Replacement Lippert Components 5:1 Gearbox With Motor for RV Steps - Link Assembly "A"

Video Transcript for Lippert RV Steps 5:1 Gearbox With Motor Replacement Installation - 2016 Newmar Ventana LE Motorhome

Hello, neighbors. It's Brad here and today we have a 2016 Newmar Ventana LE, and when the customer brought it in, we we're having issues with the steps actually coming down. So the steps are actuated, and that's done by a motor. And so, what we installed today is the Lippert five to one gear ratio motor for your steps. So once installed and working properly, your steps will come down. No longer will you have to use a step ladder to get into your RV.

So let's take a look at the product itself and the installation of it. Our customer has removed the previous motor on his steps, so I can't show you how to take the old one off, but I do have a new replacement motor that should be a direct drop-in. Now you are gonna use some of the existing hardware, so as you're pulling your old one off, make sure to keep those handy in a bag or container so you don't lose them. Looks like a fairly simple installation, looks like you have an arm with a pin and four bolts attaching, and a plug, we'll see once we get into the install. Before I start digging into this, I wanna make sure to let you know, seems pretty straightforward, but this is gonna be a pinch point, so if your hands are in there, make sure it's shut off, it's powered off on the step itself, and when you do put the new motor on, keep your hands clear of things.

So we're gonna go ahead, and we'll release this strap, which will drop these stairs down. So putting the strap down and having the stairs go down to their max extended length is gonna show me where that swing arm needs to go to, making it a little bit easier to get the install going. So our steps fully extended. Naturally it drops a little bit, so a full extensions here. So we know that's where our arm needs to go.

Now let's hop underneath and we're gonna take a look at mounting it up. So as you can see under here, the four holes for our bracket, you have a carriage bolt style. Again, you will be reusing your old hardware, so make sure you have those on hand and that's gonna place into there. And then you have your electrical plug, which will plug in and we're gonna attach our pin to these forks right here. Now, before I do that, I'm actually gonna hook this up to power and cycle it to make sure that I know that the arm is actuating.

So we plugged our new motor into our control module. Once I opened up the door, which actuates the steps, I wasn't getting any movement on the motor. So I traced it back a little bit further and found that our control module was actually the problem. So if you're having issues with your stairs, not going up and down, and you're watching this to replace your motor, that is a good starting point, but just know that there are other components such as this control module. We do have this here at etrailer, and we we're able to get this thing working. So if you do need a control module, it's very simple. It's just a series of plugs and a few grounds. But if you put your new motor in, it's not working, this might be your culprit. With our new control module in place, I'm going to now take our plug and plug it into the motor. So I'm gonna open up the door to actuate the arm. And what I'm looking for is when your door is open, that's when your steps will come down. And when you close the door, it'll pull the steps back up. So you do wanna know which way it is when the door is open. That way, you know that you can install this kind of extended, and that's gonna be a lot easier than trying to do it in a closed position. So I'm gonna go ahead and open the door and we'll get this thing moving. So I have the door closed. And so that's gonna be our retract position. Now, as I opened the door, that should be the fully extended position, and we're gonna keep it in that position while installing it. And that way our steps are not trying to fall as we put the pin in. So to actually get the motor installed, the actuator installed, is pretty simple. As you probably pulled your old one off, you kind of know the gist, but just if you need a refresher, you do have your carriage bolts that sit in there. Should have four of those. And while you lift the motor in place, it's probably good to have, I would say at least two washers and two nuts ready to go. Slide this in place here. Now I'm just gonna get, I'm gonna get one nut in place, just so we kind of have this holding on its own, So we can be hands free. You need to use your finger, kind of hold that in place, or if I had a screwdriver, if your fingers are too thick, like I am running into. So I'll grab my handy-dandy screwdriver, and lightly kind of push this in so it doesn't move. Here we go. Now, I'll repeat the same step, hopefully easier on the next side. So now we have our pin here. So I'll slide that little collar and the forks. And if you need to, you can move the stairs just to kinda get a little different angle and get that pin in place. Should just slide through here. So when this came in, the actual old arm was already taken off. So, sometimes when you're not able to see how it all comes apart, sometimes installation can become difficult. So, we found with swing arm and the whole mounting assembly, it's easier to actually put the pin in first and you may need an extra set of hands or a way to keep your stairs fully extended to get that swing on pin in. So, now that we have that through, take your cotter pin, put that through, and you're gonna wanna bend one of the edges there, so it doesn't fall out. And then once you have that, you can put your carriage bolts in and tighten up your nuts there and give it a test. So that does it for the installation of the Lippert five to one ratio motor for our steps on our 2016 Newmar Ventana LE. Now, this was a very simple install and it keeps you getting in and out of your RV safely each time. Before our customer using a stepladder, is really relying on that step ladder, not to fall or skew as he's getting in and out. Having your steps motorized to come down right to you at a good level and being attached to the RV is making sure that you stay safe. Thanks for watching..