Will Atwood Landing Gear Replacement Gear Box Fit a Venture Landing Gear Set on a 5th Wheel Trailer

Question:

I have a 2008 Forest River Sierra 5th wheel model F296. I have been experiencing problems raising or lowering my landing gear legs. The entire landing gear motor, reduction box, connecting shaft and legs are made by Venture Mfg Co. The motor and reduction box will twist when the legs are extended with weight of the trailer on them. The reduction box has all four plastic tabs on the back of the reduction gear. I recently lost the shear pin which connects the motor to the reduction gear and replaced it with a bolt of the same size in order to left the trailer off the hitch. I believe the reduction box is bad, Either the connecting gears or the piece which keeps the reduction gear in place is bad. I contacted Venture and the cost of a new reduction gear is $137 plus shipping. I found an Atwood reduction box. Can these parts be interchangeable or do I have to stay with Venture? Also, if the parts are interchangeable and you provide me with the correct part number for the Atwood reduction box to ensure I get the correct one.

asked by: Tim O

Expert Reply:

It is possible that the gear box for Atwood landing gear will fit your Venture landing gear. However the only way to know for sure is to try it out because they have not been tested together. It is likely they will work together but I cannot promise that they will.

A more likely fit is the Stromberg-Carlson gear box, # LG-179015, because both landing gear sets are actually made by Lippert. This one will fit Atwood landing gear so it is likely that either one will work.

It is also possible that the trailer is too heavy for the capacity of the landing gear. You will want to check the landing gear capacity against the weight of the trailer to determine if this is an issue. Also, you will want to avoid over extending the landing gear because that could also cause issues and damage the jack legs.

expert reply by: Michael H