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Old 03-09-2007, 04:11 PM   #21
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... Well, I picked up four of these landing jacks/gear...



... Hope they work the way I imagine that they will...
My wifey thinks its overkill, but I think they'll be real cool
when we can pull off and do all that fancy leveling from the dry,
temperature controlled comfort inside our skoolie...
And if need be, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to lift the
wheel/frame high enough to allow for a tire change....
'hope it works.... I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope.....

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Old 03-09-2007, 05:45 PM   #22
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What kind of power are those drawing? I would imagine they're 12 volt although 24 would make sense as well I guess. Are they electric over hydraulic, worm gear drive, screw drive?
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Old 03-09-2007, 06:36 PM   #23
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Hey Ex...

They're 12v power legs, 2 speed motors- control knob in/out activatesTHE 2 different speeds, no worm gear. I haven't got my grubby hands on them yet... I suppose the "I JUST PICKED UP" phrase was a little misleading... More precise would be "I just purchased them and am awaiting delivery"...
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Old 03-09-2007, 08:10 PM   #24
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... Here's a picture of gearbox's guts...



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Old 03-09-2007, 09:19 PM   #25
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Looks like a screwdrive on the legs and a two speed dog clutch setup just like a transmission to me. That should be a good, robust unit. I'm going to be following the install of those, that's for sure.
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Old 03-13-2007, 09:01 AM   #26
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These look like pretty nice units...any more info on them? Have you received them yet?

I just threw the link for the Bigfoot system up for reference and ideas. I don't think I'll spend that kind of money either!
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Old 03-13-2007, 04:01 PM   #27
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Still waiting on delivery... Planning on modifying the switches from those pull out/in knobs to solenoid actuated.... Anybody have any suggestions as to what type of solenoids would best suit this sort of application? Or does it really matter?
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Old 03-13-2007, 04:42 PM   #28
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Ford starter solenoids from TSC or similar are my universal answer for anything that needs a solenoid switch. They are simple, cost all of $5, and are available darn near everywhere. They aren't rated for a 100% duty cycle, but I've seen them used in that application rather successfully. The biggest consumer of them I've seen aren't Ford owners, but rather people with old snow plows that need new solenoids.
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Old 03-13-2007, 07:12 PM   #29
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Hey Oldog12! What is the collapsed height of that landing gear? In all my experience building semi trailers (for Ravens before they were bought out), and I never saw any that would collapse enough to fit under a bus. I know I haven't seen it all and I'm curious as to where & how yer gonna mount 'em!?!
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Old 03-13-2007, 07:54 PM   #30
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Yeah, I'm a little worried about the height too... The units are 38" tall with 17" of travel... The bus I was looking at to replace my old but not worn out 76 IH Thomas has sort of disappeared, but that's another story...
Anyway, I'm not exactly sure if they'll fit as is, and if they don't, I'm not sure if I'll cut a "shelf" or otherwise a hole in the floor to accommodate the jacks, or try and modify the jacks and shorten them. Shortening the jacks I think would be plan B...



But I plan on mounting them in back of the front wheel wells and in front of the rear wheel wells along the outside of the frame rails...

Any of you TC2000 types out there know what the standard clearance would be from the bottom of the floor to the ground?


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Old 03-14-2007, 12:04 AM   #31
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After thinking about it for a while, why would I want to put a solenoid switch there at the jacks?
All that would accomplish is just add another switch... Instead, I figure I'll just hard wire a switch from the cab where I was going to have the main control switch anyway....
DUH!!!
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Old 03-14-2007, 12:15 AM   #32
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It would depend a lot on the amp draw. If they're drawing only 10 amps, no biggie. A 12 gauge wire should be sufficient for that current on that run. However, if you need to run 4 gauge to carry the current to each one, the shortest possible route for that with a much cheaper run of 16 gauge for the solenoid trigger in the cab would be far more cost effective.

I'm really interested to hear what the amperage draw on those things will actually be. They're a motor which means a lot of start up power, but with their particular gearing arrangement, they might not draw much to continue running. Still, I can't help but see you having to run 4 gauge to them. Just look at car audio stuff. For a 16 foot run of power wire for an amp that runs 80 amps of current draw are done in 4 gauge or larger. Those amps are only outputing 600 watts or so rms in class A/B or 1200 watts rms including thermal loses. It doesn't take much of an electric motor to draw 1200 watts of surge.
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Old 03-14-2007, 12:21 AM   #33
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Hey Ex...

Hmmm.... I see your point about the long runs of 4 gauge. Have to admit that I didn't even consider that aspect...

Back to the drawing board...
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Old 03-14-2007, 01:52 AM   #34
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The only reason I know is because I sell the stuff. 100 feet of good 4 gauge and you're going to need a second mortgage on your house.
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