but hasn't found anything else. Any suggestions?
I've been to Atwood Mobile Products' web site looking for the manual but just found a kind of generic one that doesn't seem to be much help.
We're in a 2000 Fleetwood Prowler 5th wheel. 33' with 3 slides. Needs some work which we're doing a little at a time but the inside is in good shape! Didn't want to spend a lot and find out we hated this lifestyle. We've both just retired; so far so good.
-- Edited by Mike and Gloria on Wednesday 4th of May 2011 04:07:20 PM
My landing jack motors have a builtin overheat protection. One of the jacks will stop working if I'm raising the 5th wheel more than 6 inches.
I have to wait for a couple of minutes and then it works again. Sometimes it stops when lowering the 5th wheel.
I try to limit the amount of travel by using blocks and extending the jacks using the pins before using the motors. I've learned to live with it.
Both motors are the same age. The problem motor started doing this after 5 years old. I'm guessing either low voltage or an overheating condition has caused the internal circuit breaker to weaken and trip earlier than the other motor.
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"Small House, Big Yard "
"May the FOREST be with you" Alfa See-Ya 5'er and 2007 Kodiak C4500 Monroe
I love the sound of the rain on the roof of the camper, especially the gentle rain. It lulls me to sleep! Now, when it's pounding and we're trying to watch a movie on our laptop - we can't turn the volume up loud enough to drown out the rain . . . so we wait it out.
It does sound like you're liking this way of living! Have FUN!
The Bear II wrote:I try to limit the amount of travel by using blocks and extending the jacks using the pins before using the motors. I've learned to live with it.
Both motors are the same age. The problem motor started doing this after 5 years old. I'm guessing either low voltage or an overheating condition has caused the internal circuit breaker to weaken and trip earlier than the other motor.
It's been 2 weeks so if cooling down was going to solve the problem, you'd think all would be well by now. :) We've been doing the same as you all along.
It's an internal circuit breaker we're wondering about.
In our case there was a 10amp fuse in the same area as the motor. We found out from another Jayco owner that the main fuse was a 30amp and was in the battery box. If you run a hot wire from a 12volt battery to the motor you will know if its a bad motor or a broken circuit (fuse).
Good Luck.
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Ron & Sharon Taylor Molly (Maltese) Doesn't know she is a dog and we don't have the heart to tell her different. 2007 Dodge 3500 4x4, 6.7 Cummins, six speed auto tranny, exhaust brake, Edge Attitude. 2008 Jayco Designer 35 RLTS
A fuse in the battery area? Now that I don't believe he's looked for. Tomorrow when it's not raining, he'll have to check it out. Plus the hot wire idea from the batteries to the motor is an excellent idea, too. Thank you.
The worst part was that the fuse was hidden behind one of the batteries. When I was trying to trace wires I couldn't see it. There is also a slight chance the switch that activates the motor could be worn out.
Also if you run a hot wire and the motor works, if you deceide to leave the hot wire be sure to put an inline fuse in to protect the motor.
-- Edited by 2fortheroad on Wednesday 4th of May 2011 07:42:36 PM
-- Edited by 2fortheroad on Wednesday 4th of May 2011 07:49:13 PM
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Ron & Sharon Taylor Molly (Maltese) Doesn't know she is a dog and we don't have the heart to tell her different. 2007 Dodge 3500 4x4, 6.7 Cummins, six speed auto tranny, exhaust brake, Edge Attitude. 2008 Jayco Designer 35 RLTS
IT"S FIXED!! The power jacks are working! Mike went out a couple of minutes ago determined to find the source of the problem. I'm *still* sick and wrapped up in a blanket in the recliner but heard a noise that sounded like the jack motor. Within seconds he was back here inside the rig literally doing happy dances. Where's the camera when you need it!
He had started following the wires from the motor to the switch and in the process had to pass over the 30 amp fuse. He flicked it with his finger and all of a sudden everything is working normally. It seems to be in there good and tight so we're wondering if the fuse is on its way out. We'll be picking up extra fuses to keep on hand.
He is positively elated! This is not a little thing in life; this is a biggie. LOL We were both so hating hand cranking those jacks.
