| Sysop: | Amessyroom |
|---|---|
| Location: | Fayetteville, NC |
| Users: | 27 |
| Nodes: | 6 (0 / 6) |
| Uptime: | 38:45:49 |
| Calls: | 631 |
| Calls today: | 2 |
| Files: | 1,187 |
| D/L today: |
23 files (29,781K bytes) |
| Messages: | 174,060 |
You may remember my sad story about smashing the front of my Lance
trailer into the back of my tow vehicle when trying to jostle the
tongue down onto the ball. As I said, the shell around the motor
and gear box was damaged...
https://panix.com/~theise/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20250919_135339-scaled.jpg
I also mentioned Lippert doesn't make these parts available, so I
undertook to glue it back together. After *many* sessions with JB
Weld, I was able to get it reasonably complete...
https://panix.com/~theise/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20251003_103122-scaled.jpg
It looks like hell, but I'm hoping it will keep the elements away
from the operating parts.
Though the shell exterior is relatively complete, the internal
parts that connect it to the jack are mostly missing--so it
wobbles a bit. It seems to me the likeliest point of failure will
be breaking of the shell from wobbling at speed. But I guess
we'll see.
I've thought about stuffing the insides of the shell with old
t-shirts or somesuch, but have some doubts that would actually
help.
Ted Heise wrote:
I also mentioned Lippert doesn't make these parts available,
so I undertook to glue it back together. After *many*
sessions with JB Weld, I was able to get it reasonably
complete...
https://panix.com/~theise/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20251003_103122-scaled.jpg
If it were me, I'd put more JBW on the outside and then paint
it black. Unless you've got more JBW on the inside than the
outside already, I'd put a lot more there, too. In my
experience, all crack repairs should be overlapped (both sides
when possible) with JBW - not just glued with it. Much
stronger.
On Thu, 9 Oct 2025 16:17:40 -0400,
bfh <redydog@rye.net> wrote:
Ted Heise wrote:
I also mentioned Lippert doesn't make these parts available,
so I undertook to glue it back together. After *many*
sessions with JB Weld, I was able to get it reasonably
complete...
https://panix.com/~theise/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20251003_103122-scaled.jpg
If it were me, I'd put more JBW on the outside and then paint
it black. Unless you've got more JBW on the inside than the
outside already, I'd put a lot more there, too. In my
experience, all crack repairs should be overlapped (both sides
when possible) with JBW - not just glued with it. Much
stronger.
Yeah, I thought the same and actually slathered it on pretty
thickly. The picture may not show it well, though.
You may remember my sad story about smashing the front of my Lance
trailer into the back of my tow vehicle when trying to jostle the
tongue down onto the ball. As I said, the shell around the motor
and gear box was damaged...
https://panix.com/~theise/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20250919_135339-scaled.jpg
I also mentioned Lippert doesn't make these parts available, so I
undertook to glue it back together. After *many* sessions with JB
Weld, I was able to get it reasonably complete...
https://panix.com/~theise/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20251003_103122-scaled.jpg
It looks like hell, but I'm hoping it will keep the elements away
from the operating parts.
Though the shell exterior is relatively complete, the internal
parts that connect it to the jack are mostly missing--so it
wobbles a bit. It seems to me the likeliest point of failure will
be breaking of the shell from wobbling at speed. But I guess
we'll see.
I've thought about stuffing the insides of the shell with old
t-shirts or somesuch, but have some doubts that would actually
help.
On 10/9/2025 10:03 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
You may remember my sad story about smashing the front of my Lance
trailer into the back of my tow vehicle when trying to jostle the
tongue down onto the ball.-a As I said, the shell around the motor
and gear box was damaged...
https://panix.com/~theise/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20250919_135339-scaled.jpg
I also mentioned Lippert doesn't make these parts available, so I
undertook to glue it back together.-a After *many* sessions with JB
Weld, I was able to get it reasonably complete...
https://panix.com/~theise/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20251003_103122-scaled.jpg
It looks like hell, but I'm hoping it will keep the elements away
from the operating parts.
Though the shell exterior is relatively complete, the internal
parts that connect it to the jack are mostly missing--so it
wobbles a bit.-a It seems to me the likeliest point of failure will
be breaking of the shell from wobbling at speed.-a But I guess
we'll see.
I've thought about stuffing the insides of the shell with old
t-shirts or somesuch, but have some doubts that would actually
help.
Although I applaud your efforts, I think you're putting off the inevitable.-a It will probably crack no matter what you do and fall
apart at the worst time possible.-a Like when it is hooked up to the
Acadia and you can't lift it up to get out from under it.-a Your
throwing good money after bad IMO.-a Camping world has them for $300
brand new, and I've seen them for less looking around.-a You could get
the new one and keep the working parts from the old one in case of failures.-a Or throw the damn thing out and spend your time living and enjoying a nice looking trailer without having to look at and be
reminded of the accident all the time. Let's be honest Ted, time is
our most valuable thing.-a Don't waste any!
<https://www.campingworld.com/lippert-smart-jack-104987.html>
sticks wrote:
On 10/9/2025 10:03 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
It looks like hell, but I'm hoping it will keep the elements
away from the operating parts.
Although I applaud your efforts, I think you're putting off
the inevitable. It will probably crack no matter what you do
and fall apart at the worst time possible. Like when it is
hooked up to the Acadia and you can't lift it up to get out
from under it. Your throwing good money after bad IMO.
Camping world has them for $300 brand new, and I've seen them
for less looking around. You could get the new one and keep
the working parts from the old one in case of failures. Or
throw the damn thing out and spend your time living and
enjoying a nice looking trailer without having to look at and
be reminded of the accident all the time. Let's be honest Ted,
time is our most valuable thing. Don't waste any!
<https://www.campingworld.com/lippert-smart-jack-104987.html>
I was about to say that sounds like a great idea - until I
decided to go to the link and read the reviews. Assuming that's
the same jack, probably ought to go for a different brand.
On Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:18:53 -0400,
bfh <redydog@rye.net> wrote:
sticks wrote:
On 10/9/2025 10:03 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
It looks like hell, but I'm hoping it will keep the elements
away from the operating parts.
Although I applaud your efforts, I think you're putting off
the inevitable. It will probably crack no matter what you do
and fall apart at the worst time possible. Like when it is
hooked up to the Acadia and you can't lift it up to get out
from under it. Your throwing good money after bad IMO.
Camping world has them for $300 brand new, and I've seen them
for less looking around. You could get the new one and keep
the working parts from the old one in case of failures. Or
throw the damn thing out and spend your time living and
enjoying a nice looking trailer without having to look at and
be reminded of the accident all the time. Let's be honest Ted,
time is our most valuable thing. Don't waste any!
<https://www.campingworld.com/lippert-smart-jack-104987.html>
I was about to say that sounds like a great idea - until I
decided to go to the link and read the reviews. Assuming that's
the same jack, probably ought to go for a different brand.
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'm headed out tomorrow for a few
days, so we'll see how it does. The motor and gearbox work just
fine, and I don't really care much how it looks. The motor and
gearbox work great, and worst case I just hook up the crank and
operate it manually (or with my electric drill).
